Social distancing means staying connected via the internet is the need of the hour. As a brand, how do you effectively reach several members from your target audience in a fun and interactive manner, without needing them to leave their homes?

One excellent option is through a webinar! A webinar is an online presentation, seminar, lecture or even workshop that is delivered via the internet. These can either be live or pre-recorded and are a great way to host interactive events online.

The main aim of your webinar should be to inform, educate or demonstrate something to your audience. It should contain information that is of use to them. Benefits of webinars are improvement in brand awareness, boosting conversion, more conversation and a possible increase in revenue.

Interacting with potential consumers is essential to convert them into loyal customers, and the many interactive features of the webinar (like Q&A’s, polls, etc.) are great for just that.

CHOOSING A TOPIC

The most important factor for your webinar is the topic. Is should be something your audience wants to know and will have a positive impact on them. As we mentioned, it’s something that needs to educate or inform them. So how do you choose the right one?

1. Find the problem. 

Is there a problem common to other businesses and brands in your field? Could there be something the audience is confused about? Find out the biggest challenge in your area of expertise, and aim to solve that. 

You could even simply ask the audience if they have one, either through a short survey or by merely posting the question your social media.

2. Give the audience options.

If you’d like to have control of the direction of the question, perhaps you can figure out three to five topics, and then let the audience choose one through a poll!

3. Read Reviews.

Go through the internet to try and find out what people are talking about, or looking for answers to. There might be something that people are asking, but don’t seem to be getting a satisfactory solution for. Pick that topic and address it.

4. Don’t Have a Topic.

Instead of having a fixed topic, conduct a live webinar where the audience can ask you questions! You will need to be careful about questions you might not have the answers to (just apologize and say you’ll get back to them, and do!). It would be a good idea to set a theme for the questions which you can determine and convey through your marketing, and also at the start of your webinar. 

5. First Come up with a Click-Bait Title 

Instead of a topic, find a catchy phrase for your webinar headline that you think would make it irresistible for users to click on, and then work backwards from there!

BEST PRACTICES

Now that you’ve got your topic and a software decided, let’s talk about some of the best practices to keep in mind regarding the webinar. These will take you a long way in ensuring success.

Build a Landing Page

You will need to have a landing page where participants can register for the webinar, along with getting all the details they need. These include the time and date of the webinar as well as what one might expect from it. 

Indicate where the user can click to attend the webinar.

Set Expectations 

Right from the start, your audience should know what they should expect to learn and receive from the webinar. You can make it enjoyable by adding interactive features and letting them know about these beforehand.

Keep in Touch!

Use email marketing automation to keep in touch with the members who are interested. You can start by sending them a thank-you email for registering, and go on by sending reminders, and then a thank you email after the webinar. Each of these emails can have different information.

Choose your Presenter Wisely

You can have single or multiple presenters to host the webinar. Choose someone interesting and personable, so they can hold the attention of the users. Also, the users will have an extra incentive to join!

Practice!

Before the final presentation, do go through a dry run to make sure everything is perfect.

Set the Agenda. 

At the start of the webinar, clearly indicate the topic, agenda and also what users can expect. Let them know about the interactive features as well as details about follow-up communication and how they can learn more about your business. If your webinar is recorded, it’s a good idea to let the users know where they can ask questions, if any. Also, give them a specific time within which you will get back to them.

Record the Webinar.

If your webinar is live, record it. By uploading this onto your website, you have extra content, and also a way for attendees to refer back to the information.

Marketing your webinar is perhaps the most crucial step towards success. You want all your hard work to be met a successful event. While you could wait for registrations to happen organically, it might be a better idea to give it a little push.

It’s advised to start promoting your event about two weeks in advance, though this would depend on your brand and audience. Still, two weeks is a safe number. Send a reminder one week, and one evening in advance and you’re good to go!

Here are some different ways you can consider marketing your webinar.

1. Pop-Ups on your Website

A hello bar at the top of your website with one or two lines about the webinar and a link to the landing page is a small detail that can attract customers without being too in-your-face. 

You could also try an exit-pop-up that shows up when the customer is moving towards the exit button on their browser. Again, just a few words that are attracting enough for the customer to click on the link.

Another option is to add it right in the front of your website, so it’s the first thing people see when they open your site. You can edit this after it’s over (or post the recorded webinar here!)

2. Teaser Video

A short teaser video is an engaging way to inform your audience about the webinar, and it’s topics. You can upload this onto your social media pages.

3. Webinar Listing Sites

You can upload information about your event on one of many webinar listing sites. This will ensure a wider audience outside your immediate customer base.

4. Paid Social Media Ads

You can run paid ads on your Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn page to reach specific audiences to inform them about your upcoming webinar.

If even you don’t want to run ads, posting it on your social media is a sure way to get the attention on your audience. 

5. The Trusted Blog

Write a blog about your webinar! It’s simple and easy, and you can then post it on your social media pages. You can also link the landing page to already existing blogs that you might have on the same topic. 

6. Email your database

Use your email database and let them all know about your upcoming webinar!

7. Email Signature

If you and your team sends out multiple emails externally, add an email signature about the webinar and a link to the landing page.

8. Use the Presenter’s Following 

If your presenter(s) has a large social media following, use it to your advantage by asking them to post about it. They can even promote the blog piece from earlier on their social media!