When you hear the word “deepfake,” you might immediately think of the ethically ambiguous, fraudulent, or even downright unsettling videos that have bobbled across the internet over the last few years. But as deepfake videos – and the AI technology used to power them – only get more sophisticated, it’s imperative that marketers and creators across every industry learn how they work and explore how they can be applied to get and stay ahead in our changing climate.

For the uninitiated, deepfakes are synthetic media that have been digitally manipulated to replace or replicate a person’s likeness convincingly – resulting in the ability to create videos that look and feel real, but aren’t. It’s understandable, then, that they might get a bad rap for spreading misinformation or exploiting peoples’ likenesses. 

Like any technology, though, it’s all in how you use it. Forward-thinking marketers and creators are already using deepfake technology — responsibly and ethically — to create new art forms, tell new stories, and improve their own video campaigns. 

In this article, we’ll cover some examples of deepfake technology being used for good, as well as ideas on how to experiment with the tech yourself.

What is a deepfake?

A deepfake is a video, or audio recording, of a person whose face or body has been digitally altered. Deepfakes use AI to create likeness, relying on pattern recognition to match expressions, tone, and movement. 

Other terms for a deepfake can include synthetic or artificial media, or AI-generated content.

A brief history of deepfakes

The invention of the Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) began the trend of realistic deepfakes back in 2014. GANs are made up of two artificial intelligence agents that forge images and detect forgery, allowing the AI to improve over time. 

Deepfakes can also be created using a deep learning computer network called a variational auto-encoder (VAE). VAEs are trained to encode images into low-dimensional representations of the subject and then decode those representations back into moving images. 

The term “deepfake” wasn’t coined until 2017, and in 2018, the media almost collectively sounded the alarm over deepfakes – with the first viral deepfake videos featuring Barack Obama and Donald Trump making the rounds on social media.

But deepfakes also have uses that are becoming more and more relevant to everyday marketers – not just hackers or internet trolls trying to spread misinformation.

How do deepfakes work?

Machine learning AI is a critical part of developing a deepfake. Deepfakes depend on this tech to spot trends in visuals and information. 

To make a deepfake video, a developer needs to provide these machine learning algorithms with hours of actual footage, which then trains the deep neural network to recognize patterns, tone, facial expressions, and more. The next step involves combining those learnings with graphics. 

It doesn’t take much to create a deepfake, just existing video or audio of the person you’re trying to recreate. And although it may seem difficult at first, constructing a deepfake doesn’t require complicated tools – only basic graphic design knowledge and video editing skills.

Examples of artful video deepfakes

Marketers are still in early stages of adopting deepfakes and other AI technologies for video and digital marketing. The following deepfake examples don’t exactly fit into a marketer’s toolbox just yet, but they showcase the power of these AI technologies right now.

1. Chris Shimojima’s “Dolche – Big Man”

This stunning Staff Picked music video from filmmaker Chris Shimojima takes deepfake technology and turns it on its head, incorporating faces from 14 different performers (and 40 contributions) to tell a single story. The result is an artful, unexpected combination of tech and human expression.

2. David Beckham’s many languages

Malaria Must Die used AI to manipulate soccer star David Beckham to speak in nine different languages, leveraging deepfake technology to make a big splash and markedly increase their campaign’s reach.

3. Salvador Dali’s museum greeting

It took over 1,000 hours of machine learning for the Dalí Museum to get their deepfake version of Salvador Dali exactly right. This innovation gives museum-goers a new perspective: they get to learn about art from the artist himself!

3 everyday uses for deepfake video tech 

While some applications of deepfakes may be beyond the average marketer’s reach, there are many creative and exciting ways to leverage deepfake tech in your own work. 

• Fix flubbed lines in post: For anyone with even cursory editing experience, you know the trials and tribulations of cutting together polished audio from a more conversational interview. Whether your subject misspoke or simply didn’t answer with a full sentence, using deepfake technology to fill in the blanks is a great way to keep your post-production process moving without the need for reshoots. (Just make sure you get the subject’s permission first, of course!)
  
  
• Personalize customer videos at scale: Marketers can implement easy personalization by sending welcome or product videos that include prospect’s names or their company names. All you need is their names and enough audio from your on-camera talent for deepfake tech to add it into any video.
  
  
• Localize your videos: Deepfake tech introduces a new world of easy translation. Instead of relying on subtitles, artificial intelligence can insert translated, spoken audio, either created from an audio bank or from the initial actor’s voice.

New tech, new opportunities

We may not know exactly what the future of AI will bring, but one thing is certain: deepfakes aren’t going anywhere. Just as with other AI-powered tech (chatGPT, anyone?), those willing to experiment with deepfakes with eyes wide open to potential pitfalls will be well-suited to compete in the changing video landscape.

Create captivating videos with Vimeo

Human memory is tricky. You may have heard that when people learn new information, they forget approximately 75% of it within two days. 

Research suggests that repetition is the key to boosting memory, and video makes rewatching (i.e., repetition) simple. By creating training videos for employees, you can increase the practice of repetition and help your team better retain knowledge, expand their skill set, and do their jobs better.

In this article, we’ll walk through everything you need to know when producing your employee training content. We’ve also included tips from learning and development professionals on how you can set every learner up for success.

What is a training video?

In a business context, a training video provides employees (both new and existing) with the guidance to learn a particular skill or area of knowledge.

When it comes to corporate training, the quality of content and the delivery method matters.
In order to make your training videos impactful and engaging to your staff, we have two main tips.

First, keep it short and sweet. If a video is under 60 seconds, 62% of viewers will watch it to the end. While longer videos may be packed with more information, they may not always be engaging for your audience. Only 26% of viewers will completely watch a video more than 20 minutes long. 

Second, you should consider video trends, like interactivity. When you create training videos for your employees, make sure you’re taking best practices, and your audience’s preferences and learning styles into account (more on this later).

The better the training, the more impact employees can have doing their jobs. By making video content short and sweet, you’re guaranteed to keep your audience’s attention. With interactivity, your team is brought into the story of the learning and helps cultivate an immersive learning environment. 

Investing in a robust training program with video can help your team feel more supported at work and fuel a positive employee experience.

Why make a corporate training video

One of the most important factors to consider during employee training video production is matching the right kind of training with the trainee. Most people are visual learners in some capacity — 90% of the information that is transmitted to your brain is visual in nature. However, people learn in all different ways, even within the medium of video.

Online training tools like videos can result in better information retention, higher engagement, and lower cost for training. Below, we’ve listed some of the top reasons businesses choose videos to train their workforce.

1. Easier to retain information

Video helps people recall information. Combining visual and auditory/verbal content allows learners to make more relevant connections and associations that assist with memory. 

One study shows that three days after learning, 65% of verbal/visual presentation (video, in this case) audiences can recall presentation information. Compared to only 10-20% who recall information that was spoken or given as a lecture, and 10% who recall only written information, it’s clear which method works best.

2. Higher engagement

People watch, on average, 17 hours of online video each week. Even branded video — 66% of consumers have viewed marketing content to learn about a product or brand.

When it comes to building brand advocates (which your employees should be), viewers are 52% more likely to share video than any other type of content. When you’re looking to create an engaging training experience, data says to look to video.

3. It’s cheaper

Since we’re talking about business here, one of the major benefits of using training videos instead of having in-person training sessions is that it keeps costs down — especially if you produce your own training videos.

In 2022, the Training Industry Report predicted a 6% increase in training budgets for this year and expected the global training market to grow by 2%. These days, remote training with video is about as useful as it can be — but you still need to maximize its benefits. 

So, what type of training video would be best for your organization? Let’s take a look at the different kinds you can use.

5 tips to master the art of online training videos

If you want to create the best training videos for your employees, there are a handful of considerations to keep top of mind. Our team chatted with Elizabeth Hodos and Emma Wisehart, Senior Sales Enablement Managers at Vimeo, to better understand what makes a successful video training program.

1. Understand training goals

The first step to making a great training video is matching the content to the learning outcome you want your employees to achieve. Before beginning the creation process, identify the main messages you’re trying to convey. For example, if you’re training a sales organization and want your sales team to learn how to create customer accounts using all the different tools in your tech stack, that means you’ll need videos that touch on your organization’s account setup process.

2. Make training content for all learner types

Employees’ ability to learn directly correlates with their ability to retain and apply the information they’ve recently acquired. Although there are additional (and hybrid) ways your team can learn, educators and leaders typically refer to four main styles:

• Reading/writing learners work well with text-based data and information through reading and/or writing. 
• Auditory learners excel when they’re able to listen to content.
• Kinesthetic learners are hands-on and rely on their tactile senses to learn.
• Visual learners — the most common type of learners — respond best to images, graphics, and video.

Video can actually help with all of these styles. For instance, you can supplement video with one-sheeters and other educational resources and activities.

3. Make training actionable

Learning means very little unless employees can put what they’ve learned into practice. When it comes to employee training videos, you want to design them to be actionable.

Leadership teams should immediately encourage employees to use what they’ve learned to reinforce their education. For example, once you’ve taught your employees how to use a tool from your company’s tech stack, make sure you provide a relevant test (or real-life) scenario for them to work through using the tool.

4. Identify knowledge gaps for learners

When an employee lacks the information they need to be able to complete an important business task, a knowledge gap forms. And if it’s not addressed quickly, it will lead to a skills gap and an inability to perform their job well.

To identify employee knowledge gaps, provide different types of skills assessments for them: pre-training, post-training, and self-assessments. Once employees receive the training they need, use video to share your company’s institutional knowledge. 

5. Find ways to track learning

With modern video production platforms, tracking video analytics is easier than ever. In fact, 83% of today’s companies use some form of analytics. Typically, organizations track functionalities like performance (views and engagements, for example) and CTA click-through rates.

For employee training videos, it’s important to see if your employees are watching all the way through and, if not, where they dropped off. Using this knowledge, you can make any necessary adjustments to your training materials.

6 types of training videos

When you’re creating employee training videos, you’ll quickly find out that certain skills are better learned through specific training approaches. Whether your video is lecture-style or an interactive presentation, each type of video serves a unique purpose in your training.

1. Tutorial videos

Tutorial or instructional videos can help your new employees understand step by step how to perform a certain task or follow a process. Great tutorial videos often include interactive visuals, quizzes, annotations, and more to help improve retention.

Even within tutorial videos, there are a couple of different approaches you can take, including:

• Animated videos. These are usually quite short and work well for data visualization, where having a real-life person explain might confuse viewers.
• How-tos. These are the most common type of instructional videos. These explain how to do something, usually in numbered steps.
• Demos. Similar to a “how-to,” demonstrations are what you’ll want to use if you want to show a process or product in action.

Tutorial videos are pretty flexible, and you can cover almost any topic with them.

2. Just-in-time training

Elizabeth Hodos, Senior Sales Enablement Manager at Vimeo, describes just-in-time learning as “serving up information for people when they need it.” She says the most important question to ask is, “What’s the one thing viewers need to remember?” 

With just-in-time training, employees are provided “microlearning” videos at specific touchpoints that help employees learn in the flow of work. This way, they’re more easily able to integrate what they’ve learned into their everyday roles. And since we already know about ol’ Ebbinghaus, we know it’s also important to serve up just-in-time training videos frequently because people will forget.

3. Live virtual trainings

The digital workforce is alive and well, as 97% of employees are open to onboarding virtually. And HR and onboarding teams agree — 69% find live video training to be most effective outside of in-person training. Creating a “virtual classroom” with a live streaming event can be a highly effective way to train a remote team. To best make use of your trainees’ time, consider including some pre-work in the form of presentation decks, reading material, visuals, or instructional video that your teams can sift through before meeting live. 

4. On-demand training

With on-demand training, employees can access video courses from wherever they want and at their own pace. On-demand training is also a great way to reuse and repurpose live training sessions that employees can catch later. Hosting your on-demand videos in a centralized place like a video library can help trainees search and find information quickly.

5. Interactive training

Interactive video is a way to let your employees interact with your training content within the video file itself. According to 47% of marketers, interactive video (and live streaming) is the most effective type of interactive content.

The main thing that sets interactive video apart from other video content is its nonlinear nature. Interactive video allows trainees to jump around and choose their own educational adventure.

6. Screencasts and screen recordings

Screencasts and screen recordings function the same way, but serve different types of training use cases. 

If you want to make short, quick explainer videos around a small computer-based task, screencasts or screen capture videos are for you.

For screencasts, presenters record their screen while explaining or performing a task. These recordings can be shared with specific team members who need them. And while quick explainers are the most obvious use case, there are a few others use cases including:

• Website walkthroughs
• HR explanations
• Project deep-dives
• Technical walkthroughs

These are also some of the easiest and budget-friendly types of training videos to produce and a great way to provide more training material for your team. 

Screen recording is great for capturing longer remote sessions like educational webinars. But if you have in-person presentations like product launches, you’ll also want to record those for playback.

Recording live events to keep inside your internal knowledge base is a great way to ensure valuable sessions are available for everyone, both for those who couldn’t attend and for future employees.

How to create an effective training video

So, now you know what benefits you can get from making training videos and what types you can create. Let’s take a look at the steps involved in training video production.

1. Choose a format

The very first step you need to take when producing a training video is to decide the format for it. Thinking about the types of videos we’ve already gone through, try to match one up with the type of training you want to provide.

One format, for example, can be using Vimeo Record. You can create a screencast-type training video walking the new employee through your customer interface.

