Boosting brand awareness and reaching out to a broader audience are just some of the crucial benefits of hosting webinars. Apart from being incredibly valuable to any marketing mix, these programs can help establish your company as a thought leader and contribute to the creation of new and the nurturing of quality leads.
Better yet, webinars don’t cost a lot of money to host but can generate solid revenue — provided they’re planned well. So today, let’s explore how you can create a successful webinar that’ll improve your company’s brand and give it the authority it truly deserves.
Steps on Organising a Successful Webinar
1. Plan Your Webinar
Without a well-thought-out webinar, you cannot hope for any success. Improvisation will get you nowhere here, so start by deciding on your topics and headlines.
The webinar’s topic shouldn’t just be something that sounds good or may appeal to participants on a superficial level. Before you decide on the topic, consider which keywords and phrases you can use for your webinar so that it’s easily searchable.
The key idea is to focus on the value you will provide the attendees with. They need to not only hear your message clearly but also obtain actionable suggestions and tips.
You are, after all, educating them on certain topics in your industry, such as trends or even products and services. Therefore, proper instruction and demonstration are crucial to delivering tremendous value.
Remember not to ignore search optimisation when creating your webinar, either. Opt for tools like Moz, SEMrush, AnswerThePublic, and Google Search Console to get more eyes on it!
2. Pick a Platform
There are many webinar platforms you can go for, including favourites like WebinarNinja, Adobe Connect, and Webex. Remember, though, that it should be easy to navigate so that your audience doesn’t have any trouble accessing the webinar.
At the same time, you should be comfortable with using the platform too. Now is not the time to push yourself to learn how to use something with a rather large learning curve!
3. Create a Landing Page
Prep work is nearly done. All you need to finish off the “foundation” is to create a landing page for your webinar.
Remember to add all the necessary information about the event there so that your audience knows what to expect. Naturally, make sure that the page requires attendees to register by providing their name, company name, and email address.
4. Start Promoting Your Webinar
It’s best to set aside at least a month for planning the webinar. That way, you will have enough time to figure out what the speaker is going to say and how the artwork should look.
Once you have those specific parts all ready to go, it’s time to drive registrations through email and social networks. Start with email promotions at least two weeks before the event. Make sure to send three invites in total (one + two follow-ups).
Then, use social media posts to obtain some last-minute registrations. With lots of options here, you won’t have much trouble deciding on the ideal way to promote your webinar further. Some companies may prefer doing a blog post or a news release. Others, perhaps, may opt for Google or Facebook ads.
Another option is to create a video about the webinar that should give the audience a taste of what they can expect from it. You can add the video to your landing page or any other type of promotional material you’re using.
Make sure it’s not too long, though. Anything longer than a minute and 30 seconds might jeopardise the excitement and curiosity the video alone could spark in potential attendees.
5. Rehearse Several Days Before the Webinar
Remember to practice the webinar a few days before the event to ensure it runs smoothly and delivers the value you promised. Rehearse it yourself or with the speaker, and make sure that all the equipment is in solid condition and won’t break down at the most inconvenient moment.
And yes, this applies to your computer, too. Close all those tabs and apps you have lingering in the background to help it run faster!
6. Ready, Set, Action!
The day has come, and your webinar is in full swing. Try not to focus on the script too much to avoid sounding unnatural and alienating your audience. It’s important to connect with them so that they recognise the effort you’ve put into the webinar — and soak up all the information and knowledge you’re providing them with through the event.
Of course, asking the audience for input is crucial, so instigate conversation after a few slides or so (every four to five slides). Ask the audience questions, but remember to set plenty of time aside at the end of the event to answer theirs.
A good rule of thumb would be to allow questions and discussions for about 10 to 15 minutes at the end of the presentation. You can, however, make that part longer if necessary!
The Final Step — Assessment and Results
Once the webinar concludes, you can focus on the follow-ups. One of the main reasons to follow up with the attendees is to continue the conversation and initiate another interaction. On the other hand, following up on the registrants would also help you inspire them to take the action you emphasised in the webinar — and turn them into real success stories.
Finally, don’t forget to measure your results to check how successful the webinar truly was. The metrics you focus on in this step would give you an insight into areas that you may need to improve on when planning your next webinar. Therefore, make sure to review:
- The number of registrants and the highest-yielding registration sources
- How many people attended the webinar
- The amount of time that people spent watching your event.
Though creating a webinar may seem like a daunting task, the right prep work and research should allow you to create a rock-solid foundation for a successful event. In the end, the effort will pay off as your webinar will provide your target audience with incredible value. The benefits your business could also reap make webinars an ideal endeavour — one that ought to give you more brand awareness, a more extensive audience reach, and more authority!
You may also like:
Internet Marketing
If you need even more info about organising webinars or any other related subject, we are here for you. Give us a call at 0800 0148 970 or simply email us today.
