We already know that business photography can enhance your brand, but there’s another type of professional content that can bolster your brand’s marketing strategy, and that’s event photography and videography. The right photos and videos will convey the feel, the experience, and the sense of excitement that an event evoked, and in turn, can have a huge impact on your marketing strategy. Keep reading for a summary of the key benefits and tips to ensure you make the most of your event photography and videography.

What are the benefits of professional event photography and videography?

Today’s marketing strategies are built on visual content. This means that the more photo and video production content you have to draw upon, the better off you’ll be. If your business hosts events regularly, then you should be viewing these as opportunities to create even more content for your digital marketing strategy. Showcasing professional photos and videos from these events has a whole host of benefits, including:

1. Boosts engagement

When you hire a great event photographer and videographer to capture your event, you will end up with stunning content that will inspire your audience on social media and enhance your online presence. The best part is that visual content, especially video content, is known for garnering a much higher percentage of likes, comments, and views than text-only content. The more your followers engage with your posts, the more it is likely to be shared and reach new audiences.

2. Fosters trust and connection

Another perk of event videography and photography is that this type of content fosters trust and connection. Professional event photos and videos can be used as a form of storytelling that give your audience insight into who your brand is, what it’s all about, and who the people are behind the scenes (make sure your event videographer captures memorable BTS footage—you would be surprised to know how much audiences can relate to this type of authentic content).

3. Strengthens brand reputation

When you showcase your events in a professional light through polished imagery and video production, this will reflect back on you. The more professional your content looks, the more professional your brand will look. Professionalism lends credibility, so whether you’re trying to attract new customers, partners, or stakeholders, the right photos can give you a huge advantage.

4. Maximizes event impact

One final benefit of professional event photography and videography is that it can extend the impact of your event. With professional event photos and videos in the bank, your event can live on long after it ends. Many brands choose to leverage event content in the short-term, e.g. sharing it on social media, sending galleries directly to attendees, or highlighting the success of the event through photos and video in an email newsletter.

However, there are also plenty of long-term possibilities as well. For example, you can use the photos to update your website, in press releases and marketing campaigns, and of course, to promote any future events your business plans to host. Both these short-term and long-term options allow you to maximize the value of the investment you made in hosting the event and in hiring a professional event photographer and videographer.

Tips to get the most out of your event photography and videography

There’s lots going on when you’re preparing for an event, but make sure that you set aside time to plan out your event content strategy. We’ve put together a few industry tips and tricks to ensure you end up with fabulous event content you can leverage for your marketing strategy.

1. Hire professionals

First and foremost, make sure to hire a professional event photography team. Work these fees into your budget, or you could regret it, ending up with nothing more than shaky iPhone videos from your attendees. Even if your event has a photo-booth (which can certainly elevate the guest experience) you still want a professional photographer that will capture more than just the faces of attendees. Remember that an event photographer’s job is to capture the spirit and excitement of an event.

It’s also best to hire a team of professional photographers and videographers who specialize in event photography. These teams understand the flow of events and how and when to capture the important moments. This may not be the case with professional photographers who have other specialties. Look for an event content team that has a reputation for being punctual, detail-oriented, and has a proven track record of work.

2. Curate a strategic event shot list

As the event host, it’s your job to provide your photographers with a shot list. While a seasoned event videographer or photographer will likely know how to capture an event when they see one, it’s still important to think strategically about the event content you want, especially if you plan to incorporate it into your marketing strategy.

When developing an event shot list, you will want to consider what types of shots are currently missing from your content bank (e.g. product shots, team photos, etc.), as well as the types of content that resonate best with each marketing channel. Keep in mind that what works on social media may not be the best option for email or web. Even different social media platforms have different content needs—what you post on LinkedIn most likely won’t be the same as what you share on TikTok or Instagram. To get you started, we’ve put together a list of marketing mediums and the types of content that might be best suited to them:

• Website: static brand imagery and blog content
• Social media: unique shots to suit specific platforms with a focus on short-form video content
• Email: wide banner shots to headline email newsletters
• Paid advertising: mobile-focused framing to feature in social media feeds
• Print media: wide shots of larger spaces to fill full-page ads

Start capturing content before the event begins

Though you might think that event photography begins when the event starts, this doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, if you have the budget for it, we recommend hiring the photographer for a few extra hours before the event. This way, you will end up with professional photos and videos of all the hard work that your team put into hosting the event. You might be surprised to learn just how much audiences love BTS footage. This type of content may allow you to connect with your audience on a deeper level, by giving them a peek behind the curtains and introducing them to key team members.