Executing a great webinar isn’t easy. It takes hard work, meticulous planning, the right technology, and the proper PROCESS to generate the results you’re looking for. There are several things that can sink a webinar campaign, but nothing quite kills it like a bad process.
So, how can you ensure your process is iron clad and covers all the bases? Simply ask yourself these questions and see if you can answer them with confidence.
Have you put together a project plan?
This is where it all begins. Depending on the size and scope of your webinar, an ideal project plan can be anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks. It covers everything – from the title and focus of your webinar to your on-demand plan. Too many organizations don’t put together a well thought out project plan, and instead fly by the seat of their pants. This is a recipe for disaster. Be detailed in terms of what is going to be done each week and who is going to own certain aspects of the plan. This will eliminate frustration, anxiety, scrambling, and everything else that comes with a poorly planned webinar.
Who is your target audience and why?
For marketing in general, the spray and pray model is gone. The same holds true for webinars. It’s critical that you identify your target audience and why, because this will dictate the content of your webinar. You want your content to be curated for your audience…it needs to resonate with them. Is the webinar going to target a certain industry(s), job function or title, key account list, prospects that are in specific areas of your sales funnel (top, mid, lower funnel)? These are all things that need to be considered to help define the focus of your webinar.
What is going to be on your registration page?
For whatever reason, too many companies don’t give their webinar registration pages the attention they deserve. They’re vanilla, boring, don’t tell a compelling story, and often fall flat. Don’t be that company and don’t be that marketer. Make your registration page pop with logos, banners, and color schemes that engage and represent who you are as a company. Clearly articulate the value of your webinar and what’s in it for your attendees…highlight the reasons they should attend and what they’ll learn. Provide headshots and brief bios of your speakers, positioning them as experts on what will be covered in the webinar. When it comes to registration fields, less is more. We’ve found that no more than 7 fields is ideal (we like First Name, Last Name, Company, Title, Email, Phone, and perhaps a customized question that provides more insight into the registrant and why they’re signing up).
What is your promotional strategy?
There are a ton of webinars out there now, so it’s important that you promote harder, longer, and through as many marketing channels as possible to stand out from the crowd. In our opinion, you should begin your promotions a month before the live date (sometimes 5 or 6 weeks for larger scale events). In terms of tactics, smart and compelling email marketing is still the most effective way to generate registrations. The webinar should also be promoted on the home page of your website (perhaps with a pop-up banner); through social media (LinkedIn and Twitter have proven to drive the best results); through paid ads if you have the budget to do so (not necessary, FYI); through partners and other 3rd parties that have a stake in your webinar success; and with a press release that you can distribute to the masses. And when someone does register, be sure a confirmation email is sent to them instantly with their login details. Also be sure that all registrants receive two reminder emails, ideally a week before and the morning of the webinar. This will help improve your registration to attendee ratios. Finally, have your sales reps get it in front of their key contacts through personalized outreach. Don’t leave any stone unturned when it comes to generating traffic for your webinar.
Who are your presenters?
This is something that should be determined when you’re putting together your project plan. It’s important for your speakers to be engaging and charismatic, yes, but they also need to be authorities on the webinar topic. Find presenters that fit that criteria, and you’ll be in good shape.
Are you comfortable with your webinar technology?
Before going live, conduct multiple tests to ensure your webinar platform and setup is technically sound. Make sure your audio, video, and presentation tools are working exactly like they should. You can run these tests on your own and during the dry run(s) with your presenters. And guess what? Sometimes you do all these things and have checked all the technical boxes, but something still goes wrong the day of the event that is completely out of your control. That’s why it’s critical to have a backup plan in case of any technical issues. Finally, be sure you are comfortable with your live day technical support team in case any issues need to be troubleshooted for your presenters and/or attendees.
How are you going to engage your audience?
Ahead of your webinar, it’s important to identify the tactics you’re going to use to engage your audience and get them touching their keyboards. Live Q&A sessions, resource downloads, attendee chat, polls and surveys, social sharing, and post webinar breakout rooms are some of the ways you can make your webinars more interactive. These engagement tactics will also give you a wealth of data that will enable you to more effectively gauge attendee interest, leading to smarter, more personalized post event follow up on your end.
Do you have a defined on-demand plan?
Does your company put together the on-demand plan for your webinar after it’s on-demand? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. We’ve found that most companies make this mistake. Your on-demand plan should be in place when you’re putting together your overall project plan. A few things to consider:
- You should make your webinar available on-demand shortly after the live date, ideally within 24 to 48 hours.
- Send an email to all attendees and those that registered/didn’t attend, providing them with access to the on-demand version.
- Send a post event survey to your attendees, asking them about their webinar experience. Their feedback can help you understand where you thrived and how you can improve, and provide you with content ideas moving forward.
- Send a series of emails to your target list that didn’t register at all, enticing them to register for the on-demand webinar so they can see what they missed.
- Promote it through your social channels (again, LinkedIn and Twitter typically drive the best results) to maximize your reach.
- Have defined call, email, and social messaging scripts that your sales team will use to turn webinar registrants and attendees into qualified leads for your business.
- Take the key moments of your webinar and condense them into a 6-7-minute highlight reel. These shorter format videos have proven to be outstanding assets for field marketing and social media marketing initiatives. You can leverage the metrics and analytics from your webinar to build additional assets as well – blogs, case studies, executive briefs, surveys, video interviews, and other webinars.
I know this seems like a lot, but conducting a great webinar isn’t easy. It takes a detailed plan, consistent communication amongst all parties involved, and a clearly defined process to generate the webinar ROI you’re looking for. With all the webinars flooding the market today, an iron-clad process is no longer a nice-to-have…it’s a necessity.
Jason Stegent is the Founder & President of Elastic Solutions. Email him @ jstegent@elasticroi.com