During a time when we must physically distance ourselves from others, we need to utilize virtual tools to once again connect with the world around us. Hosting a webinar, a live online seminar, is a great way to share a message to many members of your target audience while not requiring anyone to be in the same location. These engaging events help improve brand awareness, increase revenue and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
In order to host a successful webinar, you’ll need to thoughtfully plan out all the details ahead of time. From coming up with an appealing topic, to creatively thinking of the best way to share your message, and planning out blog and social media posts to promote it. Here are five tips to help you host a successful webinar.
1. Pick an engaging topic
When deciding on a topic to discuss during your webinar, think about choosing one that appeals to a large audience, but is targeted enough to bring actionable value to the attendees. Pick something that will allow you to present in an entertaining way. Since this is a virtual connection, you want to make sure your attendees are engaged and not scrolling through their email instead. Remember, there are few other marketing techniques that allow your personality to shine through as much.
When choosing a title for your webinar, do some SEO research ahead of time to see which keywords are best. Knowing what people are searching for will help you to reach and attract more people.
2. Give attendees an incentive for attending
In a virtual world, the outlets for information are endless, so you need to find a way to get people excited about wanting to attend your webinar. Think of ways to make attendees feel special and want to share their experience with others in the industry.
For example, you could give away free marketing assessments, tickets to future events, or discounts for services. You could also start a promotion ahead of time and have them post something about your upcoming webinar in advance on social media and then you can pick a winner at the beginning of the event. Get creative on how to get people eager to register and attend your webinar.
3. Choose the right day/time
Be strategic on the day and time of the week you choose to host your webinar. Studies show it is best to hold your webinar on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. The start and end of the work week typically are when people are trying to play catch up or working on last minute tasks before heading out of the office.
When it comes to choosing the best time, after lunchtime or early afternoon seem to be the most convenient time for attendees. However, take into consideration your own personal audience to decide what time would be best. Think about the location of most of the attendees and what their typical schedule may look like. It’s also ok to experiment with different days and times and then review your data to see what worked best. Sometimes it takes a little trial and error to maximize your attendance rates.
4. Send out reminder emails
People naturally have a lot of “to-dos” on their mind and can easily forget about your upcoming webinar. Send out a reminder email starting two weeks in advance and then again the week before. With two final emails the day before and day of. Last minute reminder emails give people the time to schedule their day around your webinar. Make sure to include all the important details (date, time, platform), as well as any promotions or incentives you are running for your attendees. Use this time to also attach any blog posts or white papers that are relevant to the topic of your webinar. Finding additional ways to spread your message will help you to have greater engagement with your audience.
5. Use multiple marketing techniques to spread the word
When it comes to promoting your webinar, utilize all the marketing techniques at your exposal. In addition to sending out reminder emails, keep the excitement about your webinar up by continually posting reminders and updates on your social media platforms. You should also pick a dedicated hashtag for your webinar and include it in all of your postings, emails, landing page and anywhere else you are promoting it. Also remember to include the details of your upcoming webinar in your outbound calling scripts.
