Webinars have been an effective marketing tool for many years — and during the pandemic, they were one of the only ways to connect with prospects and customers. As a result, their popularity is skyrocketing. Frost & Sullivan predict the global market for webinars and virtual events will reach $4.44 billion by 2025, up from $1.57 billion in 2020, and 60% of marketers use webinars as a content marketing tool today.
Modern webinar platforms offer advanced data analytics and reporting, enhanced ease of use, and rich feature sets to help engage audiences, but a successful webinar that drives leads and conversions requires strategic thinking and flawless execution. Here are 6 best practices to help ensure your webinar goes off without a hitch and help generate demand for your products and services:
1. Schedule carefully.
Is your audience global? If so, you’ll need to schedule your webinar at a time that accommodates different time zones and holidays that people in various regions may celebrate. The day of the week can also make a big difference between meeting your attendance goals and having to reschedule for lack of registrations. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are preferable, since most people are busy catching up on Mondays and many people may be on their way out of town on Fridays.
2. Engage your audience with promotional outreach and reminders.
You can’t expect people to attend your webinar if you don’t tell them about it! It’s important to craft compelling marketing emails and social posts to promote your event ahead of time. Two or three emails prior to the event can help drive registrations, one of which can be a personal invitation from a speaker or expert who will be on the webinar. And don’t forget to setup confirmation emails with calendar invites. Your webinar platform will have canned confirmation emails, but you can always leverage your marketing automation system and setup your emails to come from there. Here’s some great advice for formatting confirmation emails and how to create an add to calendar button.
3. Make sure your visuals shine.
Nothing’s worse than a boring, text-heavy slide deck that looks clunky and unprofessional, so be sure your slides are well-designed and communicate key points. Consider enlisting the help of a professional graphic designer or webinar specialist to ensure your slides are top-notch. Mix in visuals and various media, such as video clips and gifs, with static slides to add variety and keep the presentation visually interesting.
4. Partner with a customer, analyst, or subject matter expert.
People enjoy hearing from various perspectives. With only one person speaking for a full hour, your audience is likely to lose interest. Make sure you have a moderator and at least one subject matter expert, and consider inviting a customer or analyst to share their perspective, as well. Always open up the conversation to the audience with a Q&A at the end of the webinar to increase engagement and encourage a lively, interactive discussion.
5. Do a dry run.
Before the day of your webinar, do a full dry run with all speakers, if possible. Make sure your computer and headset are in proper working order, and that the platform runs as it should, to avoid any unforeseen glitches or delays. Choose a location that is quiet, with no distractions and adequate lighting. While this may feel like double the work, remember that even trained actors don’t hit the stage or get in front of the camera before running lines and conducting dress rehearsals.
6. Follow up!
Maintaining engagement with webinar attendees is critical to converting the leads you generate. Follow-up outreach can include emails and phone calls, all aimed at persuading attendees to get in touch, start a trial, or request a demo. You could even place your leads into a nurture stream on a related topic. But there’s a fine line between follow-up and harassment, so plan your communications strategically! Craft your messages carefully, and add value by providing links to the webinar recording and relevant resources.
Webinars can support your demand generation goals, and BDO Digital can help you along the way. We offer Campaign Services to help build and deploy promotional assets, follow-up emails, and landing pages within your marketing automation platform. We also offer MarTech services to help ensure your marketing automation and webinar platforms are in sync. Contact us today to discuss your specific needs.
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