The Power of Webinars

Why webinars can be a powerful marketing and engagement medium that is better than ebooks or blogs?

 

Amplify’d from smartblogs.com

Why webinars can be a powerful marketing and engagement medium that is better than ebooks or blogs?

Should webinars be a part of your social media strategy? — a Q-and-A with Ann Handley

Hmm. Do they seem like more work? I’m not sure they are; I’d argue that they require no more effort than, say, a well-produced e-book or even an active, consistently updated blog.

That said, webinars are a wonderfully robust and lively marketing tool, and an effective way to reach your prospects or buyers. Or, rather, they can be; a 2009 study by Business.com found that a whopping 67% of business leaders who rely on social media for business information seek out relevant podcasts or webinars. That stat screams opportunity, doesn’t it?

Attendees and the businesses that host them love webinars for six key reasons:

They act and feel more tangibly alive than, say, a white paper or case study. Attendees can hear the speaker, watch the slides (or video), and, in short, interact with the content you produce in a more robust environment.

They are interactive and social. Done right, webinars feel like real-world classrooms or conference rooms. Participants get a chance to ask questions, and they can chat with the speaker, the moderator, and each other. Outside of the webinar itself, participants can interact on social back channels like Twitter (which only amplifies its visibility, of course).

They are less intimidating. Maybe your prospects aren’t quite ready to field a call from your sales team, but they are happy to hear what you are all about in a no-pressure webinar in which they are one of many.

They are broad-reaching and affordable, which means you can accommodate far more people, too. Instead of inviting a few prospects to an in-person event, you can invite hundreds to a virtual one. What’s more, it doesn’t matter whether the people you are trying to reach are in Dubuque or Dubai.

They’re a team player in the content mix. Webinars can be “reimagined” (to use a term from “Content Rules”) as many things, including podcasts, articles, blog posts, or on-demand events. Read more at smartblogs.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bkp3t