Do you create content at live events? Not just at the events, but before, during and after?
If your answer is no then you are missing a huge content opportunity.
Going to events is a fantastic thing to do, it’s great for learning and it’s great for building relationships. You just cannot beat meeting people face-to-face.
But, they’re also often a huge investment – you’ve investing in yourself which is good, but they can take up a lot of time away from your business and family, and make quite a dent on your bank balance too!
If you’re going to be spending anything from a few days to a week away from your business, you need to make sure that it's worth it. One way you can do this is to create content at live events that you can use as part of your marketing strategy.
Listen to the podcast episode where we share 8 ways to create content from your live events, or read on for more...
Youpreneur Summit & Content Live
I was inspired to create this post because I’ve been to a lot of events recently myself. In the past month I’ve spoken at two fantastic events here in the UK.
On November 3 & 4 I attended Youpreneur Summit in London, which is a brilliant event for entrepreneurs ran by my good friend and mentor Chris Ducker. Chris is also a long-standing client of Content 10x.
I was delighted to take part in the Expert Content Marketing panel, where I was able to share my ideas and passion for content repurposing to over 350 people from over 30 different countries.
Two weeks later, on November 15 & 16 I was delighted to speak at Janet Murray’s Content Live event. I spoke all about, you guessed it…content repurposing. This time I was very much focusing on how you can repurpose content to connect with a much broader audience by always considering the different learning styles.
Entirely Catherine Photography
Both events were fantastic. I had a lot of fun spreading the word about content repurposing.
One thing that really struck me, as a speaker and from an attendee viewpoint, was just how many content opportunities there are when you attend events.
8 tips on how to create content at live events
1. Write engaging blog posts
Events are a brilliant opportunity to meet people in your network that you otherwise wouldn’t get the chance to see, but if you don’t let them know you’re going you’re missing a vital opportunity to network! One way to let people know you'll be there is to write a blog post mentioning it before you attend and after to sum up your thoughts and learnings from the event.
If you’re going to a really large event and the likelihood of bumping into people you may know is slim unless you arrange something in advance, and a blog post provides a talking point to potential attendees.
Even if a large majority of your audience aren’t attending, it’s still very much worthwhile to write about the fact that you are going because it shows that you’re investing in yourself and your own personal development.
For your clients, you're showing them that you always stay on top of what’s going on in your industry. This is bound to impact upon the quality of your service and/or product.
Make sure you write about WHY you’re going, what you hope to get out of it and once you return, write a blog post with the key takeaways from the event. That way, you’re adding value for all the people who didn’t get the chance to go.
If you’re seen as a leader or influencer it’s really important for people to see that you invest in your own knowledge and keep up to date on what’s happening in your industry.
2. Tweet, Tweet, Tweet – Use Twitter/X to create content at live events
Twitter/X is always extremely popular at conferences and events. Attendees will be tweeting non-stop throughout the day, using the event hashtag (be sure to find out what this is…if there is one) and it’s important that you join in the conversation and connect with people using Twitter.
You should be sharing your experiences in the run up to the event, during the event and afterwards, too.
Many people add the hashtag to their name on their Twitter profile so that people can find and follow them when they’re searching for tweets about the event.
Make sure you take photos of the speakers, share the key takeaways from their talks and do plenty of retweeting. The latter allows you to focus on the talks but still share what’s being said with your audience.
Twitter is also a great way to receive feedback on your talk if you’re speaking at an event.
3. Make Instagram & Facebook stories your best friend
People love exploring “behind the scenes” content and this is one of the reasons why Instagram and Facebook stories are so popular. Use them to your advantage!
Instagram stories are short, bitesize 60-second vlogs that force you to be concise and engaging. You can have a lot of fun with them – get other people involved, use the geotagging feature and the event hashtags, too.
4. Create a content plan for your social media accounts
Think about all of the social media channels that you use and create a short plan detailing what you’re going to be sharing to each network and when in the run-up to, during, and after the event.
You could even consider organizing a meet-up at the event using social media. Some events have specific pages on their website to share ‘official’ meet-ups (ones that are organized by the event) and ’unofficial’ meet-ups, where attendees organize their own social events. Get in touch with the organizers to see if they’d be happy to list yours.
5. Let your email subscribers know about the event
One of the best ways to let people know you're going to an event is to let your email subscribers know.
A short email detailing which event you’re going to, why you’re going, what you hope to get out of it and asking if any of your subscribers will be attending is enough.
Make sure you email your subscribers after the event with all the key takeaways from that you learned – you can repurpose your post event blog post for this, too!
6. Use video to your advantage
Events are a brilliant opportunity to develop creative video content that you can use for a variety of different purposes. Think about creating a vlog, a timelapse video or even just record one of the speaker’s talks (if you are allowed, always check the event rules…especially when it comes to livestreaming).
You could even use the event as a way to get quick, interview style videos with people you wouldn’t normally get to spend any face-to-face time with, like the speakers or other attendees.
No fancy cameras are required – your phone is usually all you need.
7. Podcast on the go
If you have a podcast, you can very easily bring along your recording equipment to record interviews while attending events.
It can take a bit of courage to approach people, but take the plunge! There’s opportunity to get some great audio content from people who you would usually be lucky to even get an email back from as they’re so busy. Of course, you can always try to arrange in advance too. Either way, it’ll definitely be worth it.
8. Make sure you have a content mindset
Having a content mindset when you’re at an event will help you when it comes to planning your content.
There is a content opportunity in almost everything!
Think about all the different types of content you can create based on the conversations you’re having with people in your industry AND the questions that people are asking,
Make sure you listen to speakers and other attendees you meet and jot down any notes you have throughout the day of what could make amazing content for your audience.
You really can get so much out of attending events - beyond the content at the event itself. And it doesn't just have to be live in-person events either. Read our blog post on How to Repurpose a Virtual Event with Mark Huber for more information.
How many of the above ideas have you actioned before when it comes to repurposing content from events?
We'd love to hear from you - let us know in the comments below or reach out on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
