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How to Improve Your Webinar Game
58 Plays6 years ago
Want to take your webinars from 0 to 1000+ registrants heroes? This week we did a webinar with our long-time client VanillaSoft and talked about that topic. VanillaSoft has taken its webinar game to the NEXT LEVEL.
On this episode, we're sharing some "after the show" tips, but we aren't spilling all the tea from the webinar. You need to go check out that session yourself. You can view it right here: http://jmi.fyi/vanillasoft-webinar. Here are eight points we are sharing, plus a few links to some of our favorite webinar software and equipment.
Eight Tips for Improving Your Webinars Covered in this Episode:
- Embrace authenticity and natural, conversational flow.
- Think beyond your email list when it comes to driving registrations.
- Don't focus on the number of attendees for the live event.
- Use the right equipment.
- Pick the best software options.
- Get social (or tap the social network of your team) to find terrific guests.
- Select topics that resonate and use social to find the right angles and fresh perspectives.
- Don't forget the post-event to-do list.
Equipment mentioned in this episode:
Mic: Samson Technologies Q2U Handheld Dynamic USB Microphone Recording and Podcasting Pack
Webcam:
Webinar software mentioned in this episode:
Other information
Finally, if you aren't familiar with VanillaSoft and you have a sales team, why not check out their sales engagement software? (Disclosure: just a reminder, VanillaSoft is a Jackson Marketing client.)
Big thanks to Darryl Praill and the team for having us on the webinar. Don't forget to check it out! http://jmi.fyi/vanillasoft-webinar
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Transcript
Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Marketing Mix Podcast with Elena and Stacey. Each week we'll bring you ideas that you can implement in your own marketing strategy. We'll share what we know as well as advice from industry experts, some of whom will join us from time to time here on the show. Are you ready to mix it up? Let's get started.
Webinar Success Story with VanillaSoft
00:00:17
Speaker
Hey there, this is Stacey Jackson and I'm Alayna Jackson. We're co-founders of Jackson Marketing. We're also sisters and we're bringing you episode nine of The Marketing Mix. Alayna, what is today's episode about?
00:00:30
Speaker
Today, we are bringing you a recap of the conversation that we just had with VanillaSoft on a webinar about webinars. We talked about how VanillaSoft has gone from zero to 1,000 registrants within about a year's time on their webinars. Great. I love working with the team at VanillaSoft. They've been a client for a long time and we both
00:00:54
Speaker
enjoy working with the team and we've all done some fun stuff together and I can't wait to share what this brand has done with our webinar game. Absolutely. Like Stacy said, it's been a pleasure working with them and we're so excited to bring you some of the stuff that we talked about with them today. But before we dig into all that after the show talk, let's take a break and hear from our sponsor.
Innovative Webinar Strategies
00:01:18
Speaker
and we're back. Hey, I never get to say that. I got to say that this week. All right. So this week we postponed our regular Monday episode so that we could release on Wednesday to bring you some highlights from our webinar with vanilla software. We talked about webinars and how vanilla soft has really up their webinar game.
00:01:39
Speaker
And we worked with VanillaSoft for several years now, and we've been lucky enough to get to stick around when the new CMO, Dale Pearl, came on board. And it was around late 2017. And he has really pushed the brand to take on new forms of media and its content marketing practices. And while webinars aren't new, the VanillaSoft approach is, and at least compared to how the team did it in the past.
00:02:03
Speaker
Yeah, it's gone from that standard PowerPoint guest speaker pitch formula to more of almost like a talk show where Daryl is the host and he presents five to seven topic points and discusses that with the guests and it's totally unscripted. Everything's authentic and has a great flow to it. Now, we don't want to give away everything that we talked about in the webinar. Instead, we're going to provide a link to the recording in the show notes of this podcast. However,
Eight Key Webinar Takeaways
00:02:33
Speaker
We are going to hit on eight takeaways that marketers can start doing today to improve their webinar game. So what's first, Lane? So I think first we consider having an authentic and natural flow to the whole conversation and process. So no more death by bullet points and
00:02:50
Speaker
reading through the PowerPoint. That's the worst. Yes, it's like you can so tell that someone is reading when they talk like this throughout the whole PowerPoint. And nobody wants to hear that. Nobody's going to stick around for that. So especially if the bullets are on the screen. Exactly. What's the point?
