A webinar—short for web seminar – is an online session hosted by an individual or organization, and attended by several persons. Webinar facilitators use the event to share and expound upon specialized information, train participants, conduct product demos, and showcase their expertise.
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As a business owner, you can organize webinars to reach a broader audience and convert, at least, a segment of attendees into leads or customers. Such sessions are a valuable piece in any marketing toolbox. That’s because they give you the chance to communicate visually with the public—a mode that people find easier to interact with, compared to textual content. Webinars also provide attendees with the opportunity to have their questions about particular concerns answered by an outfit that’s competent in such matters.
Steps to Marketing Your Business Successfully Through Webinars
Given the facts we’ve laid out above, it’s easy to see why a growing number of SMEs and startups are hosting webinars. When smartly deployed, they can raise the traffic of potential customers coming into a business, and launch sales upwards. If you would like to enjoy the benefits that webinars can bring, follow these steps to organize one that hits the mark for your enterprise.
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Tackle a Topic Your Target Audience is Interested in
Your webinar should deal with something that a potential customer of yours will consider important. This would usually be a concern from within your area of expertise, and tips for addressing such issues. This way, you’ll be providing them with value, and they won’t hesitate to try out whatever solutions you recommend—including one that you’ve made. Be sure to use a webinar title that’ll instantly grab the attention of the sort of participants you’re looking for. It’ll prove crucial to your success.
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Keep it at a Reasonable Length
You want to offer your attendees something that they would appreciate. So you’ll fill your webinar with quality insights from start to finish. This is certainly the way to go. But don’t let it run for too long. Attention spans are rather short, and viewers are likely to begin leaving your event at some point, even if it delivers great value. Available data suggests that the ideal time span for webinars is between 45 minutes and 1 hour. You could take the final quarter of your webinar to answer questions from your audience.
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Use a Platform that Your Attendees Can Access
The sort of platform you should host your webinar on will depend on the format it’ll take, and the sort of content you’re going to share with it. There’s no shortage of options here; you could settle for any one of the specialized video conferencing software on the market. Alternatively, you may work with popular video meetings platforms like Zoom and Google Meet, or even social media live broadcast features like Instagram Live and Twitter Spaces. Go for one that your audience will be comfortable with.
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Spread the Word via Email and Social Media
Run an email marketing campaign to inform and invite potential participants. Let your followers and others on social media know about the online event you’re organizing. Share links to an opt-in form on both channels, so that anyone who receives your message can directly access the webinar. This may provide you with an opportunity to garner emails from people who sign up and build a contact list of leads.
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Refer Attendees to Your Product or Service
Don’t be overly concerned with promoting your product or service; this could turn off a lot of people. Instead, focus on tackling themes that they believe are important, and answer whatever questions they may have about them. But there’s room for you to refer to your solution when talking about remedies to the challenge(s) you’ve discussed. Remember, you’ll want the webinar to revolve around something that’s related to what your business does so that mentioning your product will fit in perfectly with the flow. Also, include a Call to Action (CTA) that nudges participants closer to becoming paying customers.
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Follow Up with Participants
It’s only proper to call a webinar a success if it converts as it was intended to. Organizing one is just a step on the path to turning leads into sales. You need to follow up with the people who attend and guide them down your sales funnel. This may involve either supplying them with even more useful content or trying to sell directly to them. Whatever you do, frame your efforts as a move to help your prospects solve a problem that you’re competent at tackling. Make it about meeting their needs. They are more likely to respond favourably if you take this approach.
Final Words
Webinars are a brilliant way to reach your target market, especially if it consists of a demographic that’s active online. But like every other marketing strategy, they only work when they’re smartly facilitated. Follow the steps we’ve talked about here, and you’ll be better able to utilize webinars to your business’s advantage.
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