How to convince internal stakeholders on webinars

Webinars are an ever-growing field. In fact, 54% of B2B professionals watch webinars every week according to one study, and this may not come as a surprise to you as you may very well be a webinar aficionado yourself - but how do you convince your boss or stakeholder to invest?

‍

You’re here because you know that webinars and virtual engagements are the drivers of your business, but your boss, your stakeholders? They may need some more convincing.

‍

In this article we’ll arm you with all the information you need to convince your skeptics about the value of webinars.

Download the guide for this article so you can save, read later and share.

The basics

‍

Let’s get into why 58% of B2B marketers are already incorporating webinars into their content marketing strategies.

‍

Arguably one of the largest factors in the rise of webinars and other forms of virtual engagements are the lower costs. The ability to use a video conferencing software to reach a large group of people means you can cut the costs of booking a physical space or other things like catering.

‍

If you host an educational webinar, people can tune in from everywhere with no transportation costs. Also, since audience members can join or watch a webinar for little to no costs, there is no barrier of entry for potential customers.

‍

One industry survey found that 75% or marketers agreed that webinars help lower their cost-per-lead.

‍

So whether you're hosting a meeting or sharing your expertise with a small group of people, your company can reach whomever you need at no extra costs.

Which brings us to another benefit of webinars: scalability. With unlimited global reach, webinars are a great way to generate leads since they give you access to new customer segments, anything from small groups of people to hundreds! This gives you a lot of flexibility, and by working with a webinar template, your team can produce a webinar for any occasion even more quickly, and according to your brand guidelines.

For every group of people you’re trying to reach, whether it be potential business partners or an audience who wants to learn from you, it’s easy to customise your event to their needs.

‍

The ease of use and scalability of webinars makes it a great tool to reach new customer segments, and since webinars convert between 5% and 20% of viewers into buyers it's a great tool to have ready for your next marketing pitch.

‍

Webinars are already a listed source of revenue for 37% of B2B marketers, so really you should be asking your stakeholder’s why webinars aren’t already a part of your marketing strategy.

Plus, by taking a multimedia approach tailored to the needs of your webinar you can organically grow your content marketing material. For example, your webinars may include surveys, host Q&A’s, chats and downloadable powerpoint slides. These tools can be converted into content that can be published on blogs, social media feeds, and even podcasts. Webinars create long term value and continue to create customer leads for little to no additional costs, which is why 37% of B2B marketers list webinars as delivering ROI for content marketing.

Now, let's get into why webinars are uniquely qualified for brand growth.

The branding

‍

A business's brand is one of its most important and valuable assets.

‍

Brand familiarity, loyalty and strength translate into increased market power, customer loyalty and higher profits. This is why companies spend so much money on building and growing their brand, and why it's so important to build your brand’s value during your webinar.

‍

Webinars are an excellent tool for this as they offer a personalised way to connect your brand with future consumers. Customers want to get to know your company’s values before they invest, so it’s no wonder 92% of webinar attendees want a live Q&A session at the end of a webinar.

‍

In fact, branding is so important for businesses that studies have shown that consistently showcasing the brand across platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%. That’s certainly nothing to be sniffed at!

‍

Webinars are the perfect stage for increasing brand loyalty because of their ability to create trust with your audience. Webinar platforms offer a range of opportunities to showcase a brand, from showing off your brand's colours, to individualised welcome messages, landing pages, and email templates.

‍

It takes 5 to 7 impressions for people to remember a brand, so making sure to incorporate your branding in all aspects of your marketing strategy is vital.

‍

Along with all that, webinars also give attendees access to in-demand content, like videos, podcasts and other relevant material. With 25% of registered audience members only watching the replay of a webinar, having branded, on-demand content is a smart way to grow leads post-webinar.

‍

Customised content makes 82% of consumers feel more positive about a brand, and 61% of customers are more likely to buy from companies that deliver unique content.

‍

This all emphasises that investing in distinctive brand awareness pays back and should make up the key foundation to your argument to internal stakeholders that may have their reservations on spending budget on webinars.

‍

Lastly, branding is absolutely not just about putting your logos on things, it's about connecting a consumer to the whole of a brand in a meaningful way. Setting the tone of the relationship you want with attendees creates better brand loyalty and makes a holistic impression of your brand on attendees.

‍

Making sure your consumer understands your brand as a whole matters. Like, really matters.

‍

One study by ‘High performance marketing Demand Metric’ found that event marketing team members who create consistent, regular branded materials are very important for brand presentation.

The big picture

‍

One industry survey found that 86% of respondents agreed that webinars make up a key part of their marketing strategy. This same survey found that webinars are used across the marketing funnel, from educational courses (60%), to providing demos (53%) to giving technical deep dives (50%). Bottom line? They are one of the best tools to have in your marketing toolkit.

‍

What's cool about webinars is that they drive both immediate and long term growth. Audience members who tuned into an educational course may very well become future leads, but so will the viewers who rewatch or download the video of the webinar afterwards.

‍

In other words, webinars are an excellent source for content generation.

Webinars organically create content, most obviously videos of the event and recordings of the content. These videos can be repurposed for social media and other online presence. But get creative with it!

‍

Why not chop up the videos for bitesize nuggets of content to form a social content plan where you can share key takeaways from your event. Articles, infographics, visuals, video content - the list of potential content ready for you to utilise post-webinar is seriously vast!

‍

In fact, it shouldn't surprise you that online ads are a huge driver of brand awareness for many consumers, with videos being one of the most effective ways to reach an audience - specifically 1200% more than text or links.

‍

Another special characteristic of webinars? The data. Webinars, when hosted on the right platform, collect in-depth data. And we’re not just talking polls and surveys (which are also super important for feedback); we're talking about the metrics behind what worked - and what didn't.

‍

Taking the time to go through the stats and facts of your webinar means your next webinar can be even better than the one you just had. If you want to go the extra mile you can integrate your webinar platform with your CRM, marketing automation or e-learning system to break down how each of your customers engage.

‍

The more you know about your webinar, the more you know about your customer, and the more commercial impact it can have. And that’s pretty much impossible for any key stakeholder to ignore!

We know it can be scary to change your marketing strategy, to try new things, and often to get buy-in if people are also on the fence. However, we also know that webinars will continue to grow in importance as a marketing tool and drive real commercial impact.

‍

So get started now, send this article to your boss, your stakeholders and we’ll help you get going.

‍

Here at Tame, we offer free demos tailored to your webinar needs and personalised support so you won’t have to dive into this alone. Reach out to us and we’ll help you every step of the way.