Not using video as part of your event promotion strategy? You’re not alone.

Video is incredibly effective, but it can also be intimidating. You may want your videos to look polished and professional, but you may not have the budget to hire someone to do it right. Ideally, you might hope one day to have the time to learn how to do so yourself.

But waiting for that day could be sabotaging you, as you miss out the opportunity to catch potential attendees’ attention. On social media, in particular, video is consumers’ favourite type of branded content, according to Animoto’s 2018 State of Social Video report.

Let’s face it – it’s time to start using video. Here are the reasons why you should prioritise video now!

Reason #1: Video can be low cost.

Yes, it would cost a lot of money to hire a videographer to document your entire event and turn that raw footage into polished final videos. But you also don’t need to hire a professional to achieve a high calibre of video.

High-quality video production has never been cheaper. The camera quality of iPhones and other smartphones gets better with each new release, so shooting your own footage is a solid option. You can then take your video footage and still shots and place them into event-specific templates available for free from Animoto.

Today, only a minority of smaller businesses go to agencies or freelancers to produce their videos. Instead, they DIY it, then save their marketing budget for getting those videos in front of the right audience.

Related: How to Engage Consumers with Great Video Promotion

Reason #2: Producing video doesn’t have to be time-consuming

Producing pro-quality video might seem like a huge undertaking to an event marketing team that’s already stretched thin with daily to-dos. But, if you’re already at your event, why not get your phone and start recording?

Sally Sargood, Video Production Manager for Animoto, says, “I always encourage people who are scared of video to take quick clips on their iPhone in the moment. Short clips can best capture the energy of your event.”

On a busy event day, perhaps this is a task you delegate to an assistant. On platforms like Instagram Stories, this raw footage can be uploaded immediately, no editing needed.

Related: The Complete Guide To Video Marketing for Events

Reason #3: You don’t need a pro videographer to create great content

Once you’ve shot your footage, how do you turn all that disorganised raw footage into a nicely packaged final video? This is the step that mystifies a lot of event marketers, who are under the misconception that pro-quality video needs professionals to produce.

This is where DIY event video templates come in. With free event video templates from Animoto, even the least techy person can compile raw content into a slick finished video. It’s a pretty easy process:

  1. Pick a template from the list
  2. Drag and drop your images or video clips into the Video Builder
  3. Customise the text
  4. Make your video on brand with your logo and colours
  5. Share wherever you want — social media, your website, YouTube, email marketing

If you can use a smartphone, you have the technical chops to produce your own event marketing videos.

Reason #4: Video has tangible ROI

Let’s take a look at the numbers. When asked which type of content gets the best ROI (return on investment) on social media, the top response to an Animoto survey was video marketing. What’s more, 88% of marketers say they’re satisfied with the ROI of their video marketing efforts on social media.

Adding video to your website can increase your chances of landing in the first page of Google search results by a factor of 53, according to MarTech. And Forbes reports that the majority (51.9%) of marketing experts agree that video has the best return on investment of any type of marketing tactic.

Reason #5: Your competitors are already using video and seeing results.

Your competitors may already be using video for their events, and already seeing an ROI. If you aren’t getting in on the action, your event won’t stand out online. So start using video for your event today!

Download the Eventbrite Guide to Video for Event Marketing for more information