Webinars: A Staple of Content Marketing

Webinars are a valuable piece in a content marketing strategy. Time-consuming; yes but the rewards can be amazing. Webinars with targeted, relevant content can generate qualified leads for your business development efforts and it can lead to other types of content like blog posts, white papers, etc.

The key to success is to create content that interests your target market. For example an e-commerce company would find a webinar on the best ways to target users in the customer lifecycle interesting and usable in their day-to-day operations; whereas other industries might not. This type of webinar could lead to blog posts on how email has gained a place in the modern digital and direct marketers' plans. It could also lead to a white paper on how the collection of new email addresses is vital to the growth of an email database. The opportunities are endless.

Topic is very important. If it doesn't interest your target marketing no one is going to waste time listening to it. Be sure to outline the deliverables and the value that will be obtained by attending. In the case of my customer lifecycle webinar example your deliverables could look something like this:

·         Discover how to send successful email campaigns by prioritizing quality not quantity when building your email list

·         Identify useful sources for capturing email addresses

·         Learn how to effectively encourage users to register for mailings

·         Understand how to collect the right data with the right permission

When promoting your webinar, steer clear of the sales pitch. This should be an educational approach that establishes your company as an industry leader. But it is a good idea to have your sales team on board. The webinars I have created were delivered by the sales staff with them engaging in conversations with participants during the Q & A portion.

In closing, webinars are an important part of a content marketing strategy. Remember to select a topic that resonates with your target market, make sure the content is valuable and steer away from the sales pitch. If you do all of this you will gain valuable qualified leads.