Ever since the 2020 pandemic, brands have been relying on virtual events like webinars more and more to effectively engage with their audiences and create authority within their fields. But webinars aren’t anything new, in fact, they were historically regarded as “dead” and have since been revived by businesses to be featured as part of new marketing strategies that called for contactless solutions.

What is a webinar?

Webinars consist of online lessons that usually cover a specific topic, often making use of a slide deck and interactive elements like polls and questions. Sometimes virtual audience members have the opportunity to ask the speaker questions related to what was said after the talk. Webinars are mostly educational and are useful for giving brands expert credibility on a topic that they are well versed in. Webinars are also useful for delighting and engaging audiences digitally.

The main motivation behind webinars is to either grow contact lists or increase purchasing leads. But as you can imagine, webinars are not always easy to pull off. They require a lot of planning before they can be successfully executed.

How it works

Webinars require viewers to sign up and ‘attend’ the meeting virtually on a specific date and time. But people are forgetful and as a result, need constant reminding to ensure that they ‘attend’. It takes clever and tactful marketing to make this happen.

Since everyone has been forced to go virtual, there may be an increase in the number of competitors who compete in the same space as your brand does. Thankfully there are ways to draw the attention that you need to attract people to your webinars. Start by researching your target audience and learn about what drives attendees to sign up. This way you can promote your events in a way that is geared towards effectively pulling in your ideal audience.

Below are some key findings that you can also use to promote your brand’s webinar content.

Educational webinars

People love learning about new topics, especially if those topics make them believe that they can get something useful out of it, like learning a new skill that makes them better at their job. Webinars should speak to innovative ideas that matter to your target audience and provide them with as much value as possible. The best webinars aren’t filled with fluff, they provide value. To make your webinar more interesting and engaging, use visual aids like slides and videos to hold your audience’s attention.

Panel Webinars

These webinars are a great way to showcase your expertise in a particular field and hold the attention of your audience. Reach out to other professionals like you and ask them to join in on a discussion about a particular trend or issue. Introduce your panel to your audience at the very beginning to create authority and validation. This will get your audience to trust the panel before you begin.

Interview webinars

One on one interviews is another way to provide helpful information to your audience while affirming that you offer expert knowledge within your field. The concept is simple, invite a fellow expert and interview them on a topic that speaks to your brand. This kind of webinar shouldn’t require too much presentation and preparation, unlike educational webinars, and should rely largely on natural conversation, occasionally guided by specific questions to stay on topic.

Q&A Webinars

Q&A webinars let the audience dictate the content. It’s entirely based on their questions around a particular subject. How it works is the host interacts directly with the audience and answers their questions until the allotted time runs out. To make things easier, the host can use a platform that allows for chat so that viewers can send questions live. This type of webinar provides an opportunity to get to know the kinds of people that you are attracting to your talk as well as insight into what they want to hear and learn about. Q&A webinars can also be used to obtain feedback about a product or service or for demonstrating industry knowledge.

Keynote webinars

These are the most common types of webinars and there is a reason for this, people love them! A keynote webinar includes a single speaker along with a presentation. This combination often creates an engaged audience. The speaker uses the presentation to support their talk and get their point across. The slides allow the audience to take notes and even screenshot key takeaways. This is a great format if your brand is hosting a number of webinars that follow a single theme.