The only thing you need for an irresistible webinar that drives tons of registrations is great content. Just kidding! Wouldn’t that be great, though?
To meet (and even exceed!) your webinar goals you need an effective webinar promotion strategy. That includes engaging social posts, a solid landing page, a perfect title, and a bunch of other things.
We’ve already done the research and know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to webinar promotion. Check out these 12 proven tactics to drive more demand and registrations for your next webinar.
1. Get your webinar promotion timing down
When it comes to promoting your webinar, it’s all about timing. There are specific times and days when registration rates are consistently higher than others. Here are the best times to schedule webinar promotions:
- Tuesdays – Tuesdays attract the most registrations by far, driving 24% of total registrations. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays also perform well but make sure to launch key promotions on Tuesdays.
- Mornings – Between 8-10am, there is a spike in registrations. Send emails early in the morning to ensure you’re at the top of your recipients’ inboxes.
- 3-4 Weeks – We recommend launching promotions 4 weeks prior to the webinar and to increase promotion frequency as the webinar gets closer. There will be a steady flow of registrations starting 3-4 weeks before the webinar with a surge the week prior to the webinar.
2. Advertise on your own properties
The best part about advertising on your own properties is that it’s free! Here are some ways you can feature upcoming webinars on your own site:
- Page features – Put upcoming webinars on your Resources and Events pages of your website. If you don’t already have one, you may want to consider creating a Webinars page to regularly feature scheduled webinars.
- Banner ads – Give your webinar top billing with a banner ad on your homepage. This is also a great way to keep dynamic content on your homepage. And don’t forget to include a banner ad on your blog.
- Thank-you/confirmation pages – Connect with those who have already shown interest in your products or content by advertising upcoming webinars on follow-up landing pages and pop-ups.
- Curated content – Write posts with complementary topics to your webinar on your blog, then include a link to your webinar landing page.
3. Email, email, email
According to our research, email typically drives 79% of our registrations. That makes email the most effective marketing channel for webinars. Just remember to send out your first promotional emails 3-4 weeks prior to your webinar and increase email frequency one week before the event.
4. Don’t forget social
It’s always a good idea to be active on social media. It shows your followers you’re involved in the conversation and conscious of your online community. So, get social:
- Twitter – Tweet often about your upcoming webinar and use relevant hashtags (don’t forget to pick a unique hashtag for each of your webinars).
- Facebook and LinkedIn – Schedule promotions on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Be sure to use high-quality imagery, compelling content, and a strong CTA.
- Groups and Forums – We don’t want you to be spammy, but if you’re an active group member, spread the word about your upcoming webinar in relevant groups and forums.
- Paid Social Advertising – Experiment with paid promotions on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
5. Team up with an influencer or big brand
By partnering with an industry influencer, you give your webinar more credibility and add value for your audience. You’ll also get exposure to their audience, which can greatly increase your marketing reach.
When partnering, be sure to make it easy for your partners to promote the webinar. And when we say “easy,” we mean they should literally be able to just cut and paste. In order to maintain consistency across channels, here are some marketing pieces you should share with them as early as possible:
- Branded imagery
- Registration link
- Sample emails
- Social posts
6. Leverage your employees’ networks
Get your employees involved in your webinar promotion plan! Especially if their social networks coincide with your target audience. Employees are actually one of your greatest social media assets