However, if you want to use an animated instructional or interactive video (but you perhaps lack the skills of a professional animator), you can check out a Vimeo Create template for employee trainings.

Emma Wishart, Senior Sales Enablement Manager at Vimeo, shared the types of video learning content that work best for training sessions:

• Short-form video
• Repeatable, straightforward “process information” 
• Information that won’t change much (e.g., organizational definitions, etc.)
• Personalized content
• Marketing content that’s professional and inspirational
• Human-focused content

2. Film your video

So, here’s where you’ll start recording your training video unless you opt for an animated one (which you can make with Vimeo Create). In which case, at this step, you’ll be working through your template.

If you’re using Vimeo Record, all you’ll need to do is click on your Vimeo Record Chrome extension, decide if you’re recording just the screen, just the camera, or both, then hit Start Recording.

With other types of videos, like presentation captures or HR onboarding videos, you’ll likely want to invest in high-quality cameras. You might cringe at the initial costs, but you’ll be saving money in the long run since you only need to record these videos once.

3. Editing

The beauty of producing your own training videos is that you’re in control of how they come together. After filming or putting your animations together, you can edit the video files using video editing software.

While you don’t always need a video editor, especially for screen recordings, it can help polish the video up by adding branding, transitions, and editing out speaker pauses.

Some of the best video editing software tools on the market include:

• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Apple Final Cut Pro
• Apple iMovie
• Pinnacle Studio
• CyberLink PowerDirector 365
• Vimeo Create

Any of these tools will help get your video ready to train new employees in no time.

4. Host and distribute your training video to stakeholders

Once your video is filmed and edited to your liking, you’ll need a place to host it and share it with others in your organization.

If you need more privacy (say the training has sensitive company content) or easier ways to organize, find, and share your videos, Vimeo’s Video Library can help you out.

You can make sure your videos are only accessible by specific people or teams and use SSO.

For a free option, you may consider creating or publishing to a YouTube channel dedicated to employee training. Your training videos can be uploaded as YouTube videos, which are pretty easy to share. If you need them to be private, you can always keep the videos unlisted — just be aware that anyone with a link can watch them.

5. Follow up to ensure understanding

The final step in producing training videos is making sure the content does its job. When using videos to train new employees, it might not always be easy to gauge how well they’ve understood the content (unless you’ve included interactive quizzes).

However, one great feature of hosting videos on the Vimeo Video Library is that users who have access can comment on the videos they’re watching to ask questions at specific time codes.

Along similar lines, you can always ask your new employees to comment at the end of the videos or fill out a quick form to say they’ve watched and understood the content of the video. If you end up with lots of questions or feedback, it’s a good indication that you might need to go back over the content of the video and improve it.

Training video templates to try

If you’re still struggling with ideas on how to build an effective training video, you can always try out one of Vimeo’s corporate training video templates. These templates can help you hit the ground running and get a video set up in minutes. Here are a few you can take advantage of:

1. First Day:

The First Day template is a great option to help you give an overview of what an employee can expect on their first day and virtually tour the office.

2. First Six Months

Many new employees worry about expectations in their first few months. Help put their minds at ease with a friendly guide.

3. Workplace Safety

To cover the essentials, you can use the Workplace Safety Training template. You can use this to cover health and safety, food hygiene, fire safety, or any industry-specific safety standards.

Find more templates: Corporate training video templates

Creative training video examples

Before you go ahead and start creating awesome videos, let’s take a look at some examples of creative training videos to help fire up some inspiration.

CDS Agency Training Video

CDS Agency provides a neat and professional onboarding training video with a strong narrator explaining the expectations of its concierges.

Worksafe NZ

This training video covers health and safety in the construction industry. But despite the serious topic, they’ve managed to include humor and engaging graphics to hold your attention.

Greystone & Co

These types of videos help new employees get to know key people in the organization. They can help offer them motivation as well as inspiration from leadership. What’s more, they’re relatively easy to produce.

Training videos FAQ

Use video for your employee training

Video takes your organization’s training program out of the boring slideshow rut and into the modern business world. 

You don’t need a massive budget to create a range of engaging and effective training videos for your new employees. You can even start with an everyday smartphone or recording your screen and webcam using Vimeo Record.

If you’re short on time or you’d rather use a tried-and-tested format, check out the variety of corporate training templates available in Vimeo Create.

Learn how to boost team performance with video

Originally published on October 15, 2021 and updated June 6, 2023.

Employees want to work from anywhere. In fact, 39% of staff members would immediately quit their job if their WFH/WFA options were revoked. According to a Gallup report, only 20% of remote-eligible staff members are currently working in-office and fully on-site. 

With more people working remotely than ever before, businesses need to adapt their internal communications strategy and how they communicate with their teams, regardless of their location. We’re seeing that when companies leverage internal communications tools like video, communication as a whole becomes more effective.

In fact, video-savvy teams were twice as likely to say their organization’s collaborative environment and staff training is “excellent” and 75% more likely to say that they experience “excellent” employee engagement at work.

If you want to energize your workforce, boost team performance, and drive efficiency at your business, consider these five important reasons you should use internal communications videos at your organization.

1. Effectively train and onboard teams

A distributed workforce comes with challenges. A recent report compiled by Vimeo and GlobalWebIndex found that 35% of HR professionals face significant hurdles with training employees virtually.

Insufficient training, onboarding, or sales enablement for current or new employees can have a serious impact on employee productivity, satisfaction, and retention. When team members don’t have a positive experience as a new hire, they’re twice as likely to look for a new job. 

To make sure your team doesn’t miss out on crucial education, mentoring, learning company values, and other insights about company culture, consider virtual training and onboarding videos to amp up your new-hire training.

Building an on demand training hub using high quality video tools can help boost employee training and comprehension. For example, Global coatings company Axalta provides customers with sustainable and innovative solutions — and this passion shines through in their products, practices, and training. For the past few years, Axalta relied on virtual training videos to reach their technical workforce of 13,000 professionals and provide effective internal communications. 

“Technicians don’t always want to travel to our training centers, it’s not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ for our diverse group of learners.”

Steve Hamaday, Virtual Training Manager at Axalta

Important technical training techniques – like the finesse of wielding a spray gun – are best communicated through high-quality visuals. “We found that missing those fractions of a frame was a huge deal for our painters, as they could be missing important learning points.” Steve Hamaday said. Investing in a high quality video hosting platform allowed Axalta’s team to provide the experience and training their teams needed to be successful.

When organizations turn training content into interactive video, they can improve team engagement. And repurposing events as on-demand enablement content allows employees to continue learning, refining skills, and work more productively.

2. Engage a global workforce

An engaged workforce can have a powerful impact on your business. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report states that businesses with engaged workers have 23% higher profits compared to other businesses. To facilitate more connective moments with your teams, you can use video to produce a town hall to highlight your executive team, host an internal virtual live streaming event with speakers and activities, or share important information asynchronously with recorded video.

Scaling corporate communications can feel like a challenge for even the biggest brands. Thankfully, a hunger for innovation coupled with the right tool for corporate communication videos can turn a workforce with thousands of employees into a strong, centralized community.

For example, Rite Aid rewrote its corporate playbook by pivoting from in-person meetings to virtual town halls. The result? The ability to reach more associates and a desire to run more live events. 

“Our first town hall on Vimeo was a pivotal moment that allowed us to reach more associates than we ever could through live, in-person events.”

Peter Strella, Director of Communications & Creative Media Services at Rite Aid

You can create stunning corporate videos, internal communication tools, and other video communications resources with easy-to-use production, editing, and live streaming tools. 

3. Close the communication gap

The data shows a sharp disconnect between senior leadership and employees in how they perceive the effectiveness — and frequency — of their communications. Specifically, 54% of execs say that they stream major company updates at least weekly, while only 20% of employees agree.

To bridge the gap, executives should consider increasing communications across all channels. Just keep in mind that your communications method — creating or doubling down on an internal comms or video marketing strategy — is only as effective as the content of the communication itself. Leadership teams should lean into authenticity and transparency to help get their message across.

“What we hear from employees is that what they want is more frequent communications, but my sense is that what they really want is more transparency.”

Anjali Sud, CEO at Vimeo

Authenticity combined with video creation can have a real impact on the future. Employees at video-forward companies were over 70% more likely to say their company was ready to face the future of work.

Executives have the opportunity to use video to close the communication gap not only through explainer videos but also through:

• Personable screen recordings and message videos that include company updates
• Q&As for global town halls
• Quick, asynchronous communications
• A video library of searchable content

For more executive comms strategies and tips, check out our Workplace Communications Workshop with leaders at Outreach, Meetup, Care.com, and Vimeo.

4. Drive efficiency with internal comms video

Work and collaboration have fundamentally changed over the years. And with that, teams are on the hunt for tools to increase efficiency, streamline communications, and adapt to any workplace environment.

From our experience, we’ve discovered two impactful ways to use video as an employee communication tool and help drive workplace efficiency: live streaming and screen recording.

Live streaming

Both Rite Aid and Paychex found success creating and live streaming company events (like town halls). 

Rite Aid used Vimeo to successfully facilitate its first virtual town hall. Its event was attended virtually by nearly 3,000 corporate and field leadership staff members.

Paychex traded in its travel expenses for live streamed events and reached 10 times more employees than it ever did in person.

Screen recording

The second efficiency driver is screen recording. When you add tools like Vimeo Record into team workflows, it can minimize the number of meetings and provide training opportunities, all while keeping projects moving.

“My team is using Vimeo Record to share product demos internally and to give our customers a preview of what’s launching soon. We love it! It adds a personal touch that you just can’t replicate with email or a chatroom message.”

Trevor Wolfe, Director of Product at Mailchimp

5. Scale knowledge-sharing opportunities

Knowledge sharing is important for nurturing employee growth and happiness. Whether for training, mentoring, or onboarding, employee knowledge that comes from within facilitates employees’ workplace success.

Hosting video recordings in a video library can make information more accessible and provide both new hires and legacy employees with the needed tools to succeed at work.

Our comprehensive guide, The Essential Corporate Comms Toolkit, can help you make sense of how companies of all sizes leverage live video to create engaging meetings for every employee, no matter where they are.

Organizations that are able to centralize their company knowledge effectively maintain consistency between current, new, and future employees. When you add video to your knowledge-sharing culture, those comms become even more efficient.

Wrap-up: Redefine how you work with video

The distributed mindset calls for a change in how you work, communicate, and collaborate with teams. All-in-one video communication solutions and corporate communication tools can help provide secure and flexible communications (and quality video) to keep business moving.

As the definition of where we work changes, don’t get caught up in outdated forms of communication. Reimagine how to make teams successful and bring the tools and transparency that help them achieve their best work. 

Discover more employee communications solutions

Originally published on June 12, 2019 and updated on June 1, 2023.

As today’s workforce continues to evolve — and turnover rates remain steadily high — organizational leadership teams worry about holding top talent. 

In fact, 93% of companies worry about employee retention. A key avenue to promote retention is to provide career growth with development opportunities, training, and sharing domain-specific knowledge.

According to LinkedIn’s 2023 Workplace Learning Report, the primary method leadership teams use to improve employee retention is through learning opportunities. One way to enable more learning opportunities is with knowledge base software. With the right tools and resources at their disposal, teams can get the information they need fast, learn important skills, and grow alongside your business. Similarly, your customers and users can leverage a knowledge base to deepen their understanding of your product using helpful resources.

If you’re looking to add knowledge base software to your tech stack, there are a few things you need to know. Discover knowledge base-ics (dad jokes, anyone?), use cases, benefits, and examples of knowledge base software in this guide.

For internal stakeholders

Managers and leadership teams can improve internal operations — in the following areas — using knowledge base tools.

• Explaining HR processes and legal policies
• Sharing IT and tech information
• Storing brand or sales presentations
• Training and onboarding staff 

Knowledge bases are especially important for employee upskilling, reskilling, and professional development.

For external stakeholders

Your company can use knowledge bases to provide external stakeholders like users and customers with self-service support and 24/7 customer service. This could include:

• Troubleshooting how-tos and guides
• Product and service tutorials
• Contact information
• FAQs

When it comes to self-service options, there’s a gap in what customers want and what businesses think they provide. A recent customer experience report from NICE shows that although 40% of companies believe they have ample customer self-service options, 81% of consumers expect more. According to Zendesk’s 2023 CX Trends report, 37% of customer service agents say customers become noticeably frustrated, stressed, or angry when they can’t complete a simple task without agent assistance. A knowledge base that encourages your customers to self-serve will help increase customer satisfaction and likely reduce service costs, helping to strengthen your bottom line.

What are the uses of a knowledge base?

Typically, a knowledge base will serve one of two core purposes: employee education or customer education.

Employee education

Expanding teams anywhere in the business can be a daunting task for any HR or legal representatives. A knowledge base can store essential training information (for new and existing staff) so that all of the basics are covered.

Customer education

These days, when a customer has a question, the first place they’ll go for an answer is the internet. A knowledge base can be a valuable tool for customers seeking self-service assistance.

Benefits of knowledge base software

There are a lot of great benefits to using knowledge base solutions depending on industry or use case. Streamlining communications, lowering overhead costs, and engaging your audience are a few reasons why businesses invest in knowledge management software. Below, we’ve broken out some key benefits for both.

