When planning an event, you’ll often dedicate weeks or even months to preparing and figuring out your event type. After all of your hard work, it’s not unusual to want your event to leave a lasting impression on your audience and for your content to live on.
Luckily, that’s where an event recap video comes in handy. If you’re wondering what that is or how to make a recap video for your next in-person or virtual event, then read on.
What is an Event Recap Video?
Event recap videos are short-form videos that give a brief summary of an event that has already come to an end. The videos usually last anywhere from one to three minutes and highlight the best part of the events, capturing various sights and sounds as they happen live. Videos may feature guest speakers, audience reactions, and emotions. They are a quick and easy way to showcase an event’s purpose and allow its highlights to live on forever.
A videographer team consisting of a producer, director, camera operator, and other professionals, works to capture the event as it happens. An editor then edits the video clips to be short and engaging.
The editor uses soundbites, captivating music, overlay graphics, and text to tell the story of your event. You can then either approve it for publication or ask for revisions.
Those with access to the video can easily share it across digital platforms, including social media. Videos are also often sent through email as a memento for attendees who want to relive the moments or share them with their family and friends. But the goal of the video goes beyond just being able to share and remember.
In fact, these videos are great marketing tools that can promote future events and increase brand awareness. Posting them on websites such as YouTube and Facebook allows them to be easily shared and accessed by both old and new audiences. The more shares your video receives, the more people will become aware of your brand identity, and the more likely it is you’ll receive a new following.
10 Tips for Creating Captivating Event Recap Videos
How do you create a captivating event recap video that will attract both new and old audiences alike? Here are a few tips you and your team can work on together to make a successful event recap video.
1. Define Your Audience Persona, Objective, and Tone
The first step of your video recap journey is identifying and understanding your target audience. If you haven’t done this already, don’t worry — creating a persona can make it easy.
Picture it like crafting a fictional profile that embodies your ideal attendees — what they like, what gets them excited, and even the challenges they face. With this detailed audience persona, you’ll get inside their heads and understand what makes them tick while helping you figure out your overall objective. This way, you can create an event that speaks directly to their hearts, giving them an experience they won’t forget.
These audience personas aren’t just for show and tell — you can also use them in your marketing endeavors. With an understanding of your target personas, you can decide the best ways to reach your audience. For example, you can learn the social media platforms they hang out on and the messages and tones that best resonate with them. This level of personalization and targeted approach enhances the overall success and impact of the event.
For example, if your audience is on Instagram and you’re wondering how to make a recap video on Instagram, look no further than AMA West Hare Scramble and their race recap videos. With this, you’ll get an idea of how to formulate your own event recap video template.
2. Plan Your Shots Ahead Of Time
By planning your shots ahead of time, you’ll be able to capture your event’s message effectively in your video content. There are two benefits to capturing your event’s story. You’ll be able to:
- Resonate with your primary audience or the guests who attended your live event.
- Reach a wider audience, including possible customers and talent acquisitions.
So, make sure you plan and capture the most meaningful shots.
Include a mix of close-ups, wide-angle shots, and candid moments. Close-ups allow viewers to connect with the emotions and reactions of attendees, while wide-angle shots showcase the overall atmosphere and scale of the event. Candid moments add an authentic touch that can engage and resonate with viewers on a more personal level.
3. Capture Diverse Footage of Key Moments
An amazing event video should highlight the best moments of your event, so be sure to include a lot of diversity. Showcase any big-name speakers and brands that spoke at your event as well as audience reactions. But you don’t have to stop just at the live footage. Be sure to include behind-the-scenes moments, too. Overall, your footage should include the following:
- Key moments, such as those that present a challenge and demand a response
- Prominent guest speakers
- The results and metrics of your event
- How many attendees and influencers showed up
- Emotional value, set forth by motion graphics that depict the atmosphere
4. Focus on Storytelling
Your event isn’t just a gathering of people; it’s a captivating story waiting for you to tell.
When you focus on storytelling in your event recap video, you transport your audience back in time and immerse them in the essence of those magical moments. Think about it this way: Your event has its own unique narrative, filled with emotions, interactions, and memorable highlights. Crafting your video around this captivating tale will keep your viewers engaged.
Remember, storytelling is the key to connecting with your audience on a deeper level. It allows you to weave a cohesive and meaningful video that resonates not only with the attendees who experienced the event firsthand but also with those who might be discovering your brand for the first time.
5. Use Quality Video Production Equipment
You’re going to want your video filmed in high quality. As an event organizer, your event should be your pride and joy, and you must treat it as such. Investing in high-quality video production equipment will ensure that your video is shot professionally and doesn’t look sloppy.
Aside from the equipment, you’ll want to ensure that your footage contains no blurriness, shakiness, poor audio quality, low-quality graphics, or even lackluster editing. Sloppy footage may turn away viewers, and your audience may feel that you were being lazy, resulting in reputational damage to your brand.
6. Add Motion Graphics, Transitions, and Text Overlays
Whether you’re editing a piece of content yourself or hiring someone else to edit it for you, you’ll want to ensure that your video contains more than just live footage. Motion graphics are a good way of adding depth to your event’s story. Transitions help jump easily from one idea to the next instead of awkwardly jumping between unrelated scenes. Text overlays are a growing trend across social media to add text elements across videos to tell even more of a story.
One event recap example that includes perfect transitions comes from Truss. Their dynamic use of transitional elements brought their event recap to life in their post event recap example.
7. Incorporate Attendee Testimonials for Social Proof
Customer testimonials and online reviews play a crucial role in influencing purchase decisions. In fact, according to BigCommerce, 92% of consumers read customer testimonials and online reviews to help decide whether or not to make a purchase. By showcasing positive feedback from your event attendees, you not only build trust and credibility for your brand but also create a compelling reason for future attendees to join in and be a part of your future events.
8. Choose Captivating Music
Music is magical — it can transport you to a new world. It can set the mood, evoke emotions, and bring about excitement. When used in an event recap video, music can bring about strong feelings in every frame. However, music doesn’t always fit in every frame, so be careful where you incorporate it.
Additionally, just like each event is unique, the music you choose should perfectly complement its vibe. For example, festivals should have an upbeat tune, while formal events should stick to elegant background music.
9. Keep it Concise and Engaging
As the name implies, event recap videos summarize your event. As such, don’t drag it out or make it unnecessarily long — avoid the urge to include every moment that happened at your event.
Instead, keep it short and engaging. In fact, most recaps are around the minute mark, though some can expand to three minutes. With platforms like Instagram and TikTok, shorter is almost always better and will be sure to keep your audience’s attention for longer.
10. Add a Call-To-Action
Here’s your chance to convert. Add a compelling call-to-action (CTA) near the end of your video to prompt your viewers to take action and be a part of your next incredible event. Try something along the lines of “Join us at our next event. Visit our website for upcoming dates and ticket details.” or “Want to experience the magic in person? Hit that like button and follow [or subscribe] for event updates and exclusive offers.
Get The Most of Your Event Promotion With Our Marketing Tools
Organizing an event can be a tedious and time-consuming task, but it doesn’t have to be. With the latest in event technology at your fingertips, you’ll be able to handle everything from ticket sales to promotional and marketing campaigns. Start creating your event today.
