Video Content Ideas For Virtual Events
There are so many ways that original video content can make your event standout from the rest.
The motion, energy and storytelling of video makes it a mighty tool for connecting with your audience. As a brand, you need a video content strategy that is thoughtfully planned, strategically engaging and goal-oriented.
Our Happily Creative Team are video content creators. Our video editors, scriptwriters, artistic directors, animators, producers, music composers - and so many more that make up our on demand services - are at your disposal. So if any of the video types catch your eye, reach out to us and together we can make it happen!
Here are 16 popular types of video content and video content ideas for events and marketing strategies.
1. The ‘This Event Was Awesome’ Video aka The Sizzle Reel
A ‘sizzle reel’ is a quick summary and visual story of an event, encapsulating the mood, motive and the resulting outcome of it. When an organization produces an event - no matter the type - there is a lot of work, resources and money that goes into it. So it makes sense that they should brag about their event and how successful it was.
The Objective: To summarize an event by showcasing the highlights in a way that is entertaining and informative to watch.
What They Could Look Like: As a ‘sizzle reel’ has a lot of information to convey, they are best edited to a fast-pace, and a 60 second maximum is a good duration for viewers' attention tolerance and to be published on social media. If necessary, there can be an extended version of a ‘sizzle reel’.
Side Note: For a multiple-day event or summit, we often make a ‘sizzle reel’ for each day, as well as for the event as a whole.
Why They Are Impactful: They allow a brand to continue to drive brand awareness through an event, even if the event is already over. A ‘sizzle reel’ expresses the level of energy and engagement that the event had, connecting that energy and engagement to the brand. However, to achieve this the ‘sizzle reel’ should be edited and distributed as soon as possible for maximum impact while the energy of an event still lingers.
Where They Can Be Used: They serve as ideal visual assets for any media outlets reporting on the event, allowing you to control the narrative of your event. The footage from the ‘sizzle reel’ will be valuable when promoting and marketing similar events in the future.
2. The ‘From the Live Stage to Online Content’ aka The TED Talk Concept
While a ‘sizzle reel’ is very general and focuses on the event as an event, the ‘TED Talk concept’ zooms in on the content and adapts it for an online audience. This we refer to as the ‘TED Talk’ because TED Conferences really popularized and perfected the transition of a live keynote presentation into polished online learning content.
Instead of simply allowing filmed content from a summit, workshop or virtual event to only exist within a livestream, the ‘TED Talk concept’ takes that raw live footage of that juicy content and edits it before publishing it online.
The Objective: Add a higher production value to footage of live learning content through the editing process to make the final result more engaging for an online audience.
What They Could Look Like: In the editing process you are able to cut out anything that may disrupt the flow of a presentation for an online audience. The ”um” “so” “like”, for instance. We are also able to edit in different camera angles and build a more dynamic viewing experience, as well as make sure the footage and audio are respectfully looking and sounding their best. Cutaways to slides, graphs or video from the presentation can also spruce up a dense information session.
Furthermore, and most importantly, you are able to professionally and fully brand the video with an opening sequence, a watermarked logo and include any credits that should be mentioned. This is valuable if the video is shared, embedded or downloaded by someone else to ensure that your brand (or your sponsor’s) is not lost.
3. The ‘You Have 30 Seconds to Make An Impact’ Video aka The Spot
This is the most classic 30- or 60-second marketing video. The details and breakdown of a product are not the focus, but rather using emotion and storytelling to generate brand awareness and intrigue to learn more. Apple’s livestreams make beautiful spots that get dual purposed in their event to cue up a new product unveil, as well as in product pages on their website.
The Objective: To spark interest in your brand or product through immediate engagement.
4. The ‘Let Us Walk You Through This’ Video aka The Explainer
In a world of YouTube ‘How-To’ videos and turning to Google for answers to all questions, an ‘explainer’ video is familiar, breaking down and exploring the service or product. It can be more general, or it can go in a more instructional direction.
The Objective: Teach the consumer how you want them to interact with your brand or product by showing a user-friendly experience, through language and messaging that is accessible, clear and casual.
5. The ‘Show Them Why They Need This’ Video aka The Product Demonstration
While an ‘explainer’ video focuses on explaining the ‘how to use it’, the ‘product demonstration’ is more centered around ‘how it will change your life’. This usually includes placing the product in an ‘everyday’ situation that allows them to instantly understand how that product will positively impact them.
The Objective: Demonstrate a benefit (or multiple benefits) of a product in a way that is relatable to your target audience.
