Unleashing the Power of the Webinar: A Slightly Silly Guide to B2B Content Marketing
Truth be said. The name "webinar" doesn't exactly conjure up ideas of thrilling roller coasters, spectacular pyrotechnics, or even marginally entertaining cat videos. It's a combination of "web" and "seminar," two words that are more likely to make you yawn more than a lesson on the history of the paperclip.
But please try to suppress your yawns, dear reader. It's no joke that webinars may be a fantastic resource for B2B content marketing. Let's not make you yawn by discussing how to make webinars in B2B content marketing more enjoyable.
1. Get things going with a bang!
A captivating tale has universal appeal. In that case, your webinar is no different from any other. Put on your best J.R.R. Tolkien impression and write a riveting story. Your LinkedIn profile photo and a recitation of your CV shouldn't take up the first slide. Get people interested in your webinar by starting with an issue they can relate to. It was a rainy night, and our server went down abruptly. Perhaps a little less dramatic, but hopefully you get the point!
2. The star power of cameos
Include a twist in your webinar presentation. Expert interviews, client endorsements, and guest appearances from famous people are all great ways to build credibility. Maybe not Tom Hanks, but how about that person who has a lot of followers and can help you become noticed in your industry? That's certain to keep them on the edge of their seats.
3. Assume the role of the quiz show host.
Engagement, honey, engagement is key. No, I don't mean proposing (but, hey, do whatever piques their attention). Make your listeners think. Make inquiries. Hold a vote. Everything you can to prevent them from mindlessly scrolling through your slides as they drink their third cup of coffee and pretend to pay attention.
4. Make the most of the stage that is your life.
If you can juggle or recite Shakespeare, great; if not, don't worry about it. However, try to make your webinar visually appealing. Make use of eye-catching visuals, such as presentations and animations. Keep in mind that most people seeing your content are visual learners. No one asked them to download an eBook. They've come to see the spectacle.
5. The Social Media S-word
I just admitted it. Networking sites. Put it to use in all phases of the webinar experience. Now is not the time to be timid. Publish exclusive content, give sneak previews, and solicit signups. Share and tweet the webinar's content as it happens. Use #WebinarWednesdays or another catchy hashtag to continue the conversation after the webinar ends.
6. Reuse, recycle, and be happy
You clearly spent a lot of time and energy making this webinar engaging and useful. Why not get as much value as possible out of it? Use it to create everything from blog posts to infographics to eBooks to podcasts to, hell, even those mediocre cat videos.
7. Gain wisdom from your mistakes
The ideal times for laughing and learning are the times when mistakes are made. Is that your pet cat invading your webinar? Did you silence yourself for five minutes by mistake? Learn from it while laughing it off. Don't let it happen again, and if it does, put it in the next blooper clip!
8. don't stop making sequels!
You had a successful first webinar? Wow, that's awesome! However, this isn't a case of a one-hit wonder. Your readers have come to rely on consistent new content from you. Don't stop generating sequels, and strive to improve upon them.
The webinar may not be the most interesting thing to talk about at a party. but they might be the hidden gem of your business-to-business content marketing campaign. Your webinars will go viral if you include some comedy, some interaction, and a lot of useful information.
At the very least, they will sell like hotcakes in the world of business-to-business marketing, where the only fireworks are the ones that go off when you finally click with your target demographic.
To that end, dear reader, let's make our webinars more than simply a virtual gathering of brains. Let's inject some humor, curiosity, and originality into this vilified medium and turn it into a marketing wonder!
Always keep in mind that content is king, but presentation may make you marketing emperor. Get out there and dominate the B2B webinar space with your content marketing strategies! And never forget that you can never have too much fun while exchanging thoughts and opinions with others.