00:03:09
Speaker
Just send me the presentation then. Yeah. So I think that's the first thing is key to be authentic and don't script it. Just have a conversation. And maybe you do want to practice run through, but don't over rehearse. I think we've made that mistake even in podcasts where we've over rehearsed it and then it wasn't as fun and authentic the second time around. So, you know, talk through it, but don't overdo it when you're getting ready. The next point, point number two is think beyond email.
00:03:38
Speaker
Yes, your email list, if you have one, can be a great source of webinar registrations, but, you know, that's not the only place to turn to. No. And that's where you really need to consider social. I know that a lot of companies don't see the benefit of social, but if you do it right, you can really make an impact on your reach and the number of registrants you drive to your webinars. And don't just rely on your company social. Get your whole social army involved.
00:04:06
Speaker
You know, get your employees, get your connections on different sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, get your connections to retweet and share it for you. You know, just think outside of the box of just your company's brand. Yes, your company brand can reach a certain amount of people, but you can get 561% more reach if you get your employees to start engaging and sharing that content and promoting it for you.
00:04:31
Speaker
And I think that's where your point about companies not embracing social media comes into play. I think a lot of companies today do embrace using that corporate profile, but they're not empowering their employees to go out there and participate in the conversation. And that can be insanely powerful.
00:04:48
Speaker
I think another thing that is important to remember is not to get wrapped up in the numbers of attendees. Go to webinar reports that while registrations can be high, on average attendance for a live webinar is 50 or fewer. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't still make your webinar something that is engaging and that people will want to continue to come back next time.
00:05:08
Speaker
Yeah, I think that can be a little discouraging when you think about, oh man, 500 people registered, but only 50 attended. Just think about it that they registered because I see the value in it and they will probably view it at some point in the month. Like Smart Insights reports that only 36% of registrants actually attended the live webinar, but within a month by using email reminders to the registrants, the majority of people who registered ended up viewing the webinar recording.
00:05:36
Speaker
Yeah, so I think that it's good to understand that yes, you're generating leads, but you also want to deliver an experience for those that are watching live and that might watch later that it's an experience they'll remember and they'll be able to take something from. And they'll remember you later when they have a need for a product like yours. Exactly.
00:05:53
Speaker
We talked about recording, but make sure you are recording them. Don't make it a, Oh, you missed it. So tough. You can use that recording later too, as a lead magnet, and you can use it to even help the people who weren't able to attend catch up on the topic. Right. So it's an ongoing process where you're continually capturing
Engaging Webinar Topics and Guests
00:06:10
Speaker
leads. And I think that's a great marketing strategy.
00:06:12
Speaker
Point number four is all about the equipment. Now, if you're a little bit older maybe and in business for a while, the only equipment you needed when webinars were first cranking out was a speakerphone and a computer. But these days you got to be a little fancier. And Daryl definitely shamed us when it comes to the microphone front.
00:06:35
Speaker
We did not have good mics. We had omnidirectional mics. So if someone sneezed and dropped a pin in the corner, it would be heard on our mic. So Daryl showed us the error of our ways, and we now have unidirectional cardiod mics. So that means it's generally just picking up the sound of the person's voice who's speaking into the mic. And don't tell him I said this, but he was right.
00:06:57
Speaker
It does make a difference. It does. Another thing that you want to consider is a great webcam. If you're going to do video on your webinars, you can get a webcam that's not super expensive, like a Logitech C922 Pro. That's what we use for our webcams, and it's not going to break your budget.
00:07:14
Speaker
And that's one of the better ones available, but there are higher quality options. If you have the budget for it, go for it. You can try to use a webcam on your laptop, but it probably won't deliver as nice of a picture as a separate webcam, but you can definitely do that as well. You don't have to spend a lot of money for a nice picture.
