We may feel like Webinars are being overkilled, but there is definitely still a place for them. Just remember to think of a topic that’s of interest to your customers for a webinar – not just to you.
The pro’s of hosting a webinar are numerous:
• Lead generation: Webinars give you the chance to interact with new prospects and generate high quality leads.
• Brand awareness: Webinars give you the ability to reach hundreds or thousands of people around the world cost-effectively.
• Customer loyalty: Webinars are one of the best ways to build trust with complete strangers worldwide or increase trust with existing customers.
• Easy to start: Webinars are simple to set up. All you need is a laptop, a camera and reliable WIFI, and something to talk about!
Are webinars for B2B and B2C brands?
Webinars work well for both Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) brands. B2C marketing can bring in a larger audience, which means you will pay more to the platform.
B2B businesses can usually expect anything from 30-250 attendees at a webinar, depending on what you’re talking about and who you’re targeting.
Ready to create your first webinar? Take a look at this guide to get started.
Step 1: Set your objectives
When setting webinar objectives, you need to identify the needs of your business. These questions need to be answered in order to set your webinar objectives:
• Are you in search of new clients?
• Is your business in need of proper exposure?
• Do you want to entertain your attendees?
• Do you need more subscribers to your site or business?
Make sure that your objectives are linked to your business. It will help to set a deadline and will motivate and direct your team. Setting goals and objectives give you actionable results and a clear understanding of webinars.
Step 2: Choose a relevant topic of interest
The content you choose must suit your potential audience. You need to captivate your audience with valuable information that will see them stay the duration of the webinar. There are two ways to go about this: you can either choose to talk about general topics related to your content or speak about a single topic in detail.
We recommend that you become specific when selecting topics for your webinars and be knowledgeable about the information you are speaking about. For example, instead of just speaking about digital marketing, break it off into different segments – this gives you much more to speak about. You can include Digital Marketing Budgeting, Digital Marketing trends or and new technologies in marketing.
While searching for interesting pieces of content, you need to consider:
• Look at previously produced content: While searching for an interesting topic, consider going through the content that you have already produced. This includes previous articles, posts and information you might find relevant.
• Attend other webinars: This will not only help you gather new ideas from competitors’ content pieces, but will also help you understand new trends in the kinds of topics being discussed. The data from these insights will allow you to decide on viable pieces of content to use.
Step 3: Pick the right date and time
If you connect with clients around the world, choose a specific date and time that will allow as many people as possible to attend your webinar. If your target audiences are businesses abroad then it’s best to find a time suitable for you and suitable for their time zone.
Choosing the right date and time for your webinar really depends on your target demographic. You want to choose a niche that allows you to reach as many people as possible with your content. A recent poll conducted by a San Francisco-based company that markets products and services based upon webcasting and virtual event and environment technology, ON24, suggested that the best days to host webinars are mostly Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. GMT, respectively. With people working from home and homeschooling, evening events have also become the popular.
To help you choose your target niche/demographic, use Google Analytics to locate regions in the world where most of your online traffic comes from and target potential businesses in those areas. Send surveys to potential attendees asking them for the most convenient times for them to participate in and attend your webinar.
Step 4: Choose your team
The success of your webinar depends on these important figures:
• The Organiser: The facilitator of the webinar is the key individual responsible for developing content for the webinar. Responsibilities include the promotion of the event, registrations for the event and finding speakers that are suitable for the subject.
• The Presenters: Also known as the Subject Matter Experts, their focus is on developing and delivering the presentation on time and without a glitch.
• Master of Ceremonies: It’s not imperative to have one, but if you have multiple speakers you might want an MC for continuity.
• Technical Assistant: To look after the tech side of things and make sure everything runs smoothly on the day.
• Lights and Sound: You will want decent lighting and sound if it’s a large event. If a small intimate one, then you might be able to get away with your camera’s built-in equipment.
