Are you constantly asking “was that everything” or “is that it” after your events? Worse yet, maybe you feel the attendees are asking themselves the same questions whether that event is remote, or in person. At the end of the day we want our events to be memorable and, something the audience talks about and even draws value from days, weeks, and months later.
Hybrid, or fully virtual events have placed an emphasis during the pandemic on making sure that the content from the event remains available to attendees in various forms. If we truly value the ability for attendees to reconnect with the content and the ideation that occurs at most events, we must keep it readily available to them.
Here are a few tips for creating events & event content that is memorable and useful over time to not only attendees but future people you’re able to reach as well.
Post Event Podcasts or Webinars
You can take video samples or audio clips from the event itself as the likelihood is that it is already recorded given today’s event landscape. You can then interweave these as thought starters for further topical discussions that will be explored deeper on a podcast series or a webinar (or even multiple webinars). We recently noticed a CPG brand (that will go unnamed) had a supplier summit with approximately 2,500 attendees both virtually and in person. They then launched a post event podcast series that discussed topics relating to visual merchandising, store improvements at several of their retail partners, and product education. The event information lived on and was even expanded upon in the podcast. It’s time to rethink events in that they can in certain circumstances serve as the overview, the hype builder, and the place for conversation, while what follows can act as the deep dive into content, and learnings from that information.
Highlight Reels Are A Real Thing
Strategically sending out various topical highlight reels in an email series, or personalized message over 6 weeks fewer post event can make all the difference in retaining knowledge and information shared during the event. Controlling the viewers emotion through music, key quotes, and highlights from the event can rekindle the excitement of the event itself for post-event attendees.
Ideation & Implementation Review Sessions
Many of us go to events and think, “Wow, these are some awesome ideas,” and then we find ourselves several months later not having implemented them, or worse yet not remembering many of them. You can create aa virtual session 30-60-90 days post the event and bring attendees back together to share what they have done since they event to implement ideas that were shared. This is also a good time to remind the attendees of the ideas that were discussed in case some have forgotten.
This session would serve as a reminder of the great topics covered at the event, inspire attendees to take action and remind people how good the gathering was. It might be even an opportunity to get people to register for the next one.
Keynote Speaker One-on-One’s
Having 15-20 min one-on-one opportunities to speak with various keynote speakers post event and apply learnings to your own brands or teams from those conversations are crucial. This can make the attendee feel empowered and also leave a lasting differentiation from other events.
