According to MarketingSherpa, webinars are “one of the top two lead-generation tactics for B-to-B marketing”. That, with the current economic climate, gives you a great reasons to include webinars in your marketing strategy. So… Where do you start?
- What should your topic be and who should present it?
- When is the best day to host the event?
- Who should you invite?
WHAT
First you need to determine your topic. You may know exactly what your prospects and customers are looking for in an online event, but if you don’t… surveys can help discover content they are seeking. Post a survey on your website or include in your newsletter to help you identify topics your audience finds significant.
Once you have your topic, you need to find speakers. We all know that using a 3rd party expert will add credibility to your event. But in addition to inviting industry experts or analysts to speak, consider inviting your customers as thought leaders – they can share how they’ve been able to drive success, what lessons they’ve learned, as well as discuss where they stand on critical issues.
WHEN
Now, what is the best day to have your online event? In Bulldog Solution’s Marketing Watchdog Journal, Ken Molay, President, Webinar Success, shared results from his survey on Best Webinar Times. When asked, Ken’s typical answer is Tuesday through Thursday, a little before lunch or a little after lunch depending on your time zone. The results of his survey, when people were asked to pick a single day they would most likely attend a webinar, showed that he was right for the most part. Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s were clear winners… but Friday came in a surprising third at 18%. Timing may be different for your audience, so test various days and times to determine when is most effective for you.
WHO
Once you’ve determined what and when, you need to figure out who. Who is your target audience? Consider the relevancy of the content as you develop your list. Is it focused on a specific industry, or product, or role within an organization? Is it more relevant to someone who has attended a previous event or downloaded a white paper on the same topic? Does it align to where an individual is in their buying cycle?
In the end, the quality of your list will affect the results of your online event attendance, so don’t BATCH AND BLAST, be relevant!
WHAT’S NEXT
Once you’ve figured out WHAT, WHEN and WHO, you’ll need to focus on driving registration. Check out Steve Wood’s recommendations in his post on Four Practices to Increase Webinar Effectiveness.
Posted in: Campaign Planning, Event Management
[...] call them, they are still being used by marketers and they are still working. As I shared in my “Where Do You Start” post, webinars are “one of the top two lead-generation tactics for B-to-B [...]
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