Internal benefits of knowledge base software

• Lower training costs. When you create a solid knowledge base that’s regularly updated and maintained, you’ll reduce overhead costs associated with basic employee training. Your knowledge base can answer common questions from new hires, helping you reduce how much time (and money) you spend on in-person training.
• Higher customer success rates. When customers get quick answers, it can increase your resolution and success rates considerably. It will also help free up space for more complex customer support tickets and serve as your customers’ “single source of truth.”

External benefits of knowledge base software 

• 24/7 customer service. A common pain point customers go through is not being able to contact support teams outside of office hours. Knowledge base software helps solve that problem since it lets your support services “stay open” 24/7.
• Better customer experience. Has your team ever thought a customer query was simple but had to spend several minutes (or even hours?) helping solve it by phone or email? When the customer can self-serve using knowledge base software, they can get their queries answered immediately.
• Easy to host. Building and maintaining a knowledge base on your website is relatively simple with the right tools.

Three knowledge base examples

There are many great examples of public knowledge bases from both an organizational and a customer perspective. While these examples may differ in design specifics, they all share a few common features:

• Internal search engine and search bar
• Topical (or customizable) organization
• Contact information

Here are our favorite knowledge base examples you can use to find inspiration for building a knowledge base for your organization’s content management needs.

1. Toggl Track

If you’re into productivity tools, chances are you might have come across Toggl Plan, a time-tracking tool to help you figure out where your time really goes. Currently, its knowledge base is organized simply by topic, which then includes subtopics related to using its product.

Interestingly, it has a different knowledge base for each of its products, which can be a pro or a con depending on the user’s perspective. If someone wants to get a bird’s-eye view of the available solutions, they may prefer a consolidated knowledge base.

2. ManyChat

If you’ve ever encountered a chatbot powered by Facebook Messenger or Instagram (collectively known as Meta Platforms), there’s a strong chance that the website or social media page used ManyChat to build it. Building a chatbot can seem pretty daunting. ManyChat knows this, so it has a large knowledge base to help boost the user experience.

It covers topics from the basics of using its product to more advanced topics like using widgets, plugins, and API dev tools. So if you’re building a chatbot-based knowledge base for your organization, ManyChat has a ton of resources to help.

3. Vimeo

Of course, Vimeo also has some extensive knowledge base content where customers can get information on just about everything Vimeo. Users can find anything, from uploading creative videos, learning how to live stream, to different ways of watching Vimeo video content.

For internal teams, Vimeo uses a video library to store video content. Creating a hub of internal content, events, resources, and updates allows teams to organize, share, and find video content easily and intuitively.

Three questions to ask before you create a knowledge base

Since knowledge bases can differ according to the needs of your business (and its internal and external audiences), we’ll cover three main considerations to take into account when creating one.

1. Should I use video in my knowledge base?

Many people consider themselves visual learners and prefer to see exactly what you’re talking about rather than reading about it. It’s a good idea to incorporate video (and video transcriptions and captions) into your knowledge base wherever possible. 

You may want to consider using video in your knowledge base if your content:

• is easier to “show” than “tell”
• has high traffic or requires frequent access
• benefits from an emotional connection or “human touch”
• does not change often
• includes many smaller pieces of content (e.g., documenting a process over time)

Video content can be used in a number of ways, including:

• Introducing or launching a new product or service
• Explaining a process (e.g., “how-to” videos)
• Demonstrating a use case or a product or service

You can turn existing content into videos and embed them on the same page (and host them in a video library) to help give customers a choice of how they want to learn.

In this case, it’s usually worth having a dedicated knowledge management team or person who works to create and maintain these videos.

2. Should I build an internal or external knowledge base?

Deciding whether to create an internal or external knowledge base depends on your audience and use case. Below, we’ve outlined some of the key benefits of both types.

We’ve discussed the overall uses for internal knowledge bases, but it’s worth getting a bit more specific. If you’re trying to figure out if you should build an internal knowledge base, first determine if you need to accomplish one of the following.

Staff onboarding:

• An internal knowledge base is a great place to talk about employee benefits, products or services, and company guidelines.
• An internal directory can let new employees feel more confident about asking the right people for help if the knowledge base doesn’t cover their questions.
• The base can also store blank versions of legal and HR documentation for onboarding purposes and review, saving time on both sides.

Staff training:

• Creating standardized workflows can help with initial staff training and serve as a reference point when they forget the information (happens to all of us).
• Knowledge teams can create videos on how to properly use any of the company systems and cover common troubleshooting issues.
• When you release a new product, service, or feature, you can use the internal base to keep demonstrations and key bullet points for staff members to reference.

3. What is the best knowledge base software?

The short answer is that it depends on your answers to the above questions, and different knowledge base software options offer various features to serve those needs. In general, ask yourself the following questions to find out the best fit for you:

1. How much does the software cost, and does it fit within our budget?
2. Can it assign different levels of access for specific users?
3. Is it easy to navigate?
4. Does the software include any metrics or reporting features?
5. Do we need to worry about integration?
6. Do we need community forum functionality included?

Getting answers to these questions will help you narrow down the list of options.

Knowledge base FAQs

Creating a knowledge base is probably easier than you think

Now you have a broad understanding of what a knowledge base software is and the benefits of a knowledge management solution. Depending on your use case, you may consider an internal knowledge base, external knowledge base, or both. Implementing a knowledge management solution is a great way to provide the knowledge autonomy your employees and customers want. 

Put your internal and external stakeholder resources to good use by building your own knowledge hub with the help of a developer or with a secure, enterprise video solution.

Tour Vimeo’s Video Library solution today

Originally published August 15, 2022. Updated May 24, 2023.

TikTok is still the wild, wild west of social media. A place where day-in-the-life videos, lip-syncs, beauty tutorials, and hilarious skits all coexist in perfect harmony.

It’s the perfect terrain for brands looking to make a splash with engaging and creative content and capture the attention of billions of users worldwide.

Still, navigating this popular social media landscape can be tricky, especially when it comes to making money. In this guide, we’ll show you the ropes of TikTok marketing and how your brand can strike gold.

1. Create engaging TikTok videos

When it comes to marketing on TikTok, there’s one golden rule: make sure your videos aren’t boring. TikTok users value authenticity, creativity, and humor. So, if you want to stand out from the millions of other videos out there, you need to serve up content that aligns with these values. Essentially, anything that’s going to stop someone from mindlessly scrolling and say, “Hey, this is worth watching!”

The more engaging the content, the more likely users are to watch, like, comment, and share it. And the more engagement a video gets, the more likely it is to be recommended to other users by TikTok’s algorithm, leading to more views, more engagement, and eventually more sales.  

If you can master these tips, your brand will be well on its way to TikTok fame (and fortune):

• Be authentic: TikTok users can spot a phony a mile away. 84% of TikTok users come across content they can relate to on the platform, so don’t be afraid to show off your brand’s personality and values in your videos.
• Keep it short and sweet: limit your TikTok videos to 60 seconds. According to research, the average TikTok video length for most accounts is between 32.4 and 41.9 seconds.
• Use trending music and sound effects: TikTok is known for its viral music trends and sound effects, so use them to your advantage! In fact, 58% of TikTokers are more likely to share an ad or talk about a brand if a video features a song they like. 
• Be creative with transitions: Learn how to creatively edit your TikTok videos and make transitions like a pro. Try experimenting with different transitions like the “Inverted” or “Spin” transition effects to add a bit of flair to your videos.
• Use eye-catching visuals: TikTok is a visual platform, so use bright colors, bold text, and visually interesting props to grab viewers’ attention.

Crocs does a great job of creating fun and playful TikTok videos. Their videos often include fast and creative transitions, engaging visuals, catchy music, and lots of humor.

@crocs Do other shoes even exist anymore? #MyCrocsEra ♬ How about take a photo? – Official Sound Studio

2. Build a strong relationship with your followers

Don’t be a TikTok wallflower! TikTok is all about interaction, so if you want your content to be recommended to other users, you need to show some love to your followers. According to research, 73% of global users “feel a deeper connection to brands they interact with on TikTok, compared to other platforms.”

Plus, engaging with your audience builds trust, credibility, and fierce brand loyalty. People will buy your stuff and rave about it to their friends and fam when they feel a personal connection with your brand.

Let your followers know that you’re listening and care about their feedback by answering questions and responding to their content, comments, and messages.

You can also participate in TikTok challenges to show off your brand’s creative side and engage with your audience in a playful and interactive way. Look for challenges that align with your brand’s values and resonate with your audience.

Chipotle’s collaboration with the “Corn Kid” (real name Tariq), is a great example of creative and authentic brand engagement with fans.

When Tariq broke the internet with a viral video in which he declared his love for corn, Chipotle took notice and decided they needed to be part of the conversation in a natural and genuine way. And after discovering that Tariq visits his local Chipotle in Queens once a week, the brand connected with him to create a sponsored video, and the rest is history.

The video is now Chipotle’s top organic TikTok video of all time.

3. Sell your products through TikTok Shop

There’s a reason why #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt exists. According to research, 55% of users use TikTok to discover new brands or products. And two out of three users are likely to buy something while on the platform. Selling products on TikTok is a great way to rake in some serious dough.

Some of the products that people sell on TikTok include fashion and apparel, beauty and skincare items, handcrafted and artistic goods, and digital products like e-books and online courses. These are all things that today’s content creators are using to make passive income and land partnership deals with brands.

And TikTok Shop makes it easier for users to discover and purchase products directly from the app. TikTok Shop provides three easy ways for brands to sell their products:

• Shoppable videos: These short-form videos include clickable product links. Viewers can easily make a purchase by tapping on the link in the video.
• Product showcase: This is a dedicated page where brands can feature their products in a visually appealing way. Brands use this page to highlight their products, showcase their brand identity, and encourage viewers to make a purchase.
• Live Shopping: This feature allows brands to host live streams to showcase and sell their products in real-time. During the live stream, viewers can purchase products directly from the stream and interact with the host and other viewers.

Benefit Cosmetics regularly hosts a series of live shopping events on their TikTok account. 

In one instance, when the brand used a live event to launch their TikTok Shop, it received 62.5k live audience views and 2.5k new followers.

4. Tap into the power of TikTok ads

TikTok ads are the perfect way to expand your audience, target specific demographics, and show off your products in a visually pleasing, thumb-stopping way. According to a survey, compared to other social media platforms, TikTok ads are better at capturing people’s attention, with 67% of respondents agreeing that TikTok ads are eye-catching. 

Here are the different types of ads you can use to expand your reach and make bank on TikTok.

• In-feed ads appear in the user’s “For You” page feed and can be up to 60 seconds long. These ads are great for creating brand awareness and driving traffic to your website or product pages.
• Brand takeovers are full-screen ads that pop up when a user first opens the app. They are highly effective for promoting a new product or service or for building brand awareness.
• Branded hashtag challenges are for brands that want to create their own hashtag challenges and promote them using in-app ads. They are the perfect way to encourage user-generated content and engage with your audience.
• Topview ads are similar to brand takeovers, but they appear after a user has been on the app for a few seconds. These ads are highly effective for promoting new products or services and building brand awareness.
• Branded effects and filters can be created for your followers to apply to their videos. This is a great way to build brand awareness and encourage user-generated content.

And here’s an insider tip: Vimeo Create provides customizable TikTok ad templates you can use to create ads that put your products right in front of your target audience. When NaturalAnnie Essentials, a maker of vegan candles, started using Vimeo to make video ads, the brand saw its conversion rate jump by a whopping 5.5x in just a few weeks.

“We don’t need expensive equipment and tools to get our message across. Vimeo helps us take our production in-house, without a budget..”

Annya-White Brown, founder, NaturalAnnie Essentials

5. Build authentic partnerships with influencers and content creators

Partnerships with TikTok influencers and content creators also generate revenue on TikTok. And influencers are often worth their weight in gold, especially on TikTok, where they have a higher engagement rate than on other social media platforms. 

Contrary to popular belief, influencer marketing doesn’t require a large budget. Collaborating with micro-influencers is the way to go for smaller companies with limited budgets.  

Micro-influencers offer more affordable rates than larger influencers. And while they may not have the same level of reach as top TikTok stars, they often have a highly engaged audience that trusts their opinions and recommendations. In fact, they have even higher engagement rates on TikTok, with an engagement rate of 17.96%, compared to 3.86% on Instagram and 1.63% on YouTube. 

You can partner with influencers on various types of content, such as sponsored posts, affiliate marketing partnerships, influencer takeovers, giveaways, or contests. 

For example, skincare brand Bubble frequently showcases TikTok tutorials featuring small creators and micro-influencers.

@bubble

The verdict is in. Our Level Up moisturizer definitely lives up to the hype and we’re not surprised one bit.

♬ original sound – Bubble

Frequently asked questions

Strike gold on TikTok with Vimeo

The bottom line is that TikTok is a gold mine for brands that know how to mine it right. By crafting content that captivates, teaming up with TikTok influencers, and selling digital goods, you can reach unprecedented audiences, ultimately driving more sales. With the continued growth of TikTok’s user base and its innovative features, there has never been a better time to hop on the app and start cashing in on its potential.

Create captivating videos with Vimeo

Published November 2021, updated May 18, 2023.

Half of Americans consume content with captions on “most of the time.” Whether for accessibility, context, search optimization, or the ease of watching a video on mute — captions are a powerful way to add value to your video.

Whatever the case may be, adding subtitles or automated closed captions is an easy way to drive more engagement with your video. And while, on the surface, it may seem difficult or time consuming to add them, it’s actually surprisingly easy.

In this article, we’ll run through how to add captions to videos on various platforms like Vimeo, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook and share a list of tools you can use to add captions and edit transcripts easily based on your video needs.