00:07:31
Speaker
And one more thing, going back to the audio front, I kind of made a little joke about people who started out in webinars when they first began using speaker phones. If you don't have the budget for whatever reason for a mic, even though our mics were really inexpensive, then we'll put a link to the Amazon page for them. Don't just go with an open speaker phone, put on a headset or something so that you can reduce as much background noise as possible. All right, Elena, what's tip number five? Now we're gonna talk about some of the software.
00:08:00
Speaker
Not everyone is going to have as complex a setup as VanillaSoft because they have an awesome producer of all of their systems that can work with those complex systems. But you can use things like GoToWebinar or Zoom and both integrate with our favorite marketing automation, which is HubSpot.
00:08:17
Speaker
and both allow video, so you've got a nice human touch to the whole process of your webinar, and it's more authentic. But Zoom also has an option for livestream over social, so you've got an even bigger chance to get your reach out more during the process to do the livestream over social. Yeah, but with Zoom, just make sure you've chosen the webinar package with video if you do want to do that livestream part. Right.
00:08:40
Speaker
Right. Some other software you need to consider as part of your webinar program is marketing automation so that you can manage those email contacts. Yeah, you can do it through GoToWebinar or Zoom, but you can have more control over the branding if you do it directly through a tool like HubSpot.
00:08:57
Speaker
to create both your emails and your landing pages plus you'll have all your contacts in that marking automation tool so you can nurture the people that registered and you can set up a landing page to capture people later when new people want to come watch the recording. Another thing that we recommend is using some planning software so that you can have your
00:09:17
Speaker
steps in place and everybody knows what they're supposed to do when it comes time to execute the webinar. Right, because there can be a lot of different pieces depending on how involved you make your webinar, so having a tool definitely helps. Stacy. Yes? How do people pick their topics? I'm glad you asked because that's point number six. There's several different ways that you can pick your topics.
00:09:40
Speaker
Yeah, you can go with the tried and true topic that everybody in your industry seems to talk about. That's fine, but look for a unique angle on that popular topic. Don't just do the same old stuff that your competitors do. Make it fresh and original and something that will really get people's attention. Another great way to find topics is you have to be active on social
Post-Event Strategies for Success
00:10:01
Speaker
media yourself, or at least have a great team of people who are
00:10:04
Speaker
willing to go do the research and listen on social media. You got to listen for what are people in your industry discussing and don't just look at your network. Look at people beyond your network who are in your industry or niche. What are the things that are really generating the most comments on LinkedIn or Twitter, maybe even Facebook, and getting
00:10:22
Speaker
people excited don't forget to look at that and to your point about having other people help with those finding those topics you know one of the things that we talk about and that we do with vanilla soft is when people are engaging with the content on the company page if it's something they make a comment and it's something that seems like
00:10:41
Speaker
Oh, that'd be a good podcast or that'd be a good webinar topic. I immediately just shoot Daryl a slack message or I tag him in a comment saying, Hey, Daryl, good podcast topic. But it's just a way to get more engagement and find those topics. And so look at what you've got going on in your comments. You may find something that someone's sharing a topic right there and you maybe you're just overlooking it.
00:11:01
Speaker
I don't line up by company page. You mean the company's social media page, right? Right. Sorry. I didn't explain that, but yeah. So the company's social media page as well as individual people that you work with. And then final point on picking a topic. Don't
00:11:16
Speaker
pick a sales page as your topic. Resist the urge for the love. Yes, everything that marketing does should eventually lead to something productive for sales, but they can go to your website and get all that info. Yes, but also if you've targeted the right topic with the right speaker that appeals to your buyer persona, then these people will be marketing qualified leads.
00:11:41
Speaker
that you can nurture and then turn into sales qualified leads. So you're not just talking about how to blow bubbles with hubba bubba bubble gum or something crazy. You're talking about things that are important to the people who buy your product or service. So stay informational, educational, don't go in for the hard sale on a webinar because people don't stick around and you don't get to 1000 registrations just based on a sales pitch unless it's a man.
