7 simple ways video marketing can boost your event ticket sales
Boosting event ticket sales, organizing and marketing an event isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Though you can book the best venue, arrange for the most savory and delicious catering, and schedule the best speaker – the event might fail flat on its feet if no one turns up on the event’s date.
It’s a similar story to launching any other new website. While you can fill it with engaging and well-written content, create an attractive web design, and invest in marketing (for example, monitor banner ads on e-commerce), it may not be enough to gather a sufficient audience.
What is video marketing?
Video marketing is your one-stop solution for attracting customers and selling tickets for your event.
Why is video marketing the next big thing for events?
Video is virtually everywhere, and you couldn’t possibly search the internet for some time without seeing a video clip of some sort.
That’s why video marketing for events is becoming increasingly common among events teams.
The primary goal of making videos for your event is to encourage prospective attendees to buy tickets, but you can even use it to create interest and engagement during and after an event.
While creating a video might seem daunting at the start, it can increase your ticket sales by manifolds, making your efforts worthwhile.
In this article, we discuss a few ways video marketing can boost your event ticket sales.
7 Ways video marketing can boost your event ticket sales
To understand how to increase ticket sales, use the following strategies:
1. Create videos that create a buzz
When using event video marketing to increase your online ticket sales, focus your efforts on three videos, two before the event and one video after the event.
Before the start of your event, focus on creating a ticket launch video that encourages registrations, builds buzz, and creates excitement among your customers. After a few days of releasing your first video, send a reminder video that addresses commonly asked questions of attendees leading up to the event.
This can help in encouraging more registrations and ticket sales.
After your event, don’t forget to create a fantastic video that captures the precious moments of your event and serves as a strong marketing portfolio for your next event. While the purpose of every video is different and based on your event’s goal, you can create these videos.
For instance, a launch video increases your online ticket sales. In contrast, a FAQ video might be beneficial for increasing engagement, which encourages customers to register and buy tickets for your event.
2. Use videos to create scarcity
While it might seem a dominant aspect of ecommerce marketing, creating urgency and scarcity can fuel sales and ensure you sell more online tickets.
To achieve this, you can create short teaser videos that offer glimpses of your event and play with deadline variants to make your event more desirable. Even the worst procrastinators might feel encouraged to purchase a ticket instead of waiting for the last day.
Low availability can persuade customers to buy tickets, especially if you sell VIP ticket packages or add-on experiences. Offering limited early bird tickets for events and conferences and first-row seating at live shows are a few examples of using the scarcity tactic in your event video marketing.
Brands wishing to go one step further can show the number of event tickets already purchased and use the fear of missing out (FOMO) tactics. What distinguishes this tactic is that it works with 60% of millennials.
Having ‘limited runs’ that never run out can tarnish your event’s reputation. When customers see the same ‘limited ticket’ offer for days together since the start of your campaign, they’re less likely to believe your offer.
Use scarcity marketing, but avoid losing your event’s genuineness by running the same scarcity marketing campaign until your event starts.
3. Kick-off promotion before your event
A few weeks or one month before your event, kick off the promotion using video marketing to help customers fit your event into their schedule.
While you might feel tempted to add every detail in your first video, pick two to three critical points. For all videos that you use for one event, design a base creative theme that allows you to create multiple promotional videos.
This allows you to merge information. The same theme can improve brand or event recognition. Divulge more about your event and create excitement by using pre-event video marketing.
This pre-event video marketing helps you amplify attention and creates interest in your event.
4. Promote videos across online channels
Rather than focusing on only a single social media channel, a powerful video marketing strategy requires many layers. While billions of customers worldwide use Facebook, others are not actively using it.
Having a multi-channel approach keeps your target audience engaged and thinking about your event while browsing online.
Start your video promotion from your homepage. Such videos can ensure website visitors are aware of your event and encourage them to purchase tickets.
Also, as YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google, focus on uploading your promotional videos on this platform to reach a higher audience.
Another overlooked platform for video marketing is email marketing. According to research, the presence of the word ‘video’ in your email subject line boosts your open rate by 19%. This tactic encourages viewership and customers to purchase event tickets and connects attendees after your event.
5. Include a video on your ticket sales page
According to research, video content can enhance landing page conversion by 80%. Making video a part of your ticket sales page or landing pages can increase conversion and help you sell more tickets
online.
If you create multiple videos, write a blog post with each. After publishing your blog posts, share them on social media and share the link with popular influencers in your niche who might share these videos with their followers.
If you have key speakers performing during your event, ask them to share videos with their followers and on their social media channels. You can even request the event’s sponsors to share videos on their channels.
Also, promote the blog post and video on different channels multiple times because posting only once might not create the required buzz.
If you have a sufficient marketing budget, invest in Facebook Ads to promote your video content further.
Your primary goal is to put your video in front of as many people as possible, with the understanding that seeing a video once might not convince them to buy tickets. Instead, being patient and persistent with your event video marketing and using them on your landing pages can help you reap benefits and ensure faster ticket sales.
6. Strategically place your CTA
Your call-to-action (CTA) is essential to video marketing because it shows viewers the next step they need to take. But how do you place CTAs in videos encouraging viewers to purchase
tickets for your event?
While you might be intrigued to place the CTA at the end of your video, not many viewers would watch your video until the end. To ensure your viewers see your CTA, place it in the middle of your video.
Besides choosing the appropriate place for your CTA, provide clear instructions on what you expect the viewer to do. Rather than saying ‘buy tickets,’ use clear language like ‘Click to link to know more about the event’ or ‘Click on the link to RSVP.’
Viewers are less likely to take the desired step if your CTA is unclear and confusing.
7. Bundle your tickets with other offers
While increasing ticket sales is your event marketing objective, it’s not the only way to drive pre-event revenue.
Event companies and organizers that bundle tickets with other value-added elements can secure higher sales and give customers more choices. While providing tiered access is a tried and tested way of selling more tickets, you can bundle it with food and drinks.
Often, companies offer deals and discounts on travel, accommodations, and events spanning one or two days. Thinking out-of-the-box can increase your ticket sales and maximize your profit in advance.
Reasons to use video marketing to promote your event
Even though video marketing for events has been around for quite some time, not many companies are leveraging its benefits. While you might find ten reasons for not using event video marketing, there are a thousand reasons to promote your event using video marketing:
- 80% of people can remember video ads for up to 30 days.
- Videos get shared 12 times more than photos and texts.
- 90% of customers rely on video to decide whether to make a purchase.
- According to 87% of marketers, video can generate good ROI for their business.
- Video uploads have increased by 263.4% in five years.
Key takeaways
In today’s technologically laden world, there is no better way for your audience to feel the buzz surrounding your event than video.
Whether you are conducting an online or offline ticket, video could be a go-getter in helping you sell tickets and encourage users to attend your conference.
Though it takes a lot of creativity and time to promote your event, the results you get are vital and increase your revenue.
Video marketing can make or break your event!
This article was written and co-developed with Priya Jain who has been copywriting professionally for over eight years.
About the Author / Akeem Okunola