Why adding subtitles to video is important

Closed captions for videos are important for two main reasons: 

Improved accessibility

One in eight people in the U.S. alone have hearing loss in both ears. Therefore, adding video captions makes it easy for people like them to enjoy your content. Subtitling videos also makes them more accessible to neurodivergent people, such as those with autism or  ADHD. 

By offering a second input system, captions provide neurodivergent viewers with more context, and a deeper understanding and help viewers process audio and video more effectively.

Better reach and video completion rate

Three-quarters of people (75%) keep their sound off even when they’re watching a video. And three-quarters of all video ads (75%) are watched on mobile. What does this mean? Well, people are likely accessing your content on their phones and watching it on mute.

If you want more people to watch your videos, add captions to them. This way, viewers won’t scroll past your content simply because they’re in a public or quiet space.

Finally, captioning also helps you reach people who don’t understand your language but want to watch your content regardless. In fact, nearly one in five people regularly use captions to help them learn a new language.

Captions are useful on all platforms

All major video platforms support subtitles or captions — and nearly one-third of people believe captions should be the “default” setting on TV and streaming services. So, adding subtitles to your videos on all platforms is an easy way to increase the preferability and accessibility of all your video content.

How to add captions to video content on Vimeo

With Vimeo, you have two options for adding captions to your videos: (1) automatically and (2) manually. 

Use the Vimeo caption generator

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of those who create video content use automatic captioning. With auto closed captions and transcription tools, paid Vimeo users can enable automated captions, edit transcripts, and adjust the look and feel of their video captions. For users not on paid plans, Vimeo offers the ability to upload transcripts and add captions manually.

Make your videos more accessible and easier to find — add captions to your videos with Vimeo.

Manually add subtitles to videos for free

To manually add captions to Vimeo, follow these steps:

1. Head to the video manager and open the video you want to caption.

2. Choose the “CC” icon for Closed captions from the menu on the right.

3. Choose Settings and select your language and file type.

4. Now click Choose File and upload the caption file. Toggle it on to activate video captions once the file finishes uploading.

Image source: Custom Vimeo screengrab

Paid users can edit their transcripts in-app with the transcript editing tool, while all other users can download, edit, and re-upload their transcript files. For more information, check out the Vimeo help center.

You aren’t limited to adding only SubRip Subtitle Files (SRT) for captioning videos on Vimeo. The platform accepts other files, too, including SAMI, SCC, DFXP/TTML, and WebVTT. Of these, WebVTT is the most recommended one.

How to add captions to video content on TikTok

Looking to add captions to your videos on TikTok? Good thinking. TikTok videos that use captioning get 55.7% more impressions than videos that don’t add anything additional on screen.

With TikTok’s native tools, you have two ways to caption video content:

Auto-generate video captions on TikTok

Once you publish your content on the bite-sized video platform, you need to:

1. Click on Captions on the right side of your screen.
2. Let it process, check for accuracy, and you’re finished.

Auto-generated TikTok captions are a great option for someone looking to quickly add captions without too much customization.

Manually add video captions on TikTok

Manually adding captions allows you to either create text from scratch or edit the auto-generated captions. 

Simply follow these steps after you’ve shot your video:

1. Tap on Captions (same as above) and let your video process.
2. Click on the pencil icon in the corner now.
3. Edit the auto-generated captions or add new ones.

Add video captions after posting to TikTok

There’s no way to add captions to your TikTok video after having posted it. Quickly deleting the content and reposting with added captions is your best bet. Terrified you’ll lose all the music, effects, and edits? Save the video before deleting to reduce work. Follow these steps to save your TikTok video before deleting:

1. Tap the Me icon on the lower right side of your screen.
2. Select the video and click the horizontal dots on the right to open it.
3. Hit Save Video.
4. Repost the saved video with captions added. 

Bonus: Add video captions with the text tool

This option is perfect for captioning short videos. After you’ve recorded or uploaded your video, follow these steps:

1. Select the Text button from the bottom of your screen and add your caption.
2. Drag the text box to position it on the screen and add the text wherever you’d like — however, the top is the best to prevent the captions from blending with the video description text.
3. Select the text box and hit the clock icon to determine timestamps for the text (when it’ll appear in the video).
4. Preview by playing the video. 

5. Finally, click Done from the upper right corner.

How to add captions to video content on YouTube

Compared to videos without on-screen text, captioned videos are more successful — according to Discovery Digital Networks, YouTube videos with subtitles are viewed 7.32% more than those without. 

There are a handful of options for captioning YouTube videos: auto-generated captions, manually adding captions, uploading a caption file, and using auto-translate.

Auto-generate video captions for your YouTube video

As of this writing, YouTube’s automatically generated captions for some videos and shorts are available in 16 languages.

To auto-generate video captions in any of the available 16 languages, follow these steps:

1. Head to YouTube Studio.
2. Choose Subtitles from the left and select your video.
3. Click the three dots under Subtitles.
4. Review or Edit the auto-generated captions as needed.

Add YouTube captions manually

To add captions by hand, follow these six steps:

1. Go to your YouTube Studio account.
2. Choose Subtitles from the left side of the screen and select your video.
3. Tap Add under Subtitles (like above).
4. Pick Type manually from the four options you see.
5. Play the video and add captions by typing them in, adjusting timestamps as needed.
6. Hit Publish.

Add captions to YouTube videos by adding a caption file

To upload captions to YouTube, you’ll need a caption file. As with Vimeo, you aren’t limited to SRT files. YouTube also accepts SubViewer and LRC file types in addition to SubRip.

Here’s how caption files work:

1. Head to YouTube Studio.
2. Choose Subtitles from the left side of the dashboard and pick the video you want to caption.
3. Hit Add Language now and choose your preferred language.
4. Tap Add from the Subtitles section on the main screen.
5. Pick Upload file.
6. Choose whether you want to add captions With timing or Without timing, and press Continue.
7. Now choose the file to upload and either Save Draft or Publish.

Caption YouTube videos using the auto-sync option

The auto-sync captioning feature gives you the best of both YouTube captioning and subtitling options. You can add captions manually, but YouTube adjusts timestamps automatically.

Here’s how (the first three steps are the same as using a caption file):

1. Log in to your YouTube Studio account.
2. Pick Subtitles from the left sidebar and choose your video.
3. Tap Add under Subtitles.
4. Pick Auto-sync in the menu.
5. Type your video’s transcript in the text box. Or choose Edit Timings on the top right and select Upload file (instead of manually typing everything — just make sure the file is in a language supported by YouTube).
6. Select Edit Timings. Then, Save and Close.

How to add captions to video content on Facebook

Almost half of all the time users spend on Facebook is spent watching videos. So, thankfully, Facebook offers users both manual and automated options for captioning them. Let’s walk through the process:

Auto-generate captions for your Facebook videos

Before you can add captions, upload and save your video as a draft on your Facebook page.

To save your video as a draft, tap on the Share a photo or video icon on the page and add your video. Once uploaded, hit Save Draft in the drop-down menu next to the Publish button.

Next, take the following steps:

1. Open the saved video from Drafts found under Posts in Publishing Tools.
2. Tap on Edit Video from the Video options on the right side.
3. Select Captions and click Generate.

That’s all! But don’t forget to review the auto-generated captions. Play the video to see what captions show up. When editing, make the changes from the right side of the window. Scroll down to the exact caption and click on the text you want to modify.

Add manual captions using SRT files

This is a useful option for adding captions to videos on your personal Facebook profile or in Groups.

Make sure you have an SRT file ready beforehand — save it as a plaintext .srt file. Read up on formatting and naming your SRT file the right way to minimize the odds of an error.

The rest of the steps are pretty similar to the ones above:

1. Upload and save your video, then click Edit Video. 
2. Pick the Captions from available options.
3. Select Upload SRT File (instead of Generate).
4. Select the language to match with the SRT file’s language and press Save.

Add video captions after posting to Facebook

Add captions to existing or published Facebook videos by picking the post from your Page. 

Next, click the three vertical ellipses (⋮) on the top right and tap Edit Post. Choose Captions and either auto-generate them or add an .srt file.

Tools for adding video captions

If you’re looking for third-party tools to help add closed captions or subtitles to videos, check out our list of providers:

1. Vimeo

Vimeo’s automatic closed caption and transcription tools allow users to easily add captions, upload and edit transcripts, fine-tune the caption styles to match the video content, and search key moments within the transcript of a video.  

2. Kapwing

Kapwing, an online video editor for captioning videos, comes with both a free and paid version. The freemium editor allows users to caption videos no longer than seven minutes. The freemium editor also saves edited content for up to one month and allows users to publish three hours of video content each month.

However, if you’re looking to caption hours of videos, it may be worth it to try the pro version with a six-gigabyte (GB) file upload limit and many more features.

3. VEED

Like Kapwing, VEED is a free online video editor that lets users auto-generate subtitles, add them manually, or upload caption files to add subtitles to a video.

It also gives you the liberty to edit the subtitle text (useful when text is auto-generated and you spot errors) and change its color, font, size, and timing, too.

4. Rev

Rev is a speech-to-text platform that allows users to transcribe or caption audio and/or video as accurately as possible (it’s now also the sole provider of Vimeo’s automated captions!). The platform includes a variety of resources like human transcription, AI transcription, on-screen captions for videos in English, and more. 

Vimeo and Rev have teamed up! With the Vimeo and Rev integration, it’s now easier than ever to transcribe and caption your videos. The Rev integration lets Vimeo users order human-generated (and more than 99% accurate) subtitles and captions in multiple languages, and transcripts are ready within 24 to 48 hours. Video subtitles or captions not only make your content more accessible but also improve SEO value.

Pricing is based on transcriptions, captions, or subtitles per minute.

5. Zubtitle

Zubtitle is another web app for captioning videos. Once you upload your video to Zubtitle, it auto-generates subtitle text, which you can then edit for style and clarity.

Keep in mind the free version only allows you to add subtitles to one video. For more video captioning options, check out a paid plan. 

6. Subly

Subly is another easy-to-use web app. It comes with a convenient seven-day free trial. Subly allows users to auto-generate subtitle text for about 67 languages, generate and style captions, and convert audio files to video.

Once you have uploaded a video, your captions will be generated, and you can edit their position, color, font, and size. Plus, you can download the transcribed file in three different file types.

7. Amara

Amara lets you add captions to your videos with its free online editor. It also offers video subtitling and text translation service for more than 50 languages.

The platform also easily integrates with video hosting platforms such as Vimeo. This integration makes exporting and importing subtitles simple.

8. MixCaptions

MixCaptions is an Android and iOS app for video subtitling. It can automatically add captions in seven languages. Once captioned, you can edit the subtitle text and change its position.

The free version of MixCaptions can auto-generate subtitles for up to 30-minute videos.

How to add subtitles to video: FAQ

Check out our answers to frequently asked questions about adding captions and subtitles to your videos.

How do I add captions to video for free?

To add captions to your video for free, take advantage of your favorite platform’s built-in tools (several are mentioned in this article). 

Vimeo, for example, has both manual and auto-generated captioning capabilities that are not only user-friendly but also free of charge. If you’d like more powerful tools, you can opt for a paid account. 

How do I add subtitles to a video on iPhone?

Unfortunately, iPhone doesn’t have a native tool for adding captions and subtitles to videos. If you’re looking for a workaround, you have a couple of options:

• Use iMovie: Import your video and move the timeline to the point at which you want to add a subtitle or caption. Click the “T” in the toolbar to add text and customize the font, text size, positioning, etc.

Image source: Custom iMovie screengrab (from iPhone)

• Use a third-party app: Apps like Vimeo, CapCut, and VEED let you add subtitles and captions to videos for free with a few clicks. You simply download and open one of the free apps, choose the video you’d like to caption, select the language, auto-caption, and edit as needed. You can also export the captioned video to share on other platforms.

How do I add subtitles to a video in iMovie?

Adding captions and subtitles to a video in iMovie is a manual process. Follow these steps to add captions and subtitles in iMovie:

Image source: Custom iMovie screengrab (from laptop)

• Open iMovie.
• Click the video you want to import and then click the + to add it to your video timeline for editing.
• Determine the position in which to add the caption or subtitle, move your cursor to the position within the video, and click Titles from the media menu.
• Choose the positioning and style of text you’d like to use (you can also change the font, size, color, and more), and double-click (or drag) to add the text box to the correct position within the video.
• Double-click the text box to edit the text.
• Where the text box connects to the video file in the iMovie timeline, drag the end of the text box to set its on-screen time.
• When you’re finished adding all your subtitles, “Export File” using the square with arrow icon in the top right corner.

How do I add subtitles to a video permanently?

If you want to embed captions or subtitles into a video permanently, you need an SRT file that contains the subtitle script, along with a video editor that can allow you to overlay the file. 

Platforms like Vimeo, iMovie, and VLC media player have these capabilities, so choose the one that works best for you and your project.

Once you have those components, follow our steps for adding manual captions using SRT files. The specific names and functionalities of the tools in each platform may vary slightly, but the overall process is the same.

Enjoy more reach with video captions

With this step-by-step guide on how to add captions to video, we’re confident you’re ready to add subtitles to your video content. Just remember: closed captions improve video accessibility and reach — so they’re important to add to most, if not all, of your video content.

What are you waiting for? Start captioning videos today!

Caption your next video on Vimeo

Published May 2022, updated May 15, 2023.

