Ryan Parker
The hub of content marketing is intrinsically social. Ironically enough, as more of us consume our content online and participate in online communities the actual social experience is becoming further and further removed. We all subscribe to sites where we follow individuals and brands to be kept up on the latest trends, and hey, we might actually sign-in to one of our accounts from time to time to comment on something we find interesting. But when have you ever physically engaged someone on those sites?
You might not think that it’s a big issue for the human interaction factor to be going the way of the lion population in Africa (R.I.P. Cecil). But without that interaction we are never truly able to put a face to the brand. What better way to build brand authenticity, and give your company an actual voice than a webinar? Just as video encourages the viewer to take action to learn more about your products or services, webinars educate your viewers about your knowledge about your products or services.
Webinars are extremely powerful for drawing in and engaging with your prospects, as well as connecting with them from beyond the protection of your keyboard. Webinars are real, live, and open to many mistakes, just like all of us!
If you’re still not convinced that a human interaction won’t make a difference, check out some statistics that might change your mind:
- 62% of marketers are using webinars as a tactic to deliver B2B content marketing (up from 59% in 2012) contentmarketinginstitute.com (CMI)
- Marketers rate webinars as the 3rd most effective tactic of all (tied with videos) blogs.adobe.com
- According to clickmeeting.com out of 8,197 companies surveyed, only 32% of companies were not running any webinars, while in contrast 18% of companies run 1 to 3, 17% run 4 to 6 a month, 16% are running 7 to 12 webinars, 8% of companies rack up 13 to 26, and an even larger 9% of companies will run 27 or more in a given month! (e3webcasting.com)
- There are no geographical boundaries
- Between 20% and 40% of webinar attendees turned into qualified leads. (ReadyTalk)
- The average viewership per webcast is 53 minutes. (Source: ON24)
- Of the lead generation tactics available, webinars are the second most effective type of premium content for marketers. (Source:Ascend 2)
- The average webinar attendance rate is 40 – 50% of registrants. (Source:ReadyTalk)
- The attendees can directly engage your company with questions
- It positions you and your company as an industry thought leader
- Webinars helps build you a bigger audience and contact list
- Webinars appeal to all learning styles, kinesthetic, auditory, visual (smartsimplemarketing.com)
- Webinars can easily be re-purposed
- Webinars give you the opportunity to connect with thought leaders in your industry. You can produce an interview-style webinar, a panel discussion, or a Q&A webinar and invite industry experts to take part (com)
Beyond educating potential customers and building a strong position in your market, your webinar has the potential to be one of the most powerful steps you take in the realm of lead capture. Because of this it is imperative that you have a plan in place for maximizing impact.
With an ever increasing need to be present across all mediums, devices, touch-points, and interfaces. Brands must learn to be agile and able to showcase their strengths not only through written content but also live on the spot.
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