6. The ‘Our Company Is a Cool Place to Work’ Video aka The Company Culture
A ‘company culture’ video isn’t really about a particular product, but is rather focused on establishing your brand identity from the inside out. Typically it could answer questions like; what your brand stands for, your mission, what drives you, and what your brand cares about. It is like the ‘LinkedIn’ of video content; talking about your brand as a company first.
The Objective: There are really two. The first is to highlight the ethos of your brand to potential customers, building brand trust through transparency and personal connection. The second is to establish the brand as a modern, inclusive workplace. This will capture the interest of new talent to grow the company, and also enable a deeper connection between the brand and the consumer.
Why They Are Impactful: More than ever consumers want to know who they are giving their money to, and want to support brands that believe in the same things they do; such as equal opportunity, social issues, climate action, LGBTQI+ rights, mental health, women’s rights, fairtrade etc. The power of a ‘company culture’ video is saying ‘we care about the same things you do and our brand is an active force of good’.
What They Look Like: The most straightforward examples will center the employees as the stars. Netflix even created a whole brand around this idea called ‘We Are Netflix’, which has its own content and social channels on YouTube and Instagram.
7. The ‘How We Make Our Product’ aka The Product Development
In general, people just love to experience new and interesting things, and that can mean learning about processes that go into what you make or do. Through the lens of storytelling, this could be anything from showcasing the craftsmanship, creative development, the manufacturing, or distribution of your goods or services.
The Objective: Connect quality, expertise and trustworthiness with your brand and product.
Why They Are Impactful: The more an audience feels involved and knowledgeable of the processes, the more invested they will be in your product or service.
8. The ‘Peek Behind the Curtains’ aka The Behind-The-Scenes
People love to feel like they are getting an exclusive look into a brand or company. The ‘behind-the-scenes’ concept has always been popular, and that is because it works so well. It can be a video that is simply filmed behind-the-scenes and casually shows the office spaces. Or it can be more of a direct exploration and tour of the behind-the-scenes.
The Objective: Create a closer and more familiar relationship between the creator and the consumer.
Why They Are Impactful: Just like a ‘product development’ video, people will connect more with a brand that they have a fuller understanding of - even if it is something as trivial as seeing the office spaces, the product warehouse, design workshop or whatever it may be.
9. The ‘Here Are Our Consumers' Video aka The Customer Testimonial
This is all about connecting satisfied customers with your brand and product. These customers could be people of influence, other brands, or simply a member of the public.
The Objective: Showcase how your brand has created success stories and that it is trusted by other people outside of the company.
Why They Are Impactful: By associating success stories and satisfied customers with your brand, people are more likely to feel secure in their decision to engage with your products.
10. The ‘We Are Human’ Video aka The Employee Portrait
People are social creatures. We connect deeply to the emotions and personal stories of other humans who are ‘just like us’. This type of video takes the power of storytelling, generates strong emotions and then directly connects those feelings back to your brand.
The Objective: Show the ‘heart and soul’ of the company, allowing viewers to connect with and relate to the brand through human-to-human empathy, compassion and shared experiences.
Why They Are Impactful: Viewers can engage with you on the most human of levels, by bringing your brand ‘down to earth’ and away from values of money and profit. It says ‘you can trust us, because this business is made up of passionate, genuine and hard-working people’. The ‘employee portrait’ video is also notably appropriate for nonprofits that are rooted in local communities, to strengthen their ties and trustworthiness in the community.
11. The ‘We’re In This Together’ Video aka The Community
Feeling connected in a workplace, in a community - to other people in general - is important and powerful. A ‘community’ video showcases an array of faces, emotions and greetings that brings people together with a shared experience and team. These people could be employees, or a group of people united in a common goal. It could be grids of faces saying a message in unison, individual greetings, or a group filmed together. There is a lot of room for creativity in this video.
The Objective: Create a sense of interconnectedness and family by seeing and/or hearing from everyone in it.
What They Could Look Like: The most straightforward example of a ‘community’ video is each local team, branch or department of a national or international brand, recording little videos that are then edited all together. This type of video can also be particularly relevant for remote workplaces as well, bringing together people who may otherwise be separated by distance or offices.
Where They Can Be Used: It is ideal for more inward-facing purposes - that’s to say, not for external marketing content. They are perfect for virtual events, onsite summits or communal gatherings where the brand itself is being celebrated.
12. The ‘This Needs Exploring’ Video aka The Web Series
Producing a web series is an ever growing popular way for brands to create a collection of video content that is unified in a common goal or message. You can think of them as short videos that take place in or orbit around your brand. These days, ‘web series’ can be more commonly attributed to a Playlist on a brand’s YouTube account, or on IGTV.
