#ContentWritingChat Recap: Repurposing Your Event Experiences
Express Writers

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Repurposing Your Event Experiences Into Brand-Building Content with Cathy McPhillips

by | May 10, 2019 | ContentWritingChat

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Repurposing Your Event Experiences Into Brand-Building Content with Cathy McPhillips

These days, in-person events are the place to be if you want to expand your knowledge, strengthen your skills, and network with others in your industry.

But while these events are beneficial for you, it’s also smart to turn them into something valuable for your audience as well. And that’s exactly what we’re talking about in this month’s #ContentWritingChat!

Before you head out to your next event, start planning how you can repurpose your experience into a fresh piece of content your community is sure to love and learn from.

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Repurposing Your Event Experiences Into Brand-Building Content with Cathy McPhillips

Our guest host for this month’s chat was Cathy McPhillips. Cathy is the VP of Marketing for our friends over at Content Marketing Institute. And since CMI has their own in-person event, #CMWorld, each year, Cathy knows a thing or two about turning event sessions into incredible online content for their audience to consume.

Q1: Why should we be creating fresh content from live events we attend? How is it beneficial for brand-building?

Is it really worth your time to create content based on the events you attend? Will you actually see any ROI from it? We say YES! Here are some great reasons why it’s beneficial:

Cathy feels live events are the perfect place to collect content. From the speakers, sessions, and conversations you have from others, there’s a lot to take in that can be repurposed into original content afterwards.

Gaby said you can use event experiences to create content that shares your own insights, sparks new conversations, builds connections, grows awareness of your brand, and establishes thought leadership.

As Sarah said, we can take what we’ve learned from an event and then share a fresh piece of content that features our unique take on the topic at hand. She feels this helps to build credibility while also strengthening relationships.

Joining timely conversations is a great way to gain exposure for your brand and this includes talking about events that are going on at the moment. But as Lexie said, you need to make sure you’re putting your own spin on the content you’re sharing.

If you need an example to draw inspiration from, check out how Julia recapped an event she spoke at. People who weren’t able to attend still get to hear the advice from her talk, thanks to this recap.

Q2: When creating content, you have to keep your audience in mind. How do you decide what to share with them and what would be valuable?

There’s a lot to take in when attending events. So much so that it can be hard to figure out what’s worth sharing with your audience. This advice will help you figure it out:

Cathy suggests checking out the agenda for the conference beforehand. This way, you’ll know what to expect in terms of speakers and topics being discussed. You can then plan your content accordingly and have it in mind when you’re attending various sessions.

It’s also smart to see what your audience is already engaging with. This way, you can create similar content from your event experiences. If there’s a particular topic that really seems to resonate with your audience, you can build off of that.

Carla’s advice is to think about the problems you can solve for your audience. What are they struggling with and what will you learn at the event that could help them? That’s what you should be sharing.

Consider what your audience is interested in, what they want and need, and what their pain points are. Create the content that is going to address their concerns.

Before the event, you can spend time engaging with your audience to figure out what they’d be interested in seeing so you can arrive at the event prepared.

And another great piece of advice is to consider the questions you had going into the event. There’s a good chance your audience is wondering the same things, so you can seek the answers and share them afterwards.

Q3: What kinds of content can you create from your event experience? Is one content format better than another?

Blog posts, videos, podcast episodes… There are so many different ways to create content online. So, how do you choose the best format for sharing about your event experience? Here’s what you need to know:

Cathy suggests doing live videos, interviews, and Instagram or Facebook Stories while you’re at the event. It allows you to make use of the time there, while also making your audience feel like they’re there alongside you.

Lexie thinks creating multiple content formats is the way to go. This way, you have something for everyone in your community.

After an event, Julia likes to create a video with captions, a blog post, social media content, and slides in the form of a PDF. This gives people plenty of options so you audience can consume content in their preferred way.

You can’t go wrong with infographics, videos, audio, and photos. Just get creative with it!

Videos, round-up posts with slides, and posts that feature expert advice are all great options.

You can even create a mini ebook sharing tips and tricks that you learned at the event.

Q4: How do you choose what to prioritize when attending events with a jam-packed schedule?