More than half (53%) of B2B marketers report webinars are a successful lead generation tactic. And 58% of B2B professionals say virtual events like webinars and online courses also produce the best business results — compared to assets like research reports and short articles.

58% of B2B pros say webinars produce the best business results.

Content Marketing Institute’s 2022 B2B Content Marketing Report

And 62% of webinar attendees feel ready to request product pricing after watching a relevant vendor video. 

This makes it clear: not only do professionals use webinars as a great resource for internal communication and remote training, but webinars can also help generate leads for sales.

Learning how to create a webinar is half the battle. Successful marketers focus on designing content and presenting a compelling webinar that holds attention. So how do you do it? Thankfully, we’ve got some presentation ideas and tips for you.

We know webinars are a great way to attract leads, convert customers, and share your brand’s story. While webinar promotions and the right content will attract your audience, keeping their attention is all about nailing your live presentation.

In this post, we’ll dive into the nuts and bolts of how to design, write, and host webinar presentations — from choosing a webinar platform to gathering feedback. By the end, you’ll master the fundamentals of presenting an attention-arresting show. Here’s what we’ll review:

How to set up a webinar in five steps

We’ve distilled the art of creating a webinar presentation into five easy steps.

Need more tips? Learn how to create a webinar, or check out Vimeo’s Webinar Confidential to hear real-life stories of virtual event mishaps and tips on how to run a great event. Watch now

1. Work out the webinar’s structure and presentation style

Dedicate this first step to ensuring smooth functionality and planning the nitty-gritty details of your webinar:

• What topic will you cover? 
• Who is your audience? 
• Will it be a real-time live webinar or pre-recorded? 
• Where will you host the landing page where guests can register for the event?
• Will there be an on demand video of the webinar available afterward?

Also, ask yourself how the webinar will unfold — the sequence it will follow, who will present, and the order of topics/content to share.

Once you’ve planned out the webinar’s basics, work out which presentation styles will complement your show: slides and audio, screen share, webcam, or a combination of the three. Ideally, show yourself and/or the speakers to connect with your audience.

2. Dump your thoughts into an outline

So you’ve ironed out details about your presentation style, webinar speakers, and structure. What’s next? A brain dump so you can start organizing your thoughts.

At the top of your outline, write down the key message you want to deliver. Next, write down all your topic-related presentation ideas — visuals, main points, transitions, etc. At this point, it’s advisable you don’t hold back or try to filter or pause to evaluate if an idea is good or bad. Simply write it down.

As you jot down your thoughts, add any supporting evidence to your points. Think examples, data, stats, and customer stories that tie into your main webinar thesis.

Now, work on refining your brainstorm into an outline. Here’s a three-step process to get your outline in top shape: 

• Filter: Whittle down all your information so you have no more than three to five key takeaways.
• Distill: Select the most impactful data and examples to back your points.
• Polish: Make sure everything in the outline aligns with your webinar’s goal and is relevant to your target audience.

Remember that it’s important to only present the most important, most impactful content.

As Chris Anderson, curator at TED, describes in the Harvard Business Review, try to limit abstract language and focus on concrete examples:

“If you try to cram in everything you know, you won’t have time to include key details, and your talk will disappear into abstract language…You need specific examples to flesh out your ideas. So limit the scope of your talk to that which can be explained, and brought to life with examples, in the available time.”

Your final outline should read like a script or guide that will map the webinar presentation.

3. Make a plan to engage your audience

There’s nothing more disappointing than a bland webinar that does little to excite the audience.

In fact, in a recent internal Vimeo survey, we found that the main reasons participants exit webinars are technical difficulties (59%), poor moderation (46%), or boredom (44%). This means it’s imperative to have your production in order and content that’s concise and relevant.

Of course, grabbing your audience’s attention with well-designed presentation slides is crucial — and we’ve got tips on that a bit later in this article — but attendee engagement and getting your audience to “act” during the live event is your top priority.

Online whiteboard software Miro’s customer education manager, Jennifer Clark, acknowledges the importance of improving your attendees’ user experience for this. Not only does it help convince participants to stay till the end, but it also encourages them to attend more of your webinars.

“I [engage attendees] by welcoming folks with music, asking interesting icebreakers to warm up the chat, and offering several opportunities to raise hands or respond in the chat throughout the session. Humor is critical too — if we don’t have someone’s attention or we aren’t interesting to listen to/look at, we’re not going to retain our learners long enough to teach them something cool.”

To create a memorable user experience for your webinars, try adding a few things like an intro slate, a handful of ice breaker questions to fire up the chat, and a pause between sections. This gives presenters and speakers time to comment live by answering audience questions from the chat or to pose questions to the audience to help them retain more info.

Clark also focuses on paying attention to the small details to make your webinar stand out:

“I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to think through the end-user experience for the webinar itself. The sound and video quality should be high, the field of view should be clean if you’re sharing a screen, and ‘do not disturb’ mode should be on.

We shouldn’t see any bouncing apps or notifications. I think those little details mirror what I’ve done in person as an educator. In the past, that let your audience know you care about the small things and want their experience to be seamless.”

Technical execution is critical to keeping folks engaged in webinar content. Schedule a rehearsal before the live event to troubleshoot any issues with video and audio prior to the live stream.

4. Prepare a short but engaging introduction

A poor introduction can make attendees feel like it was a wrong decision to sign up, so they wouldn’t hesitate to take the exit route. Translation: you need a strong introduction.

So what makes a good introduction?

Start with a greeting

A simple yet effective way to start is with a ‘Hi! Welcome to [webinar title].’ It’s also a good idea to thank participants for taking the time to join you.

Reinforce the webinar is worth the time investment

Be quick to tell attendees how the webinar will benefit them. Consider sharing the takeaways in bullet points: three to four points maximum so you aren’t overloading things to the point that you make them easy to forget.

Or you can share a one-line take-home message. For example, a webinar on Google Analytics to track blog post traffic can have the following what’s-in-it-for-me message for its attendees: ‘You’ll leave feeling ready to use GA for tracking your blog performance.’

Share why you’re an expert in the topic you’re presenting

Introduce yourself next. Explain what makes you an authority on the subject. But instead of reading out your resume, consider summarizing your career highlights — packaged as a story. Stories are personal; therefore, they help you connect with your audience and gain their trust. A story is always way more memorable than a plain speech on what you’ve accomplished so far.

Explain your webinar’s structure

Think of this as your general housekeeping. It helps set audience expectations, which makes it an absolute must component of your introduction.

Simply tell viewers what’s in store for them. Have a live Q&A session at the end? Tell them so they can start writing down their questions. Have polls in place throughout the sessions? Again, tell them.

Vimeo’s Master Class on hosting engaging town halls shares key takeaways in four simple bullet points:

• Why are town halls crucial to your business?
• Tips for planning the best content for your town hall
• How to boost employee (attendee) engagement during town halls
• How to extend the life of your town hall

Pro tip: Create a useful template, checklist, or framework to get your audience to stick around till the end. Tell them you’ll be sharing a gift or freebie at the end. But don’t reveal exactly what it is — build the suspense instead.

5. Prepare your presentation slides

With the legwork done, start creating your presentation slides. Use the outline you’ve created to write copy for the slides. Roughly, you’ll need to work on the following slides:

• Section headers/dividers
• Text-heavy slide
• Combination text + high-quality image(s) slide
• Big stats slide
• Pull quotes

The key, however, is to make sure you don’t stuff the slides with too much text. A good presentation slide formatting rule that can help here is the 5-5-5 rule:

• Add no more than five (5) words per line
• No more than five (5) lines per slide
• No more than five (5) consecutive text-heavy slides

How to build a webinar: Four design tips

Now, for some expert tips from Vimeo’s design team. Don’t worry; you don’t need design chops for this.

1. Variety is the spice of presentation slides

Text-based monotonous slides are the recipe for losing audience attention. Our in-house design team suggests leveraging animation, GIFs, motion, imagery, or iconography to break the monotony. Short video tutorials, such as screen recordings illustrating a point, also work well. For example, showing a product feature in action.

The general rule is to have less text and more visuals since you’ll be voicing over information as you present.

2. Make your slides easy to read

Use a legible font that’s displayed at minimum 30 points. This is important for making your slides accessible to attendees joining using their smartphones.

3. Brand your slides

Design using your brand colors and logo in your slides for brand consistency. This will also help leave a memorable impression on participants, especially if they continue to join more of your webinars.

Splash, for example, creates presentation decks using its brand colors.

If you choose to keep your logo but want to experiment with other colors, follow this expert advice from a Vimeo designer:

“Choose colorways that are complementary and provide enough contrast to be legible (i.e., don’t use white text on an off-white background).”

4. Highlight key information

This helps you catch attendees’ attention better. Our designer advises you to “make important callouts big and bold! Whether that’s a quote or a key stat that you want to highlight.”

Now that you have a good idea about how to design and format your webinar presentation (remember: lower thirds are your friends!), let’s get into how to write a great webinar script.

Five tips for writing a great webinar script

A webinar script is a written version of what a speaker delivers in their presentation.

You need it as a guardrail to structure your thoughts into a cohesive layout while helping you communicate key points efficiently.

Besides outlining your introduction, webinar agenda, and call to action, use the script to include timing details (how much time you’d dedicate to each section and speaker) and navigational instructions such as which slides to share, interactive elements to intro, and more.

Begin writing your script as soon as you’ve finalized your presentation topic — go back to the outlining step in the section on how to create a webinar presentation for a refresher if needed.

Then follow these five steps to write a good webinar script.

1. Know your audience

Your webinar content can only be as relevant to your audience as your knowledge of them is. Speak their language, use examples that resonate with them, and touch on their pain points — show them you did your homework.

Here are a few tips on how you can write a simple script that is relevant to your audience:

• Remove business speak or jargon.
• Get rid of heavy vocabulary and an overload of abbreviations.
• Use as many short and medium-length sentences as possible.

Most of all, always front-load sentences so that important information is at the start.

The more you know your audience, the better you’ll understand their struggles, how to solve them, and how to present that solution within your webinar. By extension, you’ll be able to engage attendees better. Briar Goldberg, the director of speaker coaching at TED, talks about this:

“When your audience doesn’t feel like your words apply to them, when they don’t understand what you’re trying to say, or, worse yet, they don’t care about your ideas, then your carefully crafted slides, agenda or jokes simply don’t matter.”

A useful starting point then is one that Goldberg shares: ABC or Audience Before Content. Translation: before you put pen to paper, research your audience. The following three tips will help:

• Ask the marketing team to share audience demographics and buyers’ persona.
• Understand why attendees are making time for the webinar — what do they really want to learn?
• Figure out your audience’s expectations and how you can meet their expectations (social listening and asking this question in your sign-up form are two helpful ways to find your answer).

2. Know your goal

When learning how to create a webinar presentation, don’t saturate your content with too many ideas. Doing so dilutes your main message.

Semrush’s head of influencer marketing, Anton Shulke, stresses the need to have a clearly defined goal:

“Before doing a webinar, ask yourself why you are doing it, and if you have multiple reasons — just drop it. Webinars as any type of content serve one [to] two purposes; defining them before starting the work is absolutely essential.”

But what if you’ve gotten to this point and realized your goal isn’t necessarily relevant? Time to revise. What can you do to refine your intention and make your purpose better match your content and audience?

Revising your webinar’s goal is also crucial for writing a script that aligns with your goal and helping you tie in goal-relevant examples, screens, product tutorials (if needed), and calls to action.

3. Leverage storytelling

Good presentations are ultimately about telling a great story. Stories and real-life examples fascinate where business speak bores people — there’s science behind this too.

But what does this mean for you? Start with a story and build your ideas into your presentation as examples. This can help differentiate your webinar content, making it memorable and more human.

In a product-led webinar targeted toward people at the bottom of your funnel, for example, this would mean you don’t focus on your company or product. It means you tell a story about a customer, their problem, and how your solution can help them achieve their goal.

At Vimeo, we’re fans of sharing our customers’ success stories. It’s why in our Master Class on engaging town halls, we shared how Rite Aid created successful all-hands meetings with video.

Pro tip: If you plan to back your story with data, choose only two to three mind-blowing statistics. Dumping a laundry list of numbers increases your audience’s mental load.

4. Use the three to five takeaways rule

This one’s a hat tip to Vimeo’s content and programming lead, Julie Bergstein, who leads our event strategy.

The plan is easy: strip your script down to its simplest form. Why? Because simple is easy to understand and easy to remember.

One good way to keep things simple is by reducing your audience’s take-home messages to three to five points, according to Bergstein.

“I always like to highlight three to five key takeaways that our audience will walk away with so that they know exactly what they’re in for. Then, I always map the different ‘sections’ of content directly back to those three to five takeaways. At the end, I’ll reiterate the takeaways on a slide (in slightly different wording than the earlier slide) to really drive home the main points.”

Don’t be afraid of repetition — throughout your presentation, loop back to the main points from your outline and continually drive your webinar takeaways.

5. Trim your script to fit the presentation’s duration

Before you consider your webinar script done, give it one last round of edits.  

Take care of two things in this final step:

• Read your script out loud. You want to know how it sounds to the ear. Rewrite or get rid of sentences that are overly complex, don’t add value, and aren’t easy to understand in one go.
• Time your script. Read your script with the timer running in the background. Don’t stop even as the time exceeds your presentation’s duration. This will help you figure out how much speaking time you need to cut so you can shorten the script.

Six tips for presenting webinars

There’s only one thing that you need to practice now: your delivery.

It’s easy to think about “winging it,” but there are areas in which preparation can save you from wasting time (i.e., rambling, not knowing what to say next, etc.).

So here are six simple tips for presenting webinars like a professional:

1. Practice each slide

Without practice, you’re likely to ramble instead of making a concise argument. Plus, you’ll likely shower your audience with a ton of “umms” and other filler.

Delivering such a presentation does little to hold your audience’s attention. The solution? Practice. Lots of practice. If you can, get someone on the team to help you. Or record yourself and listen to where you’re stammering or going off-track.

If the webinar has more than one speaker, it’s a good idea to chart the webinar’s flow, including time slots for each presenter. From there on, do a run-through to see how each presenter is doing and to fine-tune the flow (and transition between speakers).

2. Rehearse your pacing and tone

You don’t need to change the way you speak. But your pacing will need work. As will making sure each word you say is delivered clearly. Miro’s webinar host talks about this, too.

“Pacing is critical; the audience shouldn’t feel like we’re blazing through features [or pointers/ideas] or spending forever on one feature [idea]. It should take advantage of attention while moving freely enough to capture wandering minds.”

Practice will help you strike the right balance for pacing. Here are a couple of tips for nailing your speech and tone.

• Speak clearly with micro pauses. Consciously take steps to clearly say each word to make sure your audience is able to digest your message.
• Work toward an energetic tone. A slow, lazy tone indicates the webinar is going to be a slow kill. An interested, dynamic tone, on the other hand, is welcoming — and will help you retain your audience.

3. Check your internet connection

Poor internet speed can cause your presentation to stutter or freeze. Since your aim is to provide an amazing attendee experience, make it a rule to check your internet speed a week before the event.

You’ll need a minimum of 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps) upload speed for hosting a webinar, but an exact estimate depends on audience size and the hosting platform.

4. Host from a noise-free webinar environment

This ensures your voice can be heard as clearly as possible. It also removes distractions for you, making it easy to keep up with your train of thought.

To this end, make sure you:

• Close all background tabs. You don’t want a song playing in the background only to find out it’s coming from one of your zillion tabs.
• Host from a room with soft surfaces. Carpet and curtains absorb sound and reduce echo. If you’re working from home, make sure the room is inaccessible to children and pets.
• Wear headphones. It reduces background noise and echo.
• Get a professional microphone. Research proves audio quality ranks higher than visual quality. This means your laptop’s built-in microphone simply won’t cut it. Consider investing in a lavalier or clip-on mic that can save your audience from straining to keep up with you.

Have some extra budget to spare? Get a boom arm for your mic so it’s positioned close to your mouth to minimize background noise.

5. Recruit a team to help you pull it all off smoothly

For large events, you may need a few more teammates to help pull everything off smoothly. A moderator, for example, helps manage comments pouring through your live chat or Q&A or moderates the most upvoted questions to the speaker(s).

A spotter, on the other hand, is an extra pair of eyes that regulates all the technical stuff during a webinar.

6. Curate questions for the Q&A session in case engagement is low

Ask for questions ahead of time. This will help you fire off a Q&A session immediately without having to fill the awkward silence until attendees share their questions. Gather questions using the webinar sign-up form or ask your social media or newsletter community to share their questions.

How to conduct post-webinar feedback surveys

A successful webinar doesn’t end once you reach the last slide. Post-webinar feedback helps you understand how your hard work translates into value for the attendees. As you wrap your presentation, be sure to tell participants you’ll be sharing a survey form in a follow-up email.

Some presenter feedback survey questions you can ask are:

• What’s your biggest takeaway from the presentation?
• How can we make the webinar better for you?
• What would you like to learn next?

You can also ask participants to rate your presentation with a few questions, such as:

• How likely are you to recommend the session to a colleague?
• Would you like to learn more on this topic?
• What percentage of the content shared with you was new?
• How would you rate the host’s presentation skills, presentation pace, and knowledge of the topic?

Webinar presentation best practices FAQs

Discover the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about presenting webinars.

How do you structure a good webinar?

A webinar’s success is typically dependent on the preparation that goes into it. In order to structure a good webinar, follow the steps in our guide to:

• Set up a webinar
• Design a webinar
• Write a webinar
• Present a webinar

What makes an effective webinar?

Arguably, the most important part of a webinar is what the speakers say. Visuals are important, but a webinar script can make or break a presentation. If you want your webinar to be effective, you need to first create an effective script. Effective webinar scripts include a variety of relevant data and statistics, examples, anecdotes, and casual communication. And don’t underestimate the power of purposeful pauses.

What are the 13 components of webinar presentations?

Thirteen is an arbitrary number created by a European webinar provider, but since you asked…

The 13 components of webinar presentations — as outlined by Online Seminar — include the following:

1. Communicate audience expectations.
2. Create a clear structure.
3. Keep slide information brief.
4. Build a dynamic presentation.
5. Involve participants actively (engage your audience).
6. Encourage attendees to take action (include a CTA!).
7. Practice! Practice! Practice!
8. Present slowly and thoughtfully (watch out for a pace that’s too fast!).
9. Alternate your eye contact between the screen and the audience.
10.  Explain your actions (e.g., “Now I’m starting a pre-recorded video…”) to increase clarity.
11.  Explain who has asked any questions you address.
12.  Don’t forget a post-event summary!
13.  Keep your closing statement concise.

Wrap up: Webinar presentation 101

Hopefully, you have a stronger idea of how to create a webinar presentation that will wow your audience. With these expert insights and presentation ideas, you’ll be able to host an awesome webinar that keeps your audience glued to their screen till the end.

Take a deep breath. Success is in identifying your presentation’s goal, packaging information in three to five takeaways, and practicing your script beforehand. Don’t forget to create breathable, clutter-free slide decks and engage your audience with polls and Q&As. And just remember: your ultimate goal is to connect with the person on the other side of the screen.

Go live with your next webinar

Originally published on July 2, 2021. Updated in May 12, 2023.

A well-executed virtual event sparks connections and inspires attendees, regardless of where they’re logging in from. A boring event? Well, we all know how those turn out — your survey email goes straight to SPAM or your event recording goes unwatched. 

Mastering the art of virtual events is key not only for experiential event planning professionals but for marketers as well. If you want to engage virtual attendees, you’ll need a creative vision, a powerful live streaming platform, and the right virtual event idea to get started.

So without further ado, here are 31 internal and external virtual event ideas to engage your employees and attendees.

What is a virtual event?

A virtual event takes place exclusively online. From conferences, festivals, award ceremonies, live sports, and faith-based live streams — virtual event ideas can range from quick virtual meetings or webinar sessions to multi-day experiences.

The beauty of virtual events is that they are cost-effective and without physical limitations. With online events, marketers don’t need to stress about occupancy rules, printed materials, furniture, swag budgets, or astronomical bar tabs.

As long as you stay focused on engaging your audience in a meaningful way, you have full creative license to make your digital experience perfectly tailored for your brand.

Check out our complete guide on how to plan and host a virtual event.

Team entertainment event ideas

As the work environment becomes increasingly remote, leadership teams have to remain creative in planning employee engagement activities. According to HubSpot’s 2022 Hybrid Work Report, 40% of remote team members miss connecting with colleagues spontaneously. So take a look at these seven virtual team entertainment options and start planning your virtual event today.

1. Movie screening

Everyone watches movies at home, but rarely do we get a chance to watch movies with coworkers and friends. A virtual movie night or screening for your team offers a nice change of pace from your typical virtual work events. 

Stream a film in a virtual group setting where people can watch and chat about the movie together. Make the experience even more interactive by hosting virtual gatherings before and/or after the screening to discuss the film.

2. Music concert

Nothing beats an in-person concert, but great musical performances can transcend virtual spaces. And it’s probably easier than you think to live stream a music concert. 

This year’s Coachella festival was available for virtual audiences through one of six separate live streams. So if concert-goers weren’t able to make it out to the desert (or didn’t want to pay $5 for a bottle of water), they can still enjoy their favorite performers’ sets.

You could even include a dance party or karaoke to shine a spotlight on team members and bring your musical event to a whole new level.

3. Theater performance

It may seem daunting, but a live theater event can be a unique, attainable way to offer virtual entertainment to your audience. Theatrical video guru Jim Glaub recommends pre-recording the performance you’re going to live stream. A second or two delay can interrupt an acting or musical beat, so streaming a previously recorded live performance is your best bet. 

Not sure where to start? Talk to acting teachers and colleges in your area to get connected to great live theater performers.

4. Museum visit

While most of us would prefer to travel the world to check out famous museums, it’s still pretty great to view art collections from afar. As live streaming services have improved, remote museum visits have become a real possibility for sharing entertainment.

There are great museums all over the world that offer virtual experiences. Use Google Arts & Culture to put together an online tour for your team, and they can discuss the world’s greatest works over coffee.

5. Casual party game

Murder mystery and other types of casual games translate well to an online environment because they don’t require many game pieces. But they do require audience communication!

Learn the rules of Werewolf and teach your employees how to “survive the night” in this virtual game. You can serve as moderator or designate a team member to keep the game running. 

6. Sporting event viewing

There are a few key dates every year all sports fans have circled on their calendars. From the Super Bowl to the World Cup, these types of important matches are best enjoyed with others. And if attendees can’t be at the game in person, watching along with fellow fans can make it more fun for your audience.

Hosting a virtual sports-watching party can be a great way for team members to enjoy the camaraderie of rooting for their favorite teams in a virtual setting.

7. Dinner party

Another way to kick back and relax with your colleagues and teammates is with a remote dinner party. Everyone eats, and you don’t necessarily have to have a set “menu” if you host a virtual dinner event, so it’s a natural way for employees to get together and connect.

And although you don’t have to provide a menu or recipes, it can be fun to follow a general “theme” like “spicy” or “favorite family meal.” Then teammates can share their recipes if they choose, or your company can sponsor the meal from a local restaurant.

Team professional learning event ideas

In 2021, one-fifth of trade shows were organized as virtual events — so it’s not only possible to do so, but it’s also a popular option. A virtual professional learning event is a great way to keep audience members and employees engaged.

8. Fireside chat

A fireside chat is a great virtual event idea to host for employees. Achieving the “fireside chat” format can be as easy as setting up a live stream broadcast for your team.

Industry thought leaders and motivational speakers are two great options for leading a presentation on an interesting topic.

9. Training

While a lot of options on this list are meant to spark connections and build teams, we also want to share virtual event ideas that can help you turn work necessities — like training and onboarding — into more engaging (and fun) events.
A great example of an engaging training event comes from the global coatings company Axalta. They wanted a modern way to reach their nearly 13,000 technicians without relying on decade-old in-classroom teaching practices.

“Organizing our training videos by teams or topics — all quickly searchable and on a stunning branded homepage — helps us shorten ramp up time and connect with teams at scale.”

Steve Hamaday, Virtual Training Manager, Axalta

By going virtual and streaming their training sessions, Axalta reached a much larger audience and presented information in a more fun and engaging manner than in the standard classroom setup. Use video to stream training content and help reach your global workforce.

10. Recruiting event

Why not turn your team-building activities into recruiting events? Put together a list of virtual team events to identify the most relevant ones to engage prospective employees. Options can include lunch-and-learns, hackathons, or panel discussions hosted by your team.

When setting up a recruiting event, encourage team members to bring friends or past colleagues. Many companies like to invite prospective employees to a team gathering or two to help everyone get a feel for the company and culture fit.

11. Digital summit

Virtual summits are an effective way to promote your brand and build a greater audience. We’ve seen great examples from Facebook’s F8 Refresh event and Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

Loyal fans of brands tune in year after year, so these digital summits can become trending events. However, it’s not just all talking heads and PowerPoints. Look for ways to leverage breakout sessions, group networking, and other activities to excite your streaming audience.

12. TED-inspired Talk

While hosting a virtual event for your audience is a great way to keep them engaged with your brand, it can also be the perfect opportunity to establish yourself as a true subject-matter expert in your relevant field. Perhaps the best way to do this is by hosting your own TED Talk-inspired keynote or webinar presentation.

If you can host a local TEDx Talk, do that — but setting up a TED-style live stream is the next best thing. When a key member of your team can show a strong understanding of your industry, it can help you develop a loyal audience.

13. Online conference

Translating a physical conference into a digital one can be user-friendly — with the right tools. Using Vimeo, ClayShare, a popular online pottery studio, was able to pivot from a physical conference to producing an online event in 10 days. With the right idea, the right conferencing resources, and the right virtual platform, your organization and exhibitors can follow suit.

Team social learning event ideas

When it comes to employee engagement, it’s a good idea to push the social element of your virtual events. As Gallup research shows, those in “highly engaged workplaces” show 41% lower absenteeism and 21% higher profitability. 

Hold a virtual learning event for your team and audience members and provide them with an interesting environment in which to socialize.

14. Mixology class

A typical mixology class involves alcohol, but you can certainly tweak the recipes for non-alcoholic drink options! Invite a trained bartender to teach your team how to make the perfect bespoke cocktail or mocktail.

A mixology class provides a fun activity for attendees while giving them a space to get to know one another. Plus, once they’ve completed the class, you can have everyone hang out virtually and chat about their favorite recipe.

If you’re looking for the perfect mixology experts and pricing information, check out the BIPOC-owned Hella Cocktail Co, which uses Vimeo Create to produce their own recipe videos and content in-house.

