Running Successful Webinars
Summary of a webinar by Marketing Profs on running succesful Webinars
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Wednesday, 18 February 2009
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I've just attended a Webinar by the talented team at
Marketing Profs and
Citrix on running succesful Webinars and thought I'd share a summary. I
found it really helpful for anyone considering a webinar programme as part of
their marketing mix..
Before I launch into my summary I found a statistic mentioned in the webinar really quite compelling. Research indicates that the most effective B to B marketingtools are - Seminars, Webinars and Inside Sales - despite this, email and trade events are still the most used - so you clearly have a chance to get a competitive edge if you start using these tools.
I'll also be rushing out to buy a copy of David Meerman-Scott's book "The New Rules of PR and Marketing", which includes information on webinars as a key example of the changing marketing landscape.
Why would you do a Webinar?
1. Generate leads (through the colleciton of contact details of attendees, and building awareness around your band)
2. Nurture current business relationships (through the provision of useful information)
3. Training purposes (self-explantory really)
What do you need?
1. Web Conference Platformo (like Citrix "Go To Meeting")
2. Topics
3. Speakers (a good one!)
4. Audience (You can have up to 1000 attendees)
The key to a succesful Webinar programme is great content (no surprises there!). However, some key tips for ensuring you have great content are as follows:
- Content must have a purpose or business objective in mind
- Any content should be vendor agnostic - it shouldn't be about flogging a product but helping the audience through education.
- Content needs to be trustworthy
- Content needs to be engaging
- Include an interactive component (such as polls or chat)
- Should follow an Agenda or Roadmap - e.g. 10 tips so the viewer can see where they're going
- Should rely on passionate talent
Things to avoid
- Working with PR people or handlers - work directly with the speaker
- Don't use a speaker who will work for leads (pay them if you need to don't trade off as it will affect the integrity of the content)
- Avoid a Panel structure - its very hard to follow with a Webinar format and makes it hard to keep the Webinar running to the alotted time.
- Avoid Complicated Graphs or Full Screen shots of web pages (zoom in on what's important)
Some great tips for great slides and the avoidance of death by Powerpoint
- Download Seth Godin's free E-Book"Really Bad Powerpoint and How to Avoid it"
- Visit SlideShare and have a look at their Top Presentation of the Day section
- Read Cliff Atkinson's book "Beyond Bullet Points"
Key Ways to Get your Audience
- Banner Ads (on your site and others)
- Article tie-ins (mention it in your own articles or send details to others in the Blogosphere for inclusion in theirs)
- Social Media (send invites out via facebook or tweet about it on Twitter)
- Email promotion - Marketing Profs have found this the most effective and find they get the highest attendee rate when the invitaiton is send 3-5 days before the event
- Your invitation should also be different to your landing page (copy, tone and the amount of detail). Invitations should be more informal and brief. The landing page more detailed.
Rehearsal is Critical
This was demonstrated in real time when some technical issues meant that a second speaker took over the presentation when the original speakers connection was lost!
- Test the speaker set up
- Check all the slides
- Review any procedures
- Be clear on who will be doing what/when
Start Simple
- Avoid video and screensharing
- Master the webinar tools (e.g. polling/chat etc) that compliment the webinar sessions!
In summary
- Have a clear mission or objective
- Only use speakers who know their stuff/who will impart valuable content.
I'm inspired and keen to use Webinars more as an effective marketing tool for Marketing Angels and our clients. So thanks to Marketing Profs for demonstrating an engaging and succesful webinar!
Before I launch into my summary I found a statistic mentioned in the webinar really quite compelling. Research indicates that the most effective B to B marketingtools are - Seminars, Webinars and Inside Sales - despite this, email and trade events are still the most used - so you clearly have a chance to get a competitive edge if you start using these tools.
I'll also be rushing out to buy a copy of David Meerman-Scott's book "The New Rules of PR and Marketing", which includes information on webinars as a key example of the changing marketing landscape.
Why would you do a Webinar?
1. Generate leads (through the colleciton of contact details of attendees, and building awareness around your band)
2. Nurture current business relationships (through the provision of useful information)
3. Training purposes (self-explantory really)
What do you need?
1. Web Conference Platformo (like Citrix "Go To Meeting")
2. Topics
3. Speakers (a good one!)
4. Audience (You can have up to 1000 attendees)
The key to a succesful Webinar programme is great content (no surprises there!). However, some key tips for ensuring you have great content are as follows:
- Content must have a purpose or business objective in mind
- Any content should be vendor agnostic - it shouldn't be about flogging a product but helping the audience through education.
- Content needs to be trustworthy
- Content needs to be engaging
- Include an interactive component (such as polls or chat)
- Should follow an Agenda or Roadmap - e.g. 10 tips so the viewer can see where they're going
- Should rely on passionate talent
Things to avoid
- Working with PR people or handlers - work directly with the speaker
- Don't use a speaker who will work for leads (pay them if you need to don't trade off as it will affect the integrity of the content)
- Avoid a Panel structure - its very hard to follow with a Webinar format and makes it hard to keep the Webinar running to the alotted time.
- Avoid Complicated Graphs or Full Screen shots of web pages (zoom in on what's important)
Some great tips for great slides and the avoidance of death by Powerpoint
- Download Seth Godin's free E-Book"Really Bad Powerpoint and How to Avoid it"
- Visit SlideShare and have a look at their Top Presentation of the Day section
- Read Cliff Atkinson's book "Beyond Bullet Points"
Key Ways to Get your Audience
- Banner Ads (on your site and others)
- Article tie-ins (mention it in your own articles or send details to others in the Blogosphere for inclusion in theirs)
- Social Media (send invites out via facebook or tweet about it on Twitter)
- Email promotion - Marketing Profs have found this the most effective and find they get the highest attendee rate when the invitaiton is send 3-5 days before the event
- Your invitation should also be different to your landing page (copy, tone and the amount of detail). Invitations should be more informal and brief. The landing page more detailed.
Rehearsal is Critical
This was demonstrated in real time when some technical issues meant that a second speaker took over the presentation when the original speakers connection was lost!
- Test the speaker set up
- Check all the slides
- Review any procedures
- Be clear on who will be doing what/when
Start Simple
- Avoid video and screensharing
- Master the webinar tools (e.g. polling/chat etc) that compliment the webinar sessions!
In summary
- Have a clear mission or objective
- Only use speakers who know their stuff/who will impart valuable content.
I'm inspired and keen to use Webinars more as an effective marketing tool for Marketing Angels and our clients. So thanks to Marketing Profs for demonstrating an engaging and succesful webinar!
