The Association of National Advertisers has talked about some of the many ways that AI technology is improving marketing. They had a great webinar on the topic. However, what they didn’t go into in this topic was how AI can actually help with webinar marketing itself.
Global businesses spent $15.78 billion on AI in marketing last year. Some of them dedicated their AI marketing budgets to developing great webinar strategies.
A webinar is one of the best ways to connect with your audience and generate sales. However, that would all be worth it unless you had some effective pre-webinar sales strategies. With effective marketing, you can maximize registration while ensuring your audience is ready for your content.
This guide will give you crucial tactics to prepare you better for a winning webinar by using AI.
Using AI to Come Up with Pre-Webinar Sales Tactics That Work
There are a lot of great ways that you can use AI to help with webinar marketing. Keep reading to learn more.
Topic Selection
The initial step to a successful webinar marketing strategy is choosing the right topic. Your topic should address the needs and interests of the targeted audience.
This is possibly the best way to use AI for your webinar strategy. It is similar to how AI is used for other forms of online marketing.
Spend some time learning what is happening in your industry or listening to customer feedback. You can start by developing an AI program with Python to mine data on the market. I developed a data mining application that can collect data from any relevant website shown in a CSV file, which helps a lot. You’ll capture your audience’s attention when you identify pain points they want to solve.
Moreover, a niche, solution-focused topic can make your differences stand out and be the basis for strong webinar marketing. So, you may get relevant and valuable content through the registration process.
Create a High-Converting Webinar Landing Page
Your webinar landing page is the entry door for potential participants. It should be interesting, informative, and lead to action. An optimized webinar registration page can be the difference between someone filling out a form or bouncing off your site.
Ensure the landing page contains:
- A catchy headline that highlights the value of the webinar
- Clear information about the webinar topic
- A bullet-point list of what webinar attendees will learn or the valuable insights they’ll gain
- Testimonials or reviews to establish trust
- A simple registration form
Landing pages must be mobile-responsive, as many people will likely access them on mobile phones. A good practice is providing a lead magnet, such as a free guide or eBook.
This is one of the other areas where AI can help. We shared some pointers on using data analytics for conversion rate optimization (CRO) and you can further streamline this process with AI.
Leverage Social Media for Promotion
Among the most powerful lead-generating webinar tools is social media. You have those followers, don’t you? And you can layer ads over top of that to reach an even much bigger audience.
To increase your reach, develop a series of social media posts with the benefits of attending the webinar. Consider using playful images, snappy text, or a clear call to action to register.
Don’t forget to leverage social proof. Remind your followers to share the webinar; people are more likely to sign up if they see others doing it. Bring influencers on board or boost it with paid social advertising.
Align Your Sales and Marketing Teams
Engage your sales team in your pre-webinar sales preparation. Your sales team knows the audience’s pain points, and together, you can build messaging that directly addresses their needs.
Initiate direct outreach as part of the pre-webinar sales process. Engage your sales team to personally invite key leads to the event and remind them closer to the date.
Build an Engaging Email Campaign
Email marketing is a tried-and-true strategy for marketing webinars and building your target audience. Your email campaign should reach both warm leads and cold prospects to push them toward registering for future webinars.
Here’s an example of what an effective email sequence might look like:
- First invite: Describe the topic of the webinar and what the attendees will get from attending.
- Reminder email: Send reminders to those who haven’t signed up yet, especially in the days leading up to the event, and at least underline key takeaways from the webinar’s content.
- Urgency Email: Just before the event day, send an email that provokes a sense of urgency (“Seats are filling up fast!“). This may nudge people to register at the last minute.
- Follow-up Email: The follow-up email should be sent after the event has ended. This includes sending materials such as the webinar recording, slides, or any related material.
Your subject lines should be catchy. Personalize your emails with their names, and also try a call-to-action button that takes you to the actual webinar landing page.
Choose the Right Webinar Platform
The right webinar platform is needed for a smooth experience. The platform must provide strong registration features, audience interaction like Q&A sessions or polls, and good integration with other tools.
If your webinar platform offers automation features, you can schedule reminders, manage registrant lists, and send post-webinar follow-ups with minimal effort. A webinar platform that provides a smooth user experience will help keep attendees engaged from start to finish, making your sales process more effective.
Use Retargeting Ads to Drive Registrations
A retargeting ad is a highly effective conversion tool for people who may be attending your webinar but have been to your landing page and haven’t registered for the event yet.
You can retarget existing visitors from previous webinars and keep them at the top of your mind by inviting them to yet another webinar in the future. Hence, you encourage them to engage more in the long term.
Provide a Sneak Peek of Webinar Content
Giving your viewers a teaser or a preview of what will be shared in your webinars is one way to create anticipation. Give them a glimpse of how good it’s going to be by posting short videos or blog posts that would entice them. A sneak peek during podcasting or even live social media streaming goes a long way.
Conclusion
A well-crafted webinar strategy will influence the turnout at your event and its outcome. Align your team with your marketing efforts on the right webinar platform, and you’ll find your way to high-converting webinars.
Maximize these strategies, and your upcoming webinar will educate people while selling at the same time.