Five Tips on Using Video To Generate Excitement


Social Media Spotlight: Second of a Four-part Series

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s the price of a moving picture? Some video is worthy of high-quality production but you can also get a decent bang for your buck with a smartphone and a quick upload to YouTube. No one knows this better than renowned trade-show industry consultant and thought leader Traci Browne.

The author of “The Social Trade Show” has graciously provided us with a series of blog posts that we’ll be posting right here — and in the Exhibitor Resource Center at shotshow.org — each week for the next four weeks in advance of the 2013 SHOT Show.

I’ll also be giving away free copies of Traci’s book each week. The first six exhibitors (and you need to be a SHOT Show exhibitor to qualify) to send me an email (be sure to include your mailing address) requesting a copy will receive one. Ready. Set. Go!

 

Five Tips on Using Video To Generate Excitement

With YouTube being the second most popular search engine just behind Google and 800 million unique users visiting each month, why wouldn’t you want to add video to your marketing mix?

1. Give SHOT Show attendees a sneak peek at new products or services.

Are you introducing a new product or service at SHOT Show this year? Give attendees a little taste of what you are going to present and get them excited about coming to your booth to see the real thing. Don’t give away too much on the video. If it’s a product you could just show the silhouette and leave them hungry for more.

Do you have a new service? Tease attendees with a few key features and invite them to your booth to find out how it can benefit them. The idea here is to present just enough information to leave them wanting more.

2. Use video to tell attendees about a big announcement you are making at the show.

Some companies only need to mention they are making an announcement at the show to generate excitement. Maybe you want to keep it top secret and even a peek at your product is too much to reveal. Create a video that lets attendees know where and when you are making your announcement and then be sure you’re ready for the crowd. For an idea how to do this, take a look at Samsung’s teaser video for their product launch at International CTIA Wireless 2011 at http://bit.ly/samsungsts

Just make sure your announcement warrants something so secretive or it will backfire when attendees leave your booth having expected something bigger.

3. Create a video invite to your presentation.

Are you presenting as part of the SHOT Show educational program? Or even an educational presentation in your booth? Give attendees a taste of what they can expect by having your presenter share key takeaways of the presentation.

Keep it short. The object isn’t to give a condensed version of the entire presentation–just good reasons for why they should attend and what they’ll miss out on if they don’t. And don’t forget to include dates, times and locations for the presentation in your video.

4. Use video to live stream or capture in booth presentations

Not everyone is going to be able to attend your live presentation. Have someone capture it on video so it’s available to attendees later. And not just attendees but once it’s online you have a nice piece of marketing the whole world can view.

Just make sure if you are shooting video of a product demo the camera should be focused on the product–not the speaker. Also be sure to zoom in on key features as they are presented.

5. Capture amazing marketing moments during the show.

You just never know when marketing gold is going to walk into your booth during a show. Have that video camera ready for impromptu interviews with customers who are excited about your company and or your products. No one can sell you better than a happy client.

Otterbox captured a great customer testimonial in their booth when one excited customer stopped by to see what was new. You can view that video at http://bit.ly/otterboxvideo.

A good video should be representative of your customer, engage the viewer, show not tell, and be shorter than 3-5 minutes. It should also have a clear call to action at the end.

Post these great videos on YouTube and start sharing. Just don’t forget to take the time to include keyword tags when you are posting to YouTube so people can find them when they are searching the Internet.

Traci Browne
Author of “The Social Trade Show – Leveraging Social Media and Virtual Events to Connect With Your Customers”
www.TheSocialTradeShow.com

One thought on “Five Tips on Using Video To Generate Excitement”

  1. Hi – we have made a list of the top hunting/shooting/fishing YouTube channels in the world (NSSF is number 27!). Have a look at http://www.fieldsportschannel.tv/biggest-huntingshootingfishing-youtube-channels/

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