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John DeMato Blog

Welcome to the Deliver Magic blog, where experts who speak, coach, train, consult, and write books will find actionable insights to elevate their personal brands through visual storytelling. From strategy tips and branding photography to live event coverage and storytelling techniques, discover step-by-step guides designed to help you align what you say with how you show up in photos. Get ready to unlock the magic behind creating a cohesive visual identity that drives engagement, builds credibility, and inspires your audience. #DeliverMagic

Multi-day event = goldmine of visual assets

 

While putting on a multi-day event involves a ton of moving parts…

 
 

…having a photographer capture all those moving parts leads to many benefits after the program ends.

 

Nothing says good time like putting together a massive, multi-layered, multi-day event. 

And by good time, I really mean a loooooot of work. 

I’ve photographed my fair share of these over the years, and the one common denominator amongst them all is how exhausted everyone on the team looks by Day 3. 

Oh, they’re still smiling in the face of the participants and bringing that energy when needed, no doubt…

…but the moment those main session doors close and the staff is in the clear for another 60 minutes, those tired faces present themselves in the back of the room. 

That’s what happens when you put on an amazing, multi-day program. 

But, the juice is ultimately worth the squeeze - not just for the participants who just had their mind blown through several days of awesome content and new connections with fellow participants…

…but also, for the lion's share of visual assets created during the event. 

Between the welcome event, breakouts, keynotes, panels, awards ceremonies, conversations amongst participants in the hallways, and other unique moments that happen during your multi-day event, you have a goldmine of images that can be used for a variety of marketing and promotional purposes.

For example:

Online content 

Pick a photo, any photo, from the hundreds, if not thousands, in the album, and share a story that that picture compliments. 

Perhaps it’s you on stage candidly laughing, a table of participants in group discussion, a behind-the-scenes photo of the staff in action, or a photo of the swag bag. The opportunities to tell stories are endless. 

But, the diverse types of visuals in the album offer you ample amounts of ammunition when sharing compelling and relatable stories with your audience.

Marketing assets for the next event

If there’s one thing that a pile of photos taken at a wonderfully presented event affords you, it’s the opportunity to help promote the next one. 

Offer up a healthy dose of FOMO to folks who missed out on this round with a series of photos that gives them a front row seat to see what they can expect next year. 

Use these images for your website sales/signup page, pdf’s, digital ads, presentation slides, and other digital and printed materials promoting the next conference or summit. 

When you set the scene through compelling visuals, that offers viewers a chance to visualize themselves in the room, which makes it easier for them to get to a buying decision. 

Might as well make the decision easier for them, right? :) 

Marketing materials for services and products offered during the summit

In addition to the actionable content and inspiring stories shared from the stage, are you also selling other services and products during the conference or summit?

  • Certification Program

  • Software solutions 

  • Group coaching

  • 1:1 consulting

  • Books

  • Merchandise

If you’re offering anything outside of the experience of being present in the room to learn, use visuals that capture these products and services to help promote them beyond the event. 

Roll them out in online content, use them for your website, or leverage them as a compelling targeted ad. 

Complimentary photos for guest speakers and panelists

Nothing says THANK YOU more than offering a speaker a portfolio of images of their presentation on your stage. 

Not only do these photos offer the speaker new visuals to incorporate into their marketing strategy, but by sharing those photos, it also indirectly promotes your conference, as well, the moment they talk about their experience from that stage. 

In addition, this gift also aids in the recruitment of new speakers for the next event. A complimentary set of high-quality, presentation photos is a lovely sweetener to the invitation :)

It’s a win-win-in all around. 

While building out a multi-day event is a crap ton of work, the effort affords you long-lasting benefits with regard to the visual assets created. 

The key is to have a strategy in place with your photographer going into the event. 

Let them understand the types of photos that your team needs in the short-and long-term in order to truly maximize their value of being there and capturing the magical moments. 

Otherwise, if there’s no photos of the event, did it really happen (of course it did, I was just being dramatic for a second!)?

Over to you…

Do you have a conference coming up? What is your visual storytelling plan? Don’t have one? Not sure where to start? 

I’m here to help. 

Set up a time to chat with me to see how I can help you with your next multi-day event.