Because events can be so busy with multiple sessions going on at the same time, it can be hard to choose which ones you should attend and which ones to skip. Here’s some great advice to keep in mind:

The most important thing to consider is why you’re attending this event. What are you hoping to get out of it? You can then choose the right sessions based off of your current personal goals, as well as the the things you want to achieve in the next 6-12 months. Cathy also suggests considering what sessions would most resonate with your audience so you can attend those as well.

John agrees that it’s all about determining why you’re there. This way, you can prioritize the sessions that matter the most to you and your end goals.

Gaby is also in favor of setting goals for the event! Are you there to learn, connect, or collaborate? This determines what you’ll want to prioritize.

Lexie suggests taking a look at the topics and speakers so you can choose the ones that are most appealing to you. What are you most interested in learning about and sharing with your audience?

Think about which sessions and speakers are going to benefit you and your company the most in the long-run.

Sam’s advice is to attend sessions on topics you’re familiar with and want to learn more about, topics your audience is familiar with and wants to learn more about, and topics you’re unfamiliar with and that will challenge you in some way.

For Michelle, she prioritizes events based on the speaker. This comes before the topic for her in most cases.

Monina’s advice is to interact with the speakers before the event. This way, you can get a feel for them and the topics they’ll cover. Then, you can decide if it’ll be interesting to you.

And of course, keep Lauren’s advice in mind… Do your research and create a plan ahead of time so you can make the most of the event.

Q5: How can we really absorb information and make events an amazing experience?

To make sure you’re really taking in the information during the sessions you attend, keep this advice in mind:

Cathy has tons of great advice to help you make the most of any event. She said you should plan ahead when it comes to knowing which sessions you’ll attend, connect with speakers ahead of time online, and don’t try to do it all while you’re there.

Lexie said it’s time to put your phone away! Don’t allow your phone to distract you during valuable sessions because it can prevent you from soaking up valuable information.

John agrees that it’s better to ditch the phone during sessions.

Julia’s advice is to LISTEN! Put the phone away and really soak in what the speakers have to say. You can use your phone to take notes and record things, but don’t let it be a distraction.

We couldn’t have said it better: be present in the moment.

Bring a notebook and jot down what you learn. If you have the ability to, watch video sessions of the events you attended afterwards. This way, you can pick up on anything you may have missed.

Bill suggests creating an recap blog after the event or sharing takeaways with your team. It’s a great way to keep everything you learned fresh in your mind.

Q6: What tools can we use to help us take notes during live events?

To easily take notes during sessions, here are some tools you can use to jot down tips, ideas, and more:

You can’t go wrong with a notebook for jotting things down, but if you’re a digital person, Evernote is great as well. Cathy also suggests using an audio recorder or purchasing post-show videos or audio so you’ll always have it to refer to.

Evernote is a great way to take notes digitally.

Lauren suggests using a Google Doc and sharing it between your co-workers.

Gaby said to use pen and paper, a notes app on your phone, Google Docs, or Evernote to record what you’ve learned during an event. Her personal favorite is a pen and notebook.

Carla relies on her notebook and her phone.

Q7: Who has done a great job at repurposing event experiences into new content? Share a link with us!

Need some inspiration? Check out the post-event content from these creators!

There’s no denying that Content Marketing Institute does a great job recapping their #CMWorld conference, but Cathy also shared some other creators that are worth checking out.

Julia shared a couple suggestions to help you get inspired, but we’ve also done a few recaps of our own that are worth taking a look at.

Gaby’s workplace even does this for events that happen on their campus.

Q8: What can we do to make sure our next event experience is a hit?

Before you head to your next live event, make sure it’s a hit with this advice from the chat:

Cathy says you should be prepared, but don’t be so rigid in your schedule. Be flexible and allow yourself the opportunity to get away and have a little fun.

Julia also agrees that planning ahead is worth it. She said to consider how you’ll take notes, how you’ll network, which sessions to attend, etc.

If you and your team are going, have everyone go to different sessions. You can meet up later and share what you’ve learned with each other.

Consider what your audience would want to learn and share it with them afterwards.

Learn from the mistakes you made at past events (if any). This way, you can make the experience better each and every time.

Join us for #ContentWritingChat on the first Tuesday of every month at 10 AM Central! Follow @ExpWriters and @writingchat for all the latest.

Free download content checklist

Tags: events