Many people have heard of webinars – and most likely attended them too. But do you know the best ways to use webinars to boost your business profits?
Before we get dig deeper into how you can use webinars, let’s take a look at what webinars are.
What are webinars?
The name “webinar” comes from web seminars … or online seminars. So basically, they’re a seminar or meeting of some sort, but run over the internet rather than attendees having to get together in one physical location.
Webinars may be free or paid to attend. If you charge a fee, you could charge per-webinar or you might find it better to charge a single price that allows attendees to attend multiple webinars.
Whether or not you charge a fee or offer free webinars will depend on the purpose of your webinar, your business model and your marketing plan. In many cases, you can use a variety of both free and paid webinars.
7 Ways To Use Webinars:
1. Training
One of the 7 best ways to use webinars – and perhaps one of the most common – is for training. This could be for training of staff, team members, students, members and/or potential customers.
You can conduct live training and share information via a PowerPoint (or Keynote) type of presentation or you can share your computer screen. Often a combination of the two works well.
Plus, you can record the live webinar and make this training available later too, via video or an automated webinar.
2. Lead Generation
Depending on what webinar software you’re using and what autoresponder program you use, it’s usually possible to integrate the two. Which means, when people register to attend your webinar you are also building your list.
Webinars can be an ideal form of lead generation and often these people are more likely to buy your products or services. They’ve shown they’re interested in your topic and by committing to a payment of their time (and possibly dollars), they’re showing you that they’re serious.
3. Q&A Sessions
This is one of my favourites! Webinars are the perfect platform to run Q&A sessions for your customers, students or members. It’s also one of the most under-utilised ways of using webinars.
The fact is, very few people are doing these and of those who are, most aren’t doing them regularly or effectively. Can you imagine the difference this could make to your business if you had this advantage over your competitors?
Webinars are an ideal way to run Q&A sessions because you can take notes as you go and share them on your screen (a very helpful way to make sure your listeners don’t miss or mis-hear important points). Plus, you can share your screen to give more detailed answers, where appropriate. This allows attendees to see whatever is on your computer, such as websites, software, documents and such.
4. Product Demonstrations
Depending on your products and services, it may be possible to show product demonstrations via webinars. While some products may benefit from video or live demonstrations, webinars are often suitable for others, especially services.
Allowing audience interaction means that people can have their questions answered then and there. You can also include surveys and polls to gauge viewers’ feedback or get suggestions for improvements.
5. Product Launch
Product launches and webinars can go hand in hand, especially if you use the webinar as an opportunity to give your VIP customers, or all of your subscribers, advanced access to your product. You can do this via a live webinar, where the live interaction helps to build the excitement.
6. Product/Service Sales
Webinars can be used extremely well for selling your products and services. One of the most important things here though is not to just sell and expect people to buy.
A webinar is a great way to give potential customers a sample of what they can expect when working with you. So make sure that the main part of your webinar is not about ‘selling’. It needs to be focused on training or educating. Offer information that is truly valuable to your viewers.
After you’ve offered value and viewers get an idea of who you are and what your expertise is, THEN you can let them know how you can help them further.
7. Interviews
Interviewing those with expertise to share within your industry – or interviewing your team members – is a great way to share valuable content. While there are several ways of conducting interviews, webinars are one of the most effective. The main benefit is that it allows for interaction with listeners and creates a visual element to help reinforce important points.
You can also record the interview and make it available later in a video, text or audio format, letting customers/subscribers choose the format they prefer.
Benefits Of Webinars:
There are many benefits of running webinars, including:
- sharing of knowledge (yours, a team member’s or your guest’s)
- keeping customers – or potential customers – informed
- ability to offer VIP sessions to your best customers
- helping you to build authority and credibility
- making money – webinars typically convert very well
- being a great form of content that provides many opportunities for leverage and re-purposing
- being able to be run from home … or while away
There is no doubt that webinars can be an integral part of your business. How you use them is up to you. But if you aren’t already using webinars within your business, I highly recommend you start doing so soon, before your competitors leave you behind.