00:12:09
Speaker
Amazing kind of like my pillow or something. I'd go watch that webinar. I Love that guy. I'm gonna call you out though. Do you have a my pillow? No, I don't but I just I love Mike Lindell of my pillow I have in my pillow and it rocks Okay, so the next thing that we're gonna talk about is choosing your guests and as Daryl pointed out Maybe you don't have people in your
00:12:31
Speaker
circle right now, but that should not be stopping you from reaching out to them. Just have a terrific kind of offer or experience when it comes to doing webinars that you can pass on to them and get them excited about it. Talk to other people on your team and in your company about who they kind of view as influencers and authorities in your industry and get their ideas, get information from them and suggestions and then get on social. Like Stacy said a minute ago, get on social.
00:12:57
Speaker
and listen and look for people who have a unique viewpoint and that are active and commenting and not just commenting with, hey, great posts, but they're actually adding value to the conversation. Look for those kind of people and they're going to be the ones that will be good guests. And one point about that, getting active on social.
00:13:14
Speaker
The reason, one of the reasons at least why Vanilla Soft's webinar registrations have grown so much is Daryl is very involved in social and very interested in talking about things on social media with other people and just very charismatic and enjoys being the face of the brand. If you don't have someone like that in your company, find that person. Maybe they're in your company now, or maybe they're someone that you need to have on your team.
00:13:41
Speaker
It makes a huge difference to have that kind of cheerleader. What's the word I'm looking for, Stacy? That champion? Yes, champion. That champion for your company that people can start to recognize, hey, that's Darryl Pearl. He's a vanilla saw. And it makes a difference and it puts that human aspect back into it. People want to connect with a person more than they want to connect with a brand.
00:14:03
Speaker
And I think that kind of goes back to the Edelman Trust Barometer Alina that I know we've mentioned a few times, but people connect with people. People don't necessarily connect with or trust brands. And sure there's varying levels of people that people trust, but you know, Darryl is very charismatic. He brings some personality and a face to the brand. I think it's made a big difference in the webinar program.
00:14:24
Speaker
I completely agree with you there, Stace. And now on to point number eight, which is post event. So there's some activities that you need to be focusing on after the webinar. You need to be nurturing those leads. And if you have a solution, a marketing automation like hotspot, you can set those up and it automatically happens. Use video to get new leads where you've got the video of your webinar and you gate it. And so someone has to fill out a form and you capture their information and then they get access to it.
00:14:52
Speaker
So that means you need to keep promoting that webinar on social. Right, right. Not every day, but every so often make sure that you're promoting it throughout time. And then repurpose, if possible, maybe write a blog post from it or do a little teaser video or just something to generate. Or a podcast. Yeah, there you go.
00:15:12
Speaker
That's a good one. Just something to continue momentum. Those are eight points that we kind of wanted to bring as a takeaway from our webinar today with the Vanilla Soft. If you haven't seen it yet, we will definitely provide the link for you in the show notes. It's really great information. Vanilla Soft takes webinars to a whole new level and it's not something that we can just talk about here because it's definitely a team effort and we want you to hear directly from the people that do each part.
Final Thoughts and Contact Info
00:15:41
Speaker
We hope that you got some good information here and that we also hope that you will go and watch the webinar because it's just so much more information than what we shared here. These are just some high-level takeaways that we wanted to bring to you. If you have any questions for us, you can reach us on Twitter. You can catch Stacy at stacy underscore jacks.
00:16:00
Speaker
and that's S-T-A-C-Y underscore J-A-X. You can catch me on Twitter at Alayna underscore Jax, A-L-A-N-N-A underscore J-A-X, or you can catch both of us on LinkedIn. And another thing you can do is go to the Anchor app and leave us a voicemail. I hope that you will prepare for your next webinar and take some of these action items and apply them. Until next time, bye. Bye.
00:16:26
Speaker
The Marketing Mix is hosted by Stacey Jackson and Elena Jackson of, you guessed it, Jackson Marketing. If you need help with your B2B inbound marketing efforts, visit us at JacksonMarketingServices.com. Yay!