The 10 Webinar Benchmarks Every Marketer Should Know report shows that Software and Technology companies are the top producers of virtual events among industries. In addition, based on Callbox’s data gathered from webinars it has hosted for years, the tech industry also shares the most number of attendees in sales and marketing webinars in terms of registrants (37%) and attendees (42%). The software sector believes that webinars are key to market their products and services, and educate their customers; likewise, a way to gain knowledge and network with prospective clients.
But, not all webinars are created equal. While many produce high converting leads, others gather a hefty number of registrations, but draw a very low number of attendees, while some generate 60% attendees out of the total registrations, however turn in poor conversion rates.
So, here are top webinar tips to help you hit all targets from promotions, facilitation to reports.
Pre-webinar Promotion
Before the big day comes, be ready to get swamped with a lot of tasks like creating collaterals and promotional materials such as email templates, call scripts, landing pages, registration pages and managing social media posts.
Tip: Leverage a multi-channel approach by utilizing email, voice, chat, social media and mobile in promoting the event to draw a good number sign ups.
Email Templates
Email best serves as a channel to formally invite people to your webinar because it’s the most credible and trusted marketing channel by B2B decision makers. However, certain rules must be followed to gain high delivery, open and click rates.
Tip: Keep the subject line to 70 characters or less to avoid bounces. The email body must be short, but should contain complete details of the event (title, date and venue) and a 3-bullet takeaway. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11 AM, are the best days and time to send emails to boost open rate and responses. Also, customize your email templates based on your target recipient or audience category. See samples below:
For new/fresh attendees
For absentees
For past attendees
Call Scripts
The calling activity follows after an invitation email has been sent to confirm the prospect’s attendance to the event (may be optional).
Tip: Make confirmation calls a day or two prior to the webinar to gain a high chance of confirmed registration
Landing Page / Registration Page
High converting landing pages are compelling, comprehensive and complete. It should contain relevant information about the event and clear instructions like “how to/click to register”, “next steps”, etc.
Tip: State what you offer, keep details at minimal, include 1 to 2 CTAs and show the value or benefits that attendees can gain from the topic.
Promotional Materials
An event promotional material is the packaging of ideas for your product or organization. So, be creative in creating blogs, social media posts and banner ads to perfectly package your webinar.
Tip: Promotional materials must contain a clear messaging of what your event is about, who your target attendees are, when and where it’s going to happen.
Blog / Announcement
Create pre and post webinar blogs to keep your audience engaged. Click the links below to see some examples.
- Pre-webinar Blog: [WEBINAR] Sell The Webinar First, Your Product Second
- Post-webinar Blog: Sell the Webinar First, Your Product Second: The Key to a Standout Virtual Event
Social Media
Banner Ad
Webinar Facilitation
Practice Session
Take time to run through the whole presentation to get yourself familiar with the tool/s, timing and the overall program flow.
Speaker(s) Introduction
Make the introduction spiel for the speaker short and simple, 2 minutes at the most, but build a credible description that would best profile him as a subject matter expert on the topic.
Engaging Attendees
Attendee engagement does not happen by accident, but is preceded, primarily, by a relevant subject and a well targeted contact list of invitees; followed by a thought speaker and a well-designed presentation.
Q&A Moderation
Attendees may shoot questions anytime, but it would be best if the host, co-host or a panelist could manage this to avoid delay or overtime.
Webinar Report
Video Recording
Make your presentation available on-demand after the live event – send it to your attendees and even to absentees and post it on your website. It will be a good remarketing strategy for those who missed the event.
Audience Feedback
Gather audience feedback to gauge your performance – what you did best and the challenges you need to overcome. Your audience’s questions, comments and suggestions will also help you come up with ideas on what topic to take next for your upcoming webinars.
Q&A Report
Not everyone who shows up at the webinar is an interested or a qualified buyer, so qualify the leads to see who fits well in your ICP (ideal customer profile) to save time and energy.
Pre and Post-webinar Metrics
Metrics are a must in every campaign. Apart from being determinants of success, metrics will help keep your tasks, staff and timelines aligned throughout the whole process. Consider the following:
Pre-webinar
- Number of Registrants (target vs actual registrants)
- Email Stats (click throughs and open rates)
- Call Statistics (who, how many were reached via call)
Post-webinar
- Attendee Ratio (registered vs attended)
- Engagement Stats (length of time attendees spent in the webinar)
- Questions, comments and suggestions
- Poll (gain insight to your audience needs)
- Absentees (no shows vs. confirmed)
Finally, plan and prepare for your webinar a month before to gather more registrations, execute all action plans on time and avoid webinar fails.