The Objective: Create continuous or evolving content that explores a single idea or theme that is advantageous for the brand to be associated with, or to be giving a voice to.
What They Could Look Like: The content could be a continuous story or a series of one-off episodes, with each video having a standardized template and aesthetic to unify them. It could focus on something a little more trivial, such as showcase standard questions with each episode featuring a different guest answering them. Or it could be something a little more instructional, such as training or cooking videos.
The creative ideas for the concept of a ‘web series’ are endless, however, no matter what, they should be entertaining and engaging for your audience. This should be done not only with the content, but also with a high production value, with motion graphics and professional editing.
13. The ‘We Are Highly Invested In This’ aka The Branded Mini-Documentary
This is like the ‘company culture’ and ‘web series’ joining forces to create an extended film that feels and is produced much more like a cinema experience. It would typically take a company value and use the storytelling style of a documentary to deep-dive into it. Although the content may not focus on the company or product, the film and its message is directly associated with ‘being important’ to the brand.
The Objective: Give resources and a platform to a topic that a brand wants to be positively connected to, and be seen as a thought-leader or advocate in that space.
Where They Can Be Used: This would be treated much more as a feature film, then a video. A brand could build and host a premiere event around releasing the mini-documentary, with accompanying branded panel discussions or Q&As. This is an ideal opportunity to continue connecting your brand with being a thought-leader or advocate of the topic of the mini-documentary.
14. The ‘Long Form Commercial’ aka The Branded Short Film
This is like an extension of the environments, moods and storylines that brands seek to create in a ‘spot’ video. In the same way that music videos can be extended into more ‘short film’ territory, so can a brand with a commercial. These films seek to turn a brand into a cinematic-worthy story - into a work of art.
The Objective: Use storytelling and the art of film to connect brand identity to an aesthetic, emotion or style.
Where They Can Be Used: Just like the ‘mini-documentary’, a ‘branded short film’ should have a premiere event and be treated like the piece of art that it is. It could also be screened as part of an onsite summit or virtual event. Once it is premiered, it can then be made available on social platforms, such as YouTube, to be actively engaged with by your audience through shares and comments.
15. The ‘Shout Out To Some Amazing People’ aka The Exhibitors
As marketeers and event planners, we know how vital exhibitors are to a summit event. Attracting and securing exhibitors is easier when you are able to offer them creative, engaging and worthwhile exposure during your event. Video content can create that offering for you to bring to a potential exhibitor.
The Objective: Use video content to craft more brand mentions for exhibitors.
What They Could Look Like: There are many ways that you get creative and incorporate an exhibitor into any of the video types mentioned above. For example, adapting the ‘employee portrait’ into an ‘exhibitor portrait’.
For a virtual event, something closer to the ‘community’ video that edits together messages from all exhibitors works really well. The idea could be that exhibitors send in a 15 second video that introduces themself, their brand and their product or service. It is then all edited together, or into several smaller videos, and played between program items and used as little ‘breaks’ throughout the broadcast.
16. The ‘Social Media Friendly’ aka The Instagram
This is less of a ‘video type’ as we have described throughout this blog post. However, social media still needs a separate mention and a little examination as viewing video content via Instagram is different than it is on YouTube.
The rules of thumb when it comes to editing a video for Instagram is a 60 second maximum duration and a 1:1 or 4:5 ratio for the Feed and 9:16 for IGTV or Stories. Bonus points for including text captions for any speech, which is ideal for accessibility and viewing without sound.
The Objective: Adapt content to be optimized for viewing on Instagram.
What They Could Look Like: A prime example of what adapting content for Instagram looks like is the ‘sizzle reel’. It should be edited primarily in a 16:9 ratio for a standard screen size and for YouTube. However, an adapted 1:1 or 4:5 ratio version should be used for sharing on Instagram.
When it comes to longer form content - which in the case of Instagram is content more than 60 seconds - you have two options; publish the whole thing on IGTV, or ‘slice it up’.
For example, let’s look at a 15 minute keynote presentation from a live event (aka the ‘TED Talk concept’). On YouTube it would be published in its full cinematic 16:9 ratio. However, that is not optimal for Instagram. So one option is to edit a vertical 9:16 version and upload it to IGTV for people to watch the entirety without leaving Instagram. On the other hand - or maybe both? - that learning content can be ‘sliced up’ into a 60 second, 1:1 or 4:5 ratio ‘golden nugget of information’ from the presentation. It functions both as a taster for people to want more, and as a standalone piece for viewers to feel that they just learnt something new.
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