Webinars – Don’t Let Them Stand Alone

I meet marketing executives at B2B companies all the time who want to increase lead generation by trying webinars as a new approach, but only wish to put their toe in the water with a single, stand-alone event.  After all, depending on the promotion venues and hired speakers, webinars can carry a relatively healthy price tag and they’re not as sure of the ROI as they are for say, direct mail or email campaigns, for example. 

While I wouldn’t suggest that they start with both barrels blasting with a monthly webinar series, I initially propose looking at their marketing calendar for the next six months to see where webinars may fit as an integrated part of their planned campaigns.  As someone who believes that B2B sales happen over a period of several months building trust with a prospect, I think webinars are the perfect venue for showcasing expertise and thought leadership.  Integrated with a company’s overall marketing plans, webinars can give companies an opportunity to ‘show off’ their intellectual knowledge and expert staff.

When looking at a marketing plan and deciding where to place webinars, here are some things I look for:

• Product Launches:  Hosting a webinar around the problem your new product is designed to solve is an excellent webinar draw.  I don’t believe it’s ever a good idea to blatantly promote a new product, especially in a webinar title and description.  This is a turn-off to prospects and you will not garner the attendance you desire.  Instead, focus your webinar content on the industry, the problem at hand and, if possible, a neutral outside expert.
• Capability Promotions:  When I was running marketing departments between product launches we would design campaigns that focused on our company’s key differentiators.  If, for example, your service has an especially interesting security aspect to it, an integrated campaign on that topic with a webinar as part of the promotion will draw attention.
• Vertical Campaigns:  Taking a vertical marketing approach for a specific campaign is an excellent way to integrate webinars into your plans.  The more targeted you can get in your audience, the more successful the webinar will be.  Once you decide on the vertical you can investigate sponsored newsletters, trade shows and events, blogs, social networks and local meet-ups as venues for spreading the word on your upcoming webinar.
• Industry events:  Do you have a major industry trade show or event on the schedule?  Use that venue to tell your prospects about a webinar specifically related to the topic of the event.
• Regulatory changes:  If your target prospects are facing new regulatory requirements, chances are it’s top of mind to them.  Using this as a webinar topic will no doubt bring attendees.  However, be sure that your company has a valued perspective or information to enhance your prospect’s understanding of the regulatory implementation.
• Major Analyst Reports:  Some reports are scheduled to appear annually, such as the Gartner Research Magic Quadrant reports.  If you’ve been working to gain great positioning, then put a webinar on the schedule for report time. Of course, wait until the report is published to understand where you’ve placed.  You can structure your webinar topic around the theme of the report and offer a copy to participants (usually you must purchased this from the analyst service).
• Channel/Partnering programs:  If your company has a partnering program, an excellent way to increase attendance and interest is to also partner on a webinar.  You can each leverage each other’s opt-in mail lists, create a broader, more appealing topic and share the cost of the webinar.  It’s a win-win for both parties.

Once a couple of webinars have been run successfully, it doesn’t take long for clients to realize how valuable these are in attracting the right prospects.  From there, they are typically off and running coming up with new ideas for additional webinars and ways to cross promote with other marketing campaigns.  Pay attention, however, to how often you promote your webinar programs to your in-house email lists.  Like all marketing touches to your prospects, it pays to be respectful of the number of touches your make on webinar invitations as well.

Do you have any ideas for ways to integrate webinars into your marketing programs?  I’d love to hear about them.