Learn About the Digital Marketing Tool That Has Made a Major Comeback
In the digital marketing world, there has been much debate over the power of webinars and their benefits. Just a few years ago, opponents to the platform might have been correct. Now, with the world relying on virtual communications more than ever, the relevance of webinars is no longer a concern. Remote work has taken the business world by storm, which has made the power of webinars stronger than ever.
In fact, webinars can be one of the best ways to engage with potential clients, but they must be conducted properly. The B2B platform BrightTalk reported a 76% increase in video, webinar, and virtual events from March to June 2020. For businesses, this change in behavior creates a great opportunity to meet clients where they are and provide value to them.
If you want to create a webinar that drives traffic and is truly valuable to a potential client, consistency is key. You must determine how often you want to deliver your webinars and stick to that schedule. This will show clients that you can be trusted to follow through on your promises. They can also help you collect data for your marketing efforts, as they will allow you to keep track of your monthly leads and understand how your webinars are contributing to them. If you produce quality content consistently, your business can see the following benefits:
Improving brand awareness and attracting the right audience
Webinars are a cost-effective, simple way to build brand awareness. They can be extremely effective at creating leads for your business because they draw in clients that might not have been aware you exist.
When it comes to webinar promotion, making small investments can go a long way in spreading the word about your event. On LinkedIn, for example, you can use Dynamic Ads to promote webinars. Dynamic ads are personalized ads tailored to each member based on their own data, so you can trust LinkedIn to target your information to the appropriate audience.
Facebook is another great place to promote your webinar. To promote your webinar on Facebook, you can use lead capture ads. Facebook offers a built-in platform with a variety of ways to connect with those who show interest in the webinar. Facebook has a tier of price points that gives you the opportunity to target an audience. For example, if you are a law firm in Los Angeles whose most common clientele is between the ages of 35-44, you can select this audience and target them.
Building trust and credibility
When you host a webinar, you are demonstrating to your audience that you are knowledgeable and reliable. Regardless of whether they show up for every session, the simple fact that you were consistently available will help build trust in your business.
A law firm is a great example of a business that can demonstrate its knowledge with a law firm web series for marketing. Most firms tend to have a few practice areas, and a simple way to execute a web series would be to schedule a series of videos that answers commonly asked questions about a particular practice area. This will show your audience that you can be counted on to provide value, which is exactly what will draw them to your business.
However, a law firm is not the only type of business that should be demonstrating value to clients. Becoming your client requires a certain level of trust, and your webinars can show future clients that you are worthy of that trust, no matter what type of business you might have.
Gaining a better understanding of your audience
Not only will a webinar help your audience understand what you offer, but it will also help you understand what they need. The webinar platform that you choose for your series can provide you with important data about your participants.
For example, an action as small as scheduling your webinars at various times and noticing when your audience is tuning in the most will help you gauge their browsing activity, which will be useful for future social media posts. Most webinar platforms give you the option to ask polls and surveys, which will provide more insight into your audience’s thoughts. You can keep this information in mind as you move forward with future marketing tactics.
Webinar Checklist: Essential Steps to Plan for Your Webinar
Now that you understand how powerful a webinar can be for your business, it is essential to understand the proper steps you need to take when you create one. We want to make this as simple as possible for you, so we have broken the process down into the following simple steps. See your webinar checklist below:
2 Months Before the Event
- Select your webinar topic and presenter
- Set your goals for the event
- Identify your target audience and select a platform
- Select a date and time for your event
- Divide the tasks amongst those who are involved
- Choose a theme for the event
1 Month - 2 Weeks Before the Event
- Decide who you would like to attend the event and start inviting them
- Prepare your marketing materials for the event
1 Week Before the Event
- Familiarize yourself with your chosen webinar platform
- Create a list of questions for your attendees to answer
- Prepare a script for your presenter if necessary
Day of the Event
- Send a final reminder to those who have indicated interest
- Join the webroom
- Provide live support to your audience
48 Hours After the Event
- Send a follow-up email to your attendees
- Answer your attendees’ commonly asked questions in a blog
- Post a recording of your event for those who could not attend
Top Webinar Platforms for Your Clients
Now that you understand the benefits of creating a webinar, you might be wondering which platform you should use to create one of your own. The popularity of webinars has led to the birth of a whole world of streaming services, and it can be tricky to decide which to choose. Fortunately, we have compiled a list of some of the best choices below:
Facebook live
Facebook live is one of the best and simplest ways to host your online event. You can stream your webinar on Facebook live using your own equipment and streaming software. It is completely free and all you will need to have is an online page for your business. However, if you want to promote your webinar, which can increase traffic significantly, you might want to consider putting some money behind your post. Users flock to this method because it offers a large potential for the video to go viral. Facebook live streams also give users the ability to comment, which creates an interactive space. To stream a live stream on Facebook, take the following steps:
- Go to the top left of your Facebook feed, and underneath “Schedule,” click “Schedule a Live Video”
- Choose a date and time to air the video and choose to share a page you manage
- Create a title and description for the webinar and determine if we want to cross post to another page that is associated with that page
- To start the webinar, go into the live video and select “Use camera” and select the proper microphone, then click “Start screen share”
WebinarJam
WebinarJam is a fan favorite and it is probably the most popular webinar software currently on the market. WebinarJam is very simple to use and has an intuitive user interface. Unlike the more basic layout that Facebook provides, it offers a flexible and dynamic layout control that allows users to optimize the display. It has a variety of other features that you would want in a webinar platform as well, like HD video to live chat, private messaging, virtual whiteboards, polls, and more. Currently, WebinarJam pricing starts at $499 per feature per year. This plan allows for up to two presenters and 500 attendees per webinar. Each webinar is two hours max duration.
Demio
Demio is another one of the most popular platforms for webinars, and for good reason. One of the best parts about Demio is that attendees do not have to download the platform in order to attend the webinar. The platform offers visually pleasing presentation tools as well as built-in solutions to help you promote the event. For example, through Demio, you can launch live training videos, Q&As, and workshops.
Demio also offers a variety of pricing packages to fit the needs of your business. Their starter package begins at only $34 a month, and is ideal for small businesses and entrepreneurs who are getting started creating webinars. Their “growth” option, a slight upgrade, is best for companies that need more brand control, bigger rooms, and multiple hosts. Lastly, their “let’s talk” option is paid annually and is best for those who require dedicated account support for their events. No matter what kind of webinar you might be hosting or how frequent, Demio has an option for you.
Due to the pandemic, it has become a challenge to interact with a large audience face-to-face, but webinars have made that possible. When it comes to digital marketing, the bottom line is that your future clients need to be aware of you, trust you, and want to do business with you. Webinars set the scene for all of these things and more.
Need help?
Scorpion has been helping small businesses create marketing and webinars to connect with their customers for decades. Our team will set you up with a great website, content that converts, and other marketing to keep the leads flowing. Get started today.
