Top 5 Visual Proof Strategies After Events
Keep them in your back pocket
Hi friend,
How are you? Hope you’re doing great.
One of the common activities I bet you often do is attend events, right?
It’s a great platform for educating yourself about the latest in your field and networking.
And all this, in an in-person environment, you can strike up a conversation with a speaker or panelist who caught your attention or with other attendees who share your interests.
Some could become your customers, investors, employees, or partners.
If you recall, I’ve recently shared a story about the benefits of starting your talk with a relatable short story.
Guess what? You need to tell a good story not only during but also after the event is over.
It’s true whether you play the role of an attendee, speaker, panelist, or tend a booth. Telling a compelling post-event visual story has become essential.
It’s your visual proof that you have actually been there, demonstrating your thought leadership reporting live from the trenches, so to speak…
There are a couple of visual proofing techniques I’ve noticed people use.
Ha! On second read, those “proofing techniques” sound a whole lot like I’m talking about baking the perfect sourdough loaf :)
Figuratively speaking, we do.
When you add compelling visuals to a great story, they sure help it rise in appeal before publishing.
Top 5 Strategies
From simple to advanced.
1. No visual, only text - you let your audience mentally visualize
As it sounds, your social post simply provides a personal account of your experience at the event; key insights you’ve learned, your value-add perceptions, while tagging other people you met there. If you choose this approach, in the absence of a photo from the event, your text needs to work harder. You need to boost the story’s value with gold insights people can readily engage with.
2. Visual, but you’re not in it
It just happened to me a few weeks ago. Before it was my turn to give a 5-minute pitch, I figured I’d ask someone to take a photo of me while speaking. I saw a photographer taking lots of photos on the sidelines, so I figured I’d ask her later. Eventually, nothing came out of it, and I ended up posting my personal experience at the event, without any visual evidence of me speaking. Instead, I used a photo of a panel discussion I watched earlier to give more color to my story. Note to myself, to prepare better the next time.
3. Visual with you on stage in action (speaker or panelist)
Solid visual proof that further validates your story about your stage appearance. Enrich it by what you talked about, who you met, what you learned, and what feedback you received. Several stage angles work well here, or a mix of stage and off-stage pics will paint a richer rounded view of your experience. So, if you plan to speak at an upcoming event without your friends/colleagues, ask someone you’ve just met or the time keeper, typically sitting in the front row, to snap a couple of photos for you.
4. Visual with you in a group photo
This approach is very effective if you attend an event as part of a larger group of people, like your company, an organization you belong to, or strangers you clicked with during the event. This is a great visual proof to support your story, because it conveys a spontaneous social bond, fun, and above all, that sense of FOMO vibe for your followers :)
5. Visual with you at the media wall
Tried-and-true tactic to throw some celebrity stardust on your event story, you want to share with your followers. This approach comes in two flavors: solo or group. For a group photo, you want to tell interesting tidbits about the people in the picture and how you found each other, by chance, good ol’ friend reuniting, or a bold name that accepted your persistent plea for a quick photo op.
Yep! You’re absolutely correct! I focused only on photo strategies; the next level up in visual proofing is, of course, sharing video clips from the event.
However, it takes more planning, a videographer, and editing than the immediacy of shooting & posting.
A visual proof works miracles to enrich your live-reporting or post-event story to build your brand authority and bring about your unique perspectives on timely topics.
Now that I’ve thrown a bunch of strategies at you - some I bet you’re already doing - it’s just a matter of picking the ones that you feel comfortable with.
Once you do, preparing in advance for whatever approach you choose ensures you’ll be ready when the right moment arrives.
Lastly, the general rule of thumb is that photos with faces always engage better. So, mix a nice blend of A and B roll photos from the event to bring it to life.
Just don’t forget to smile…
See you next time!
Best,
- Shlomi
Shlomi Ron
Chief Storytelling Officer
shlomi@visualstorytell.com
Visual Storytelling Institute
story > visual > emotion > experience
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