Step 5: Decide on the webinar format
• Single Speaker: A single speaker communicating with the webinar attendees. The speaker will then answer all queries raised by the attendees after producing their selected piece of content. This type of webinar is highly recommended for small audiences.
• Interview: The speaker will act as an interviewer and ask a set of predetermined questions. This type of webinar can be very engaging, with the attendees watching the important and relevant members of the webinar answer questions, which also encourages them to engage.
• Panel Discussion: Consists of several speakers who talk over a preset topic. You will need a moderator to facilitate this discussion.
• Q&A: This type of webinar also allows the speaker to answer questions, directly from the audience. Q&As should be added at the end of your webinar.
Step 6: Select your software
At Shift One we mainly use Zoom for webinars, but there are many other webinar platforms out there that will assist you in creating the very best webinar. These webinar platforms include GoToWebinar, BigMarker, Adobe Connect, WebEx, ClickMeeting, and many, many more each packaged at various price points.
Depending on your chosen webinar solution you would be able to conduct polls and surveys after each session, this will allow for valuable insights to further improve your webinars, you can even run breakaway groups on certain platforms.
Here are some other important things to consider when choosing your webinar software.
• How easy is the software to use?
• How much will it cost you?
• Does the software offer free-trials?
Step 7: Set up the right equipment and space
It is important that you find a space that is right for you. It will need to be quiet and preferably professional. This could be your study if you are working from home or a conference room.
Ensure that your equipment is top-notch and consider making a big investment at the start, so that you won’t have to keep replacing faulty devices.
Step 8: Be camera ready!
Webinars largely rely on audiovisuals to communicate their content. The best webinars should feel like a face-to-face experience, so presenters can use their webcam while presenting. This allows the audience to see the speaker during the presentation, adding a sense of human interaction.
Each speaker needs to have a decent camera and lighting. Professional events would want to hire in lights and sound for a world-class result.
Step 9: Publicise and promote
Following these easy steps will help you get your webinars out there:
• Create a landing page that will introduce your webinar topic and the speaker, and that allows people to sign up for your event. Always end with a call-to-action for people to sign up to attend your event.
• Make visitors to your website aware of your upcoming webinar via a pop-up on the website, a menu navigation item on as well as a banner on the home page.
• Use Social Media to spread the word and create an original hashtag to publicise your event. This hashtag will benefit you, as you will be using it to interact with the attendees.
• Create online ads for your event on social media and boost your posts, otherwise you risk having nobody attending your event – this is the most critical step in gaining attendees.
• Create Email Marketing campaigns that send multiple reminders about your event, as this will increase your chances of registrations and guarantee higher attendance by those who have signed up. Send emails with the direct link to your webinar on the day of the event. You might also consider using Whatsapp too.
Step 10:Practice! practice! practice!
Try to have a practice run at least two days before your webinar in order to be well prepared on the day. This should be with everyone involved and will help all parties gain confidence and be effective on the day.
Check that all the equipment being used is working properly and are not faulty, and make sure that everyone understands how to use the software and technology. Everyone should be familiar with the contents and the flow of the webinar to make the process easier. Aim to finalise your presentations and core information to prevent last-minute changes and remember to choose the communication methods that suit your team.
And in closing: Follow up!
It is important to follow up with attendees of your webinar. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to continue engaging your audience and closing important deals.
Send a follow-up email thanking each webinar attendee, and in the email supply a survey asking them for feedback and to rate their experience with the webinar. Send out another email and include a recording of the webinar targeting the people who signed up, but were unable to attend it or register in time. The ability to effectively follow up will ensure that you get repeat viewers and helps to build your audience for future webinars.
After you have successfully hosted your first webinar, start evaluating all your efforts. Use the feedback gathered through your email marketing efforts and follow-up emails. Consider data, adapt, and make adjustments in order to ensure the success of your webinars.
Following up is key. Remember the goals of the webinar – one of them is to close customers! So this is where it becomes critical to reach out to attendees, and hopefully, drive home those sales.
