According to SocialMediaToday, video is currently the best performing digital content type, driving more traffic than any other social media marketing method.

In fact, Wyzowl’s 2020 report found that video helps 83% of marketers to generate leads, 87% to increase website traffic, and 80% to increase sales.

In other words, one of the most effective ways to attract your target audience to an event and sell more tickets is through promo video marketing. Although, how do you make a promo video for an event that stays ahead of the competition and gets results?

Not to worry—our guide has got you covered.

Decide on Your Video Type

First things first, there are several different types of promo video you could create to serve as a movie trailer for your event.

The most popular choices are as follows.

• Teasers: This style of video is short and sweet and is designed to tease your event to potential attendees. It might contain vague visuals or just text saying “coming soon” combined with background music to arouse curiosity before the next video.
• Announcements: This video is used to share important updates concerning your event, such as the booking of a new speaker, band, or vendor. Like with a teaser, it’s all about generating interest to encourage engagement.
• Interviews: This kind of video tends to show a speaker or participant of the event being interviewed face-to-face with the camera. The purpose is to get potential attendees excited about who will be there.
• Customer Testimonials: If you’ve hosted the same event before, you could produce this type of video that contains the testimonials of previous attendees. Whether this consists of them talking to the camera or a series of screenshots from online reviews, it builds trust with potential attendees which could lead to further interaction.
• User-Generated: Similar to customer testimonials, this type of video is ideal if you’ve hosted your event in the past. It’s pieced together using content that previous attendees have captured, and perhaps using your own highlights reel, as another way of building trust and convincing potential attendees to convert.
• Behind-the-Scenes: This is a video that includes exclusive content of event set-up or progress to show potential attendees what they can expect. It could be raw and vlog-style or more professional and polished. 
• Tutorials or Tips: This kind of video offers free value for your target audience to create trust and loyalty. It could be a “how-to” tutorial or tips-based and focus on a problem related to your event. Then you could promote your event at the end as the solution.
• Special Offers: The aim of this video is to communicate a special offer relating to your event, i.e. 10% off tickets for a limited time only. You might choose to do this to boost sales during a particularly slow spell.
• Informational: This type of video can be used to help first-time attendees who have already signed up for the event. It could talk through the transportation system, how to register, and other significant details about the day so that they’re thoroughly prepared in the run-up to the event.

Newsflash: no one’s saying that you can’t use a combination of these videos to promote your event. In fact, multiple videos often make for a more powerful video marketing strategy.

Decide Where You Will Publish Your Video

There are plenty of places you could publish your event promo video, such as:

• Facebook
• Instagram Stories
• Instagram Reels
• IGTV
• Instagram feed
• Twitter
• TikTok
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• On your website
• In an email newsletter

It’s good to know this information before you start creating your video, given that different publishing platforms have different rules when it comes to optimization.

For example:

• Facebook favors the 16:9 landscape format
• 9:16 portrait is the perfect fit for Instagram Stories

Make sure you shoot original content in the right mode to avoid wasting time and feeling stressed when it comes to editing together your video.

Shoot or Collate the Content

Now that all of the hard thinking is out of the way, you can have fun being creative!

Shooting Original Footage

If you need to shoot original content, decide how and when you’re going to do this. You could even storyboard the exact shots you need so that you’re more efficient during the shooting process.

Here are a few of our top tips.

• Use Decent Equipment: Shooting with old or poor-quality equipment can result in a poor-quality video. Use a professional camera and microphone to improve the clarity of the visuals and audio, thus enhancing the viewing experience.
• Assess the Lighting: Good lighting is imperative to elevate the aesthetic of your video. Shoot in daylight if you’re outdoors or in front of a window if you’re indoors to make social media users stop scrolling and pay attention.
• Feature Real People: Viewers can’t always relate to actors or actresses. Include real people that are connected to your event in your videos to amp up the authenticity factor and establish an emotional connection with your audience. After all, a reaction often provokes action.

Collating the Content

On the other hand, the type of video you want to create might not warrant original footage. 

If you use a social media video creation app like Boosted by Lightricks, you gain exclusive access to their stock image library in association with Getty Images. This means that you’ll have professional, premium-quality images and videos at your fingertips.

Simply type what you’re looking for into the search box and away you go!

Edit Together Your Video

If you’re experienced with video editing, you might want to piece your event promo together yourself using software such as iMovie, Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Premiere Pro.

That said, if you’re new to this, not to worry. Apps like Boosted offer modern pre-made templates that can be customized according to the desired look and feel of your video.

Just browse their extensive selection organized by niche, choose a template you like, and begin editing the video frame by frame. You can import original footage into a particular frame or search the stock image library just by clicking the “Media” button.

You can also use the “Scenes” button to add or take away frames quickly and easily.

Customize Your Video

Once you have a rough cut of your event promo video, you can add all of the exciting finishing touches.

Boosted allows you to customize the following elements in just a few clicks.

• Text: Including subtitles, annotations, quotes, or anecdotes in your video is a handy way to add to its ambience. Text can also be used to convey key details, such as date, time, and location, or provide written commentary for those social media users who watch videos with their sound turned off.
• Palette: Change the colors of your video to align with your visual brand identity. You can pick from a list of suggested palettes for a particular template or create an entirely new palette based on your brand’s colors.
• Filter: You can alter the filter of specific visuals by tapping them once and selecting the “Filter” option. Whether it’s a dreamy washed-out look or a black-and-white vintage vibe, Boosted’s numerous filters can make your visuals pop and pull them all together for maximum impact.

• Music: Incorporate music into your video to create a mood that draws in your target audience, whether this is something fun and upbeat or classical and sophisticated. Choose from a range of clips in the Boosted library that are suitable for every occasion.
• Format: If you did want to adapt the dimensions of your video to optimize it for multiple platforms, tap the “Format” button. This allows you to amend your video from 16:9 for Facebook and YouTube; to 1:1 for your Instagram feed; to 9:16 for your Instagram Stories or TikTok.

Publish Your Video

Lastly, once you’ve finished tweaking your event video and it’s looking and feeling super fresh, you can complete the final step.

You have two choices: 1) Upload your video straight to social media or 2) Save it to your phone or computer library to upload another time

If you end up using Boosted, you can also share it via Email, text message or Whatsapp!

You can even go back into your project at a later date and continue amending your video for a separate purpose. Just go to the home screen and then choose “Projects” along the bottom bar. Promoting an event has never been so straightforward!

The Takeaway

It’s not enough to just post pictures and text online anymore when it comes to selling tickets for an event. Nowadays, video marketing is required to drive views, clicks, and conversions.

Having said that, every video that you produce and publish for your event needs to be well thought out and executed, keeping in mind your target audience and ultimately staying true to your brand values.