15. Book club

If you’re looking for an event series for your staff, a virtual book club is a great option. Book clubs combine individual reading with engaging collective discussions and commentary. A club can meet every week or month, depending on the group’s preference.

16. Fitness class

Just because you’re joining a virtual event from your home office doesn’t mean you can’t break a sweat. Virtual fitness classes inject wellness and fun into your organization’s content programming.

Virtual fitness classes can run the gamut from yoga and pilates to kickboxing. Since many of these virtual fitness classes already exist in the world, consider reaching out to your favorite host to sponsor an employee well-being event tailored for your audience.

17. Wine club

When considering which virtual event idea is right for your brand, it’s important to keep in mind your goals for engagement. Do you want your virtual event to be a one-off gathering to help promote a new product? Or do you want to build consistent engagement with a target audience?

If you’re looking for a good virtual event that can be turned into something that happens consistently throughout the year, consider hosting a virtual wine club. There are plenty to choose from online in which you can have subscribers pick their favorite blends from across the globe. Once they get their choices in the mail, hosting a weekly or monthly virtual wine club where participants connect online to discuss their favorites can be a great way to build consistent engagement.

Team parties and celebration ideas

It’s important to have fun in the workplace. In fact, 81% of employees at companies considered “great” (according to Great Places to Work criteria) described their work environment as “fun.”

Consider the following virtual events when planning your next team party or celebration.

18. Awards ceremony

One of your best bets for a fun and rewarding experience is hosting a virtual employee awards ceremony. Because, let’s face it, who doesn’t like a little love for their hard work?

Have fun with it! If you want to amp up the virtual experience, set a dress code in advance. Try rolling a virtual red carpet with employees dressed to the nines, or stay casual with food and drink pairing suggestions to complement the evening. And for an added level of engagement, consider including prizes like gift cards or other easily deliverable reward items.

19. Wellness party

Digital fatigue and employee burnout are increasing concerns in the remote working world. That’s why wellness and mental health programs are a popular trend for internal teams. It’s important to recognize that digital fatigue is real and that taking breaks to focus on employee wellness is crucial.

One way to keep employees fresh and engaged is by throwing a virtual wellness party. Think lunch-and-learn sessions, yoga or meditation classes, and fitness challenges. They don’t have to be specifically “wellness” themed to focus on refreshing your team, but it never hurts to encourage team members to relax and take some time for themselves.

20. Comedy roast

A word of caution for this idea: only attempt an internal virtual comedy roast if your team feels comfortable! Set ground rules, talk with your leadership, and — if the organization agrees — open the floor to some *appropriate* and *lighthearted* jokes.

You could even go the route of the “honey roast.” During a honey roast, speakers make sugary sweet jokes about their colleagues instead.

21. Happy hour

This is a pretty straightforward icebreaker option that’s always a classic. Hosting a virtual happy hour is one of the tried-and-true ways to let your team virtually relax and hang out. These events should be free-flowing without set agendas. 

However, it never hurts to plan out some fun games to try out while your team is unwinding. Here are some helpful virtual happy hour ideas to try out at your next online gathering. And make sure to let your staff members know to join in with whatever type of drink or snack they enjoy!

22. Holiday party

Holiday parties are a staple of corporate work life. From Halloween and New Year’s to winter and spring holidays, it’s always fun to find an excuse to have a party.

Live stream your event and consider hiring some live entertainment or hosting a costume or decorating contest. Bonus points for sending a swag bag or a set of gifts to your employees the day of the event.

23. Digital gala

If your brand is a nonprofit, association, or public institution, you may want to consider bringing attendees together for a virtual gala. If you’re considering different virtual fundraising ideas, virtual galas are a great way to attract advocates, thought leaders, and donors to support a cause.

Check out an online fundraising platform like Givebutter, integrated with Vimeo. These tools can help you collect donations while broadcasting your live stream.

Team challenge ideas

Remote work can cause your employees’ collaboration to weaken and become more siloed, so it’s critical that you create virtual events that require teamwork and communication. These are some of our favorite options.

24. Gaming tournament

The growing transition to a hybrid lifestyle has taught us a lot of things, especially that there are more ways to engage than IRL — like with video games. Gaming (and gamification) has become more accessible and entertaining with the growth of live streaming.

For your next virtual team-building activity, try hosting a virtual video gaming tournament where staff members can log on and play together. You can also host popular gamer streams, where your audience members and employees can watch along in real time.

25. Social media challenge

Creating and/or participating in a social media challenge is a fun way for teams to bond virtually. 

While it might feel silly to copy the latest TikTok dances from teen influencers, once your employees get out of their heads, they’ll probably have a lot of fun doing it. But there are also plenty of great non-dance social media challenges that don’t require much more than a smartphone to participate in.

26. Digital scavenger hunt

Feeling creative? Invite your employees to a virtual scavenger hunt or virtual escape room style of game.

Write (or aggregate) clues that participants can use to complete virtual tasks and find objects in this online game. Use breakout sessions and breakout rooms to let your teams gather and figure out how to get to the finish line first.

27. Trivia

Another way to engage your employees is with online trivia! Trivia is a classic both in a pub and at home. Plus, a virtual trivia night can be just as easy as hosting one in person. If you want to elevate the experience for your guests, try hosting it as a game show.

Attendees have the option to join virtual trivia games alone, with a small team, or even with groups of people scattered across the globe. If you’d like to find out more about hosting virtual trivia nights for your team members, check out Geeks Who Drink — they offer plenty of options.

28. Photography contest

Gone are the days of lugging around tons of equipment. Smartphones can give anyone the power to shoot stunning photographs. Let your staff members show their skills with a photo contest.

Check Instagram for photo challenge prompts. Or try opening up submissions for a virtual photography contest you create from scratch. You can even host a virtual gallery and have an awards ceremony to top off the event.

Customer nurturing event ideas

Not all virtual events will be created and produced for company employees. You can put the same creativity and effort into customer-nurturing events! Read on for some ideas to get you started.

29. Morning show

Here’s a question: how do you support your customers online? Zendesk answered the call and created a live streaming series called the Zendesk Morning Show that aired biweekly to more than 170,000+ global clients.

Virtual video events can be a great way to level up your customer communication and retention strategy. Think of how to bring the most relevant content to your customers, and use tools like private internal links and review tools in a video library to build out your comms.

“With Vimeo, we launched a bi-weekly live show for global customers, during a pandemic, in just weeks, not months. We managed the whole process on the Vimeo platform, collaborating remotely with our team and agency, and going live multiple times a week, in several languages.”

Alvin Mudun, Senior Web Product Manager, EMEA, Zendesk

30. Cooking class

A virtual cooking class might be just the trick to engage customers while adding a little *spice* to their day.

Send a recipe to your attendees in advance, or ship a box of ingredients to their door (if it makes sense for your budget). Stream the culinary class and leverage Q&A, chats, and polls to engage your amateur chefs. Encourage your guests to share their final results on social media, use an event-specific hashtag, and mention your organization. 

31. Networking events

If your company is looking to project a more professional experience for those in the corporate world, a virtual networking event can be a smart option. Virtual networking is a great way to engage potential clients and introduce yourself to prospective new hires as a recruiting tool.

Use your own team members and in-house SMEs to help plan the content for and host the event.

Virtual events FAQs

Still wondering how you can spice up your virtual event? We’ve got answers to the most frequently asked questions on virtual event ideas. 

What events can be done virtually?

Well, to begin, all the 31 events listed in this article can be created and produced virtually. With the right idea and virtual event platform, you can turn almost any in-person event into an online *event*. 

How do you make a virtual event fun?

The best way to add some fun to your virtual event is with engaging activities. Even if you’re presenting a straightforward webinar or training module, take advantage of the engagement tools you have at your fingertips: chat and messaging, reactions, surveys, polls, and more. 

How do you attract people to virtual events?

If you don’t already have a built-in audience — like employees or clients — for your virtual event marketing efforts, there are four ways to get them in the “door”:

• Optimize your promotional content for search to boost inbound traffic (and hopefully sign-ups).
• Use email marketing to reach potential leads.
• Build interest with a “sneak peek” of the virtual event. 
• Work with your presenting sponsors (if you have them) to cross-promote the event.

Virtual events are here to stay

Virtual events are engaging and powerful mediums to connect people across your company and around the world. We hope these 31 fun virtual event ideas help spark your imagination for your next virtual event.

As more and more brands look to the best virtual events as effective ways to reach internal and external audiences, consider what professional video tools, tricks, and resources you can leverage to take your content to the next level.

Download the virtual events handbook

Published July 2021, updated May 2023

An unfocused, long-winded presentation introduction could chase someone off before you’ve even gotten the webinar started. When an attendee leaves a webinar early, it puts a dent in the presenter’s confidence. 

To make an immediate splash and connect with your audience, presenters need strong but short opening remarks. You should hook the audience with compelling storytelling and set expectations from the get-go — and a succinct, engaging webinar welcome speech can help them do just that.

But what exactly makes a perfect webinar welcome speech? Here’s where to start: 

• It’s short: We recommend a webinar “welcome” between 60 seconds and three minutes.  
• It’s approachable: Find the line between being prepared and keeping things loose enough to engage your audience naturally.
• It gamifies your webinar experience: Share why attendees should stick through to the end.
  • Do they get exclusive access to information or content? 
  • A free trial of your product? 
  • A credit for a service that’s only unlocked by staying to the end?

In this guide, we’ll break down how to write a welcome speech and walk you through the essential parts of creating the perfect webinar script.

5 elements of the perfect webinar welcome speech

Before writing a welcome address for a webinar, you’ll need to divide your intro into a few important sections.

We’ve broken down the steps below to help guide you through the process.

1. Start with a greeting and thank attendees for their time

When greeting your webinar attendees, remember that your team members work across regions, time zones, and even countries. Make sure to use a greeting that isn’t time-sensitive (e.g., “good morning”) and keep it succinct. “Hello and welcome” is always a safe choice. 

After greeting them, thank attendees for their time upfront – don’t wait until the end. Make sure they feel valued by sharing some appreciation, but keep it simple and sincere. And set initial expectations by sharing how long your webinar presentation will last.

Example:

“Hello and welcome to our [type of event]. In this 45-minute webinar, we hope you learn [list a few key takeaways]. Thank you for taking the time to join us today.”

Pro tip: Include the “how” in your webinar introduction

German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus says people forget most of what they learn within an hour. And according to Ebbinghaus’s “Forgetting Curve,” humans typically forget around 75% of what they’ve learned within two days. 

One way to improve attendees’ memory is to explain how what they’re going to learn will benefit them. If the reason is clear, their brains will prioritize the information.

2. Preview the topic

After thanking your audience, give a brief overview of the topic so you can continue explaining to them why the webinar is worth their time (even more on this later).

Sharing a cheat sheet, workbook, or template at the end of the event? Now’s the time you share that, as well. Nothing hooks people like free goodies. Be clear about what your audience can expect and any takeaways they’ll receive:

“We’ll cover X, so you can learn Y. We’ve also got a free cheat sheet for you at the end of the session, so stay tuned to learn more.”

Example:

“In this masterclass, we’ll share six secret copywriting tips to write better ads with higher conversion rates. Whether you’re a blogger, entrepreneur, business owner, or another digital marketing professional, you’ll leave feeling ridiculously confident about making money from online business advertising. And with our free copywriting cheat sheet at the end — stay tuned for that one — you can start moving customers through your sales funnel today.”

When previewing your topic, keep the focus on attendee benefits and don’t go into too much detail about the webinar content or host yet.

Pro tip: Use power words to stir emotion

Some examples of power words include:

• Free
• Secret
• High-converting
• Ridiculously
• Surprise

You can boost your audience’s interest further by calling your webinar a “masterclass” or “seminar.” The word “presentation” sounds too formal, and “webinar” is used often, so consider a different distinction.

3. Handle housekeeping thoroughly but briefly

You’ve shared the topic and have set some expectations — now it’s time to let people know how they can participate in your webinar. 

A recent HubSpot survey asked participants which element they’d most like to see covered in a webinar, and the most popular response — at 22% — is “A host or presenter that takes questions from the audience.” Talk to your attendees about polls, chat, and other features you’ve planned for audience engagement.

Example:

“To make sure we’re helping you as best as we can on [topic], we have a chat box to collect your questions. We’ll also have [share engagement tactics, such as polls or social media tags].”

It’s better to show, not tell, at this point, though. Some ways to do so:

• Explain exactly where they can find the chat box in the webinar software tools (e.g., “On the right of your screen is a …”).
• Show an annotated screenshot with the chat box circled in red, so people can spot it on their own screens.

Then spell out how people can engage and when you’ll be responding to them:

“Feel free to drop questions on the topic or share your struggles and experiences. We’ll answer your questions by the end of each guest session.”

“The moderator will collect the most upvoted questions so we can answer them for you at the end of the presentation.”

Go on to extend help: “If you have any questions at this point, feel free to drop them in the chat box below.”

Pro tip: Where/how will you share the webinar?

This is also an important time to share whether the webinar recording will be available later. If you also plan to share the presentation deck or any other materials, be sure to communicate that as well so attendees know how to access and use them.

4. Introduce your speakers

Ideally, it makes sense to tell people who they’re watching on their screens as you welcome them in the beginning.

But you don’t want to go into the details of your experience if you’re also the speaker. The reason? Attendees will forget about your expertise if you dig into housekeeping after introducing yourself. So you’ll need to reintroduce yourself and other guests or topical mentors (if there are any), which will stretch your webinar welcome speech.

So a good, natural move is to throw in your one-line introduction at the start and share more about your expertise later on. However, it does depend on your role (moderator vs. host vs. speaker).

When sharing your experience as a speaker, add a pinch of storytelling to your introduction. But remember to keep it short. Try this three-step storytelling formula:

• Hook attendees by asking a question or sharing unexpected challenges.
• Appeal to attendees’ emotions by building on the struggle.
• Close with how you solved the problem (including the results you delivered) or some quick, memorable insights.

Now let’s talk about how to introduce guests. Aim to keep it natural. Rehearse so you don’t have to read it from your script.

Share each guest’s name, background, and experience. It’s best to include guests’ expertise by sharing the results they’ve driven.

Example: 

“Shane has written ads that have driven $6 million in revenue for their clients.” This shows why a guest is the best person they can learn from on the topic.

Pro tip: Keep it brief

Don’t take long with guest introductions and thanking sponsors. Instead of orating their entire history, choose specifics from their experience that are relevant to the webinar topic.

5. Reiterate the value of the event and get started

Note that throughout the introduction, you’ve shared reasons for attendees to stay. The topic, guest list, and takeaway all do this job.

The last step in creating the best webinar welcome speech is to reiterate the topic for a quick refresh and to capture the attention of those joining in late.

Again, keep it short and try not to repeat yourself, even though you’ve discussed the topic. At this point, talk about the agenda. According to HubSpot, 30% of webinar participants want to attend a presentation that teaches them how to do a specific task — so make sure you’re letting them know what they can expect to learn.

Example: 

“Our guests today will teach you how to live stream like a pro. So next time you run your live session, you’ll be a lot more confident.” Then mention the areas you’ll cover.

Pro tip: Summarize in 3 main points

In your closing technique, when you talk about the areas you’ll cover, keep it to three points, so attendees don’t forget what the session will include.

Your webinar welcome speech template

If you’re looking to craft the perfect webinar welcome speech, save time with a template. But remember to write it out step-by-step, practice, and put your own spin on it before going live!

Webinar speech element: Welcome

“Hello and welcome. I’m your host and speaker/moderator, [name]. Thank you for taking the time to join us today as we talk about [topic].

Webinar speech element: Benefits

You’ll leave with [share benefits of learning topic — best limited to three benefits]. We’ve also got a free [takeaway type] for you at the end of the session, so stay tuned to learn more about it.

Webinar speech element: Engagement tools explanation

And, to make sure we’re helping you as best as we can on [topic], we have a chat box where you can submit your questions. We’ll also have [engagement tools, such as polls] to share with you.

Webinar speech element: Q&A

Feel free to drop questions on the topic or share your struggles and experiences. We’ll answer your questions by the end of each guest session (or, “The moderator will collect the most upvoted questions so we can answer them for you at the end of the presentation”).

Webinar speech element: Recording access 

Also, don’t worry about taking notes — we will send the session’s recording and training video via email within [specify time].

Webinar speech element: Intro guest speakers

So without further ado, let me introduce you to the pros who will talk about [reiterate topic].

• Our first speaker is [name] from [topical credentials] (then two to three lines about topical results the speaker has driven).
• Our second speaker is … (repeat the speaker intros as needed).

Webinar speech element: Agenda items

Today, these guests will teach you how to [topic] so [benefit]. 

• One thing we’ll dive into is [agenda item #1]. (1 line)
• Then, [agenda item #2]. (1 line)
• And finally, [agenda item #3]. (1 line)

Webinar speech element: Wrap-up

Ready? Let’s get started! Here’s [first speaker].

Webinar script FAQs

And to wrap things up, let’s answer some final questions on successful webinar introductions:

Go live with your next webinar

Originally published on November 1, 2021. Updated on May 5, 2023.

Over the last few years, virtual events have ballooned in popularity — with many customers experiencing event fatigue as invites pop up weekly within their inboxes, LinkedIn, and Instagram ads.

The world has clearly recognized the benefits of virtual events, and marketers everywhere are hopping on the bandwagon. However, this makes it harder than ever for your own events to stand out in a sea of invites.

So, how can you make your virtual event stand out in today’s crowded event space?

Many event companies will try to convince you that the answer lies in landing big-name celebrity speakers or throwing flashy giveaways. However, after running events for over 17 years for companies like Vimeo, the American Red Cross, HubSpot, and Bizzabo, I think the answer is actually much simpler than that.

The key to running successful, resonant events today — regardless of what your competitors are doing — is to foster a fear of missing out (FOMO) among potential attendees. Below, we explore why FOMO works in event marketing, as well as a few ways that you can use it before, during, and after your event to increase registrations, boost anticipation, and maximize your event’s ROE.

Fostering FOMO to drive event registrations

The need for belonging is a basic human instinct. People have an innate need to connect and to belong to a community. The recent shift to remote and hybrid work over the last three years has only underscored that need for many, with over a third of remote workers today saying they feel lonely at work.

Events — both virtual and in person — are an invaluable opportunity to foster community. But let’s be real: fostering FOMO doesn’t mean that you’re making people feel excluded from your programming. Instead, FOMO in your event marketing follows a three-part formula, where you: 

• Position your event as exclusive, timely, and limited
• Make your event’s value proposition crystal clear
• Stoke attendees’ competitive spirits

Let’s explore why each of these actions work, and how you can implement them practically for your next event.

Create a sense of community

If your favorite musician were coming to town and you didn’t have tickets, you might feel a sense of FOMO. 

But if your favorite musician was coming to town, you didn’t have tickets, and all of your friends did? Then that FOMO would reach a fever pitch.

Similarly, the best business-to-business (B2B) events don’t exist in a vacuum — instead, they act as tentpole events that bring together existing and established communities. When potential attendees hear about your event, they should see it as an opportunity to connect in real-time with a group of people they feel they already know (even if they’ve never actually met).

So how do you achieve this? I call this the FOMO funnel: 

• Level 1: On your landing pages, social content, and email sequences, include social proof and highlight brands that’ll be in attendance. This establishes your event as credible and relevant to potential attendees. 
• Level 2: Feature unique humans and real people who are coming to your event. With attendee spotlights, you’ll create a sense of anticipation of “Who’s coming? What are their pain points? What can you learn from them once you’re all in the same room?” 

Fortune serves as a great example of this. An established business publication, Fortune also hosts over 50 conferences a year. But Fortune isn’t marketing these events to a fresh audience each time — because they’ve already cultivated their ideal audience as members of their Fortune Connect community. 

Within the Fortune Connect app, members access premium news, join livestreams routinely hosted by business leaders, message and connect with other members, and take part in learning sprints. 

Members say they feel they are “part of [the] community” and that they can “establish real connections” with peers in Connect. For these community members, Fortune’s events aren’t just an opportunity to learn and step away from their desks for a couple of days — they act as a chance to solidify their belonging to a network of peers.

Of course, creating a sense of community doesn’t mean you have to build your own trademarked app. Instead, you can:

• Create a Slack group for those in your industry (like Superpath’s group for content marketers)
• Engage with product users in a Facebook or Reddit group (like OpenPhone does with its users)
• Create community forums to encourage interaction between users (like Atlassian’s community for product users)
• Host invite-only events, discussions, and roundtables (like Superside does for its community of marketers and designers)

Position your event as timely, exclusive, and limited

In the past, “Register now” served as a sufficient call-to-action in event marketing — but today, that’s no longer the case.

Thanks to the abundance of events available, educated buyers are now only making purchasing decisions when they’re fully informed and committed to buying. Before registering for an event, they’re asking themselves: 

• Is this worth the investment?
• How much time will I need to invest? 
• Am I going to advocate for my company to allow me to go to this program?
• Is this urgent?

To get potential attendees to answer “yes” to those questions, you need to position your event as a timely, exclusive, and limited affair. You can do this by:

• Limiting the number of available tickets to create a sense of scarcity
• Having potential attendees sign up for a waitlist or limited-entry giveaway prior to opening up ticket sales
• Adding a timer countdown to your event registration page, so that potential attendees know that they’ll lose their spot in line (and their ticket) if they don’t complete their purchase quickly
• Offering a limited VIP tier ticket that gets access to exclusive offerings at the event

For inspiration, look no further than Web Summit’s roundtables, which require attendees to sign up for limited seats that are filled on a “first come, first served” basis. Web Summit asks participants if they’d like to “make it to the top table at Web Summit” and warn attendees to choose their roundtable selections wisely, as they can only attend a maximum of three.

SparkToro also does a great job of fostering FOMO with its SparkTogether summit. Unlike most virtual events, SparkTogether sessions aren’t recorded to be re-shared later — because speakers’ presentations are treated as confidential outside of the event itself.

If attendees don’t join for the live virtual event, then they’ll never know the juicy, unfiltered secrets shared by speakers. Attend it or lose it.

Make the value of your event crystal-clear

“Make your event’s value proposition clear” might seem like the most obvious advice in the world — but you’d be surprised at how often event marketers will focus on the details of their events in their marketing materials, rather than highlighting the event’s benefit to attendees.

One way that you can break out of this habit is by ensuring your marketing materials consistently answer the question: “Who will attendees become if they attend this event?”

Collision is a four-day conference that covers 20 diverse tech content tracks. But on their homepage, rather than focus on the session topics they’ll cover, they focus on telling the story of who you’ll become if you attend Collision.

Not only does Collision promise attendees that they’ll be part of the “people and companies redefining the global tech industry,” but they also highlight a string of prominent past attendees and make it clear what you’ll get out of the conference — namely, networking, learning, lead generation, and exposure.

Show and tell attendees exactly how your event will transform them. You can do this by:

• Highlighting glowing testimonials from past attendees
• Inviting industry influencers to join as speakers, attendees, or media
• Bundling event tickets with limited-time offers, like access to a course or resource, that will increase the value to participants
• Making sure your session titles focus on what attendees will learn or tangibly take away from sessions
• Answer the question: “Who are you going to become after attending this event?” Share the hard or soft skills they can expect to strengthen, learn or develop 
• In your post-event survey, ask folks what they upskilled on because they attended your event 

When it comes to social proof, make sure that you’re highlighting testimonials from two types of attendees: those that are relatable to your audience (and have similar titles, jobs, and company sizes to them) and those that are most aspirational, revered, and influential to them. That way, attendees can see themselves as attendees among peers, while also seeing themselves transforming into the influencers they respect and aspire to.

FOMO in events means taking a “you had to be there” approach, one that emphasizes the quality of connections that can happen when you’re in community with one another. That’s why Vimeo partnered with The Vendry to create an intimate supper club for global event leaders in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. 

As event experience leaders, we rarely invest in our own development. We’re serving our attendees and hosting stellar events, but find ourselves craving a community of like-minded people who can validate strategy, measurement, and experience design. We built a safe space to have authentic, vulnerable conversations with their peers about the future trends of the event industry. 

Stoke attendees’ competitive spirits

At most events, attendees expect to mainly be consumers of content: they attend sessions, listen to speakers, and receive swag bags. They network, sure, and they may ask a speaker a question or two during a designated Q&A period. But they generally don’t see themselves as participants or contributors to an event.

Getting attendees involved, however, can ramp up attendees’ excitement for your event. Shining a spotlight on attendees through awards or recognition from peers can also bring a fun and dynamic twist to your event.

What might that look like in practice? Every year, Webflow hosts its Webflow Conf, where Webflow users come together to learn about new products, share their expertise with one another, and network. But Webflow stays away from simply sharing news about their new features and keeps attendees engaged and participating with their Webflow Awards and their annual Speed Build Challenge during the conference.

The Speed Build Challenge also builds anticipation for the conference a month before it starts, with 16 challengers competing in a virtual, qualifying round on YouTube. Four finalists are then flown out to the conference for the final competition, which takes place live.

And of course, Webflow highlights attendees’ excitement about the challenge front and center in their conference testimonials:

To tap into attendees’ competitive spirits, get them involved by:

• Hosting a challenge during the event
• Asking registrants to nominate a colleague or industry leader for an award, which is then presented during the conference
• Adding interactive elements into your virtual event so that you can call out strong answers or gift participants with swag

Build FOMO into every stage of the marketing life cycle

Finally, keep in mind that increasing potential attendees’ FOMO isn’t a one-time task that ends when your event begins. It should be a part of the entire marketing life cycle, and you should be finding unique ways to increase attendees’ FOMO before, during, and after the event — because that will all build the FOMO for your next event.

During your event, build FOMO in real-time by:

• Sending attendees sneak-peeks and highlights of the sessions they didn’t attend (put those virtual event analytics to work!)
• Letting them see the extra benefits that VIP or higher-tier attendees received, so that they want to spring for an even better pass next year
• Capturing and sharing live footage of the event on social media

Building FOMO for your next event should also take place immediately after your event wraps. Don’t wait for six months after the event ends to restart the promotional cycle for your next event. Re-engage attendees immediately and stay top of mind by:

• Offering your attendees early registration for your next event (you can even offer them an exclusive benefit, such as a mentoring or matchmaking session, if they sign up early)
• Sending out additional resources, toolkits, and event highlights post-event
• Teasing out your next event’s speakers, sessions, and offerings over time

The wrap up

Ready to start planning your next FOMO-packed virtual event? Vimeo’s virtual event platform makes it easy to build custom landing pages, registration forms, and event reminder emails to maximize FOMO and attendee excitement before your event. 

Try Vimeo’s virtual event platform.