Let’s get personal

 

When it comes to large-scale marketing with a personal touch, you can’t beat a webinar. Unlike white papers — or even massive in-person events — webinars really give you a chance to get personal and get real with your customers and prospects.

In last week’s live webinar, “How Personalization Can Drive Webinar Success,” Mark Bornstein walked us through some simple steps to make a real connection with webinars. In case you missed it, here are some of the highlights:

Send a thoughtful invitation
People are much more likely to respond to an email when it feels like you went the extra mile for them. So make your webinar invites more meaningful! It only takes a little effort to make a huge impact.

• Write like a person. It’s all too easy for marketers to fall into bad habits and churn out emails that sound like a corporate jargon generator. Yuck. Remember that you’re writing an email for a real person with real concerns. Use “you” a lot and focus on what they’ll get from the event.

• Segment your database. Not all customer needs were created equal. If your email service allows it, try sending a different, customized message to your most important segments.

• Personalize the subject line. Nothing grabs someone’s attention like their own name. Try adding a variable field for first name or company to the subject line of your email: “Hey Jon! You’re invited to a webinar”

Be a considerate host
Whether you’re throwing a party or delivering a webinar, it’s no fun for anyone else if you make it all about you. Instead, look for ways to turn your presentation into a conversation, and get the audience engaged.

• Don’t be too formal. The old slides-and-presenter webinar format can be a lot of fun, especially if you have a great presenter. But why shake things up a bit? Try different presenter formats, such as interviews, expert panels, or coffee talks.

• Give them what they want. After really great webinar, the audience walks away full of ideas about what to do next. Pack your webinar with valuable info and actionable tips.

• Listen. There’s nothing people love more than sharing their own experiences. Include polls, surveys, and Q&A to give your audience a chance to talk about themselves.

Let them know they matter
Show your audience how much they mean to you by inviting them to engage with your company again.

• Stay in touch. Most leads start to go cold pretty quickly, so reach out within 24 hours with a follow-up call or personalized email.

• Show them you were listening. But don’t just make a generic follow-up call! Ask them if they had any questions about the webinar they just watched. If the lead asked questions or responded to a poll, use that as a starting point for your next conversation.

• Offer a fresh experience. It’s a good idea to offer them another piece of content, but make sure it isn’t more of the same. The next step should take them deeper into the buyer’s journey, whether it’s a white paper, a data sheet, a live demo, or an invitation to another webinar on a different topic of interest.

By making your webinars into genuinely personal experiences, you’ll increase attendance, engagement, and interest in your brand. For more great tips like these, watch “How Personalization Can Drive Webinar Success” on demand.