We’re seeing more and more companies making use of virtual experiences, especially since COVID-19 has disrupted in-person panels and B2B trade shows. The solution? Webinars! These are educational, online meetings for employees, customers, and industry peers. Not only are they a great way to stay updated about a brand during quarantine, but they’re also underrated platforms for networking, marketing, and so much more.
We know what you’re thinking: Do webinars really work? Surely a product demo or a sales rep answering FAQs isn’t enough for people to tune in? To that, we’re inclined to agree; successful webinars take more calculated, creative risks to ultimately pay off. Without further ado, let’s examine some techniques for developing marketing webinars that will fill those virtual seats.
Include Content That’s Exclusive to Your Webinar
Here at Snap, we’ve seen an incredible increase in sign-up rates when we promote webinar-exclusive content. Think of the thrill your customers experience, after all, in knowing that they’re about to get the scoop on coveted information to boost their operations or utilize your products.
Ask yourself what would qualify as “webinar-exclusive” content for your business. Do you have access to data or real-life examples to show just how useful your product is in daily life? Is your content highly specific and formatted just so? Does your webinar feature authoritative speakers with insightful commentary? What if you offered a paid product at the end of your webinar, discounted for all those who attended? That’s right, even if your webinar is technically free, you can still find resourceful ways to make a profit.
Still not sure? Review your brand’s unique selling points. What do you do as a company—and from there, what can you bring to your webinar—that literally no one else can?
Welcome Guest Speakers Who Cross-Promote on Their Platforms
We touched on landing yourself a guest speaker above, but what can those speakers do, exactly (besides share their knowledge and enthusiasm for your product)? They can cross-promote, that’s what—in other words, target customers interested in your webinar-specific product with a related product, social media handle, etc.
Say, for example, that you or your guest speaker promoted one another on Instagram or LinkedIn. If your guest has a strong following with potential interest in your product, what better way to encourage them to learn more than at your very panel?
Email Marketing: A Tried-and-True Classic
Emails drive 57% of webinar registrations—compare that to approximately 14% for website and blog promotions and 15% for social platforms. In other words, don’t think for one second about forgoing this channel!
Remember that cross-promotion we talked about earlier? Consider making use of your speaker’s email list, too. That way, you’ll broaden your reach to potential users who may not receive your emails just yet, but would like to.
The trick with email marketing, however, is not to overwhelm your customer. Sure, it makes sense to send surveys and newsletters to that inbox before and after the webinar. On the other hand, a casual viewer doesn’t expect (and probably doesn’t want) to receive dozens of emails a week. We suggest capping those at 2-3 emails per week instead.
Conduct a Social Ad Campaign
Back that email campaign up some social media action to add a little extra “oomph” to your webinar promotion. Remember, too, that every social media platform is unique, so you’ll need to vary how you share content instead of shooting out the same message to a dozen different channels.
When discussing the best social media platforms to promote a webinar, we’d be remiss not to mention LinkedIn. If you’re a B2B company tailored to a specific professional area, chances are you’ll do exceptionally well here. If you’re wondering how to promote a webinar on LinkedIn, start by sharing company blog posts and hinting at the upcoming session, along with the info that will be available there. Consider sending Sponsored InMail on LinkedIn as well; it’s a strong way to deliver personalized invites and even collect information about your audience on the site’s Lead Gen Forms.
Throughout your social ad campaign, keep in mind the frequent social media marketing mistakes made by businesses. For example, one common error is companies failing to engage enough with their audiences. If a prospective attendee has a question about your webinar, respond quickly and in detail. Ask yourself if you are creating a consistent communication cadence that gives your audience what they want—and delivers what you promise the webinar will contain.
Snap: Innovative Marketing for Successful Webinars
Want more advice on how to utilize frequently underutilized platforms like webinars? Looking to craft an engaging social ad campaign with just the right amount of cross-promotion? Unsure of how to present your webinar-exclusive content or convey your unique selling points in the first place? Send us a message. We’re the fresh eyes you’ve been looking for, and we can’t wait to make something great together.