Using webinars for lead generation
You may have heard them called a livestream, virtual summit, masterclass or webinar.
Whatever you call them, webinars are increasing in popularity, and many coaches and course creators are using them as a marketing tool.
If you’re looking to generate high-quality leads, enhance brand awareness, and increase understanding of you and your services, webinars are a great option.
Running a free ‘taster session’ is an effective way to promote your courses and build your list of contacts. Attendees gain a better understanding of who you are and you can connect with your audience in an engaging way, it can be a fantastic lead generator for your larger programmes.
Some benefits include:
- Build a rapport with your participants
- You can easily reach a large audience
- Participants save on travel costs and you save on venues and refreshments
- You can leverage social tools and chats to keep the conversation going
Preparation for a successful webinar
Choose the right day and time to deliver your webinar. Midweek is good as Mondays and Fridays are often busy with catch-ups or last min tasks before the weekend. It probably sounds obvious, but avoid holiday times and check Bank Holiday dates. Experiment with hosting your webinar on different days and at different times and compare attendance rates to find out what works best for you.
Technology
Zoom or Gotowebinar are good options, generally Gotowebinar is more expensive. Zoom is a popular platform for webinars because it’s straightforward to use and the audio and visual quality is consistently good.
I highly recommend doing a practice run first to test the process and equipment. You can invite friends and family along for a preview and to help you iron out any bumps. I read a great tip recently which suggested having a second device set up on the day, just in case your laptop/PC decides to have a tech issue on the big day!
Bookings and promotion
Start by creating an engaging landing page that introduces the webinar topic and speakers, gives the date and time, and includes a clear call-to-action for people to sign up.
You could also create a LinkedIn events page (you can read more on how this works in my blog) to help with promotion.
The main thing to consider is where your audience is and how to reach them easily.
Make sure that you promote the webinar on your social media channels and encourage people to engage and share the details online. You could even post short a short video or do a Facebook or LinkedIn Live to give attendees a sneak peek of your webinar topic.
Finally, you will want to send several email reminders to your attendees in the run-up and on the day of the webinar reminding people to attend.
Content
There are good webinars and there are bad webinars. A webinar is a great way to introduce yourself to dozens or hundreds of potential clients at one time, so make your webinar is valuable and spend most of your time focusing on the content that will solve a problem for your customer.
I’ve attended webinars where too much time is spent on the host's background and how they created a successful business, or most of the webinar was dedicated to a sales pitch. Urrgh! This approach doesn’t make for a good experience in my opinion and can feel like a waste of time.
The key to a really good webinar is knowing your end goal. Do you want your participants to enrol on a course, join you for 1:1 coaching or buy a product? The subject of the webinar needs to support your end goal.
Create a structure of no more than three clearly defined take-aways for your audience. Provide value but don’t give everything away, leave your audience wanting more.
Your audience can give valuable feedback, so be sure to leave time for questions. Some webinar platforms also have polling features, which you can incorporate into your presentation.
At the very end, be sure to include a link to your website, course booking page or whatever it is you want to promote.
Follow up
Always send a follow-up email to your participants and thank them for showing up. You could send a recording to people who registered but were unable to attend the webinar. Also consider offering discounts or special offers that encourage people to take the next step with your company or attend a future webinar.
If you have any questions, or want help promoting your next webinar, I'm all ears! hello@claireshelley.co.uk
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