To effectively promote and throw a successful webinar, there’s a lot of work you have have to do upfront -- and I mean, way before you send out that first webinar invite.
As marketers, we’re busy -- after a while, our promotions for all our webinars start to look the same. But the secret to really driving webinar registrations is twofold: (1) make sure you know what your goal is, then (2) tailor all your promotions to reaching that goal.
At Webinar World, ON24’s conference for B2B marketers looking to up customer engagement, our VP of Marketing, Amy Holtzman -- alongside our Sr. Client Education Manager, Pete Richardson -- revealed the 4 questions you need to answer to put together a killer webinar promotion strategy.
Webinar pages don't have to be boring. Watch the 7 Design Principles of Highly-Converting Landing Pages, as our Sr. Client Education Manager, Pete Richardson, shares practical design tips for all your webinar promotions.
What is your goal? Do you want to attract net-new leads or build relationships with your current customers?
By understanding who you’re trying to capture, you can not only target the right people, but know exactly where your promotions should be coming from.
For example: if you’re trying to nurture net-new opportunities, and create a brand for yourself, you likely should be sending HTML branded communications from marketing. If you’re trying to convert opportunities into deals, you should be automating those promotions from the lead owner or an exec who is involved in the deal.
Bonus: this is also a great time to decide which internal teams need to be involved, so you can start communicating planned follow-ups or any other details early.
Throwing a webinar for the sake of the webinar just doesn’t work. You first need to make sure you’re targeting the right audience per your goal (what you answered in the first question).
For example, if you’re looking for net-new leads, you wouldn’t email blast your own database. Instead, you would involve a media partner, use paid ads, or partner with other brands.
• Do I need a promotion budget? Consider how much it will cost to execute what you’ve planned.
• Will I need promotion approval outside of my organization? You’re going to have to get approval for any ads or promotions, which can change timelines.
• Do I need to extend timelines to allow for coordination with 3rd parties? Plan way in advance to make sure you meet deadlines.
Once your registrants have signed up for the webinar, how do you make sure that they follow through and attend on the big day?
• Provide timely, relevant content (around the topic of the webinar) ahead of time either in your communications or in your blog/resources.
• If you have a great speaker who is an influencer, showcase them in your pre-event communications.
• If you’re providing a special offer (like certification or credits), make sure it’s highlighted.
Every webinar has one thing (or more!) that will push registrants to show up. Once you understand what it is, you can figure out how to appropriately structure your promotions -- like knowing what to include above the fold on your landing page, in your CTAs, or subject lines.
You should be measuring the success of your webinar way before the live event. Along the way, you can see your progress and shift strategy based on where you’re falling behind.
• The number of registrants and attendees signing up for the webinar
• The number of targeted accounts engaged
• The amount of opportunities opened and/or accelerated leading up to the webinar
• The amount of revenue that’s being influenced and/or generated
At Splash, we have a skeleton of a webinar promotion timeline we use that has historically worked well for us (we usually tailor it to any partners included).
Of course, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all timeline -- make sure you decide your goal and your audience beforehand, and plan your promotions accordingly.
Every single touchpoint in the webinar process is an opportunity to engage with your attendees. Watch Amy and Pete’s full presentation at Webinar World to get more details.
Want to know how to throw a killer webinar? We give you easy steps, tips, and tricks on how to do it on Splash.
Ivy is a Marketing Intern at Splash, helping out on all things content and social media. She loves to draw and doodle in her free time, and even created an Instagram (@the_foodler) where she transforms everyday food items into doodles. And as an avid matcha lover, she's always in search of her new favorite spot in the city.