Boost your conference buzz: Master pre-event speaker interviews
Know the dos and don'ts of value-driven pre-conference content
The most efficient and cost-effective way to generate buzz and increase attendance for your upcoming conference is to do pre-conference interviews with your confirmed speakers. Get this right, and you can spend your advertising budget on cocktails.
But first, familiarise yourself with the dos and don’ts of pre-conference speaker interviews.
Dos
Make it clear why your interviewee is the right person to speak about this topic:
Your interviewer needs to not only thoroughly research the speaker but also the topic they will share with the conference delegates. If you understand the speaker’s background, field of expertise, and recent work, it becomes easy to convey that person’s unique relevance for being at the conference.
In addition, once you grasp the topic, you will be able to tailor your questions (see below).
Ask the right questions:
Pre-conference interviews are not designed to mirror the presentation. Therefore, questions must probe the topic’s relevance and why this person is qualified to speak about it.
Challenge the speaker to share unique insights or perspectives.
Encourage the interviewee to share personal anecdotes relating to the topic.
Video-record the interview and embed the edited video on your platform:
Make sure it’s professional. Edit and curate video properly and ensure good audio and video quality.
If the video runs more than 2 minutes, use time stamps to highlight the essential bits.
Incorporate event branding to reinforce the connection to the upcoming conference. It can be an opening and closing slide or embed the event logo in the video.
Highlight the interview key takeaways:
Focus on Value: Ensure the interview highlights what attendees can expect to learn and why it’s valuable.
Sneak Peeks: Give the audience a glimpse of the content or insights that will be shared during the event. But, but, but… (see don’ts!)
Promote the interview:
Use ALL the channels at your disposal, whether it’s your newsletter, social channels, or video platforms.
Use teaser and short, engaging clips to attract interest and direct viewers to the full interview.
DON’TS
Don’t over-promote:
Even if you are desperate to sell more conference tickets, don’t make it obvious. Stick to Journalism 101; otherwise, your ‘interview’ will just be another sales pitch. When your interview provides focus, value, and insight, sales will follow.
Don’t rely on the same repetitive messaging:
It’s easy, but also lazy, to copy and paste the same OLD promotional messages into your copy. Rather keep it relevant to the speaker and topic in the interview. That will inform and engage better than the message they read last week (and the week before).
Don’t share presentation slides:
Presentation slides must first be seen at the conference by those who paid for their seats. Only after they are shared at the conference do slides become part of your messaging. Slides could be valuable post-conference content, whether shared freely or in a walled garden (read Turn Event Content Into Profit).
Don’t link for the sake of linking:
Never link to previous conference engagements or videos - unless it’s your own. Your interview needs to drive traffic to your platforms and booking space, not someone else’s.
Don’t venture off-topic, or be controversial:
Stay focused on the conference topics and the speaker’s expertise.
Steer clear of controversial issues unless they are directly relevant and handled sensitively. Leave sensitive issues to be raised at the conference. Again, that will be part of your post-conference content. More about this in a later stack.