How to Use Webinars As A Lead Generation Tool

A webinar is a great tool for businesses to help grow their businesses.  It’s a shame that more companies don’t utilize this medium to educate their target audience on their products/services.  Most companies today are using webinars to educate their internal team and offer sales training.  It eliminates travel expenses by not having to fly in employees to one location for product training.  How many times have you attended a massive sales training seminar in an upscale hotel?  This is something that we should start seeing less of over the next few years.  If companies are smart….they will take the money spent on these events and put it towards engineering and additional marketing programs. The biggest benefit of a webinar, is that your audience can attend a webinar from the comfort of their own desk without leaving the office.  The cost to the company is minimal.
Why are most companies not using webinars as a lead generation tool?  This is a great way to spread the word about your products/services without spending a fortune.  The ROI can be high if companies utilize this medium the right way!
Major Benefits of Webinars:

1. Attendee List –You can communicate with past prospects, new prospects, and current customers by inviting them to a webinar. It’s a great way to remind them about you!
2. Credibility – By hosting a webinar on a particular topic…it makes you the industry expert and gives the company credibility as being the spokesperson.  It’s important to get knowledgeable presenters who understand the target audience and how to speak to them.
3. Webinar Invitations – You can create an upscale email or direct mail invitation and send out to your in-house database.   This is a great way to get in front of your customer or prospect and show that you know the industry. Also…people like to receive free information.  It’s a great offer as part of a direct marketing campaign.
4. Follow-up – All follow-up should be made within 2 days of the webinar.  All attendees should receive a thank you email.  You can send a link to the archived version of the webinar to the people that registered…. but did not actually attend the webinar.

Webinars can be an effective way to grow your business and increase your profits.  It’s important to give your prospects a presentation that keeps their attention.  Also, interaction is important where participants can type their questions during the webinar session.  A Q & A Session at the end of the session is a great way to keep your webinar interactive.   It is important to know your webinar layout before you begin. This includes what you anticipate on covering, what your objectives are, the format, the length of your webinar and so forth.  The typical length of a webinar is 45 minutes with a 15 minute Q&A session at the end.  Also, the timing is important.  Since you will have attendees from the east and west coast…2:00 p.m. EST is a great time to hold your webinar.
Promotion is crucial to your webinar’s success.  A great way to promote your webinar is through social media sites, direct mail, email, and banner ads.  It makes a great Call To Action for your campaign.  It’s time to add webinars to your marketing tools and start reaping the benefits today!
Author: 
Monique Merhige is the President of Infusion Direct Marketing & Advertising, Inc.  She has over 15 years of marketing communications experience with technology companies ranging from small service firms and equipment manufacturers to a 1.5 Billion dollar division of Motorola.  Infusion is a marketing consulting firm that specializes in the security industry and delivers marketing solutions that include Public Relations, Direct Marketing, Branding, Collateral Development, and Social Media Marketing.  Visit:  www.infusiondirect.com or call 631-846-1558
Sources:

• How to Run Webinars Effectively To Grow Your Business
• How To Plan A Webinar Effectively
• Webinars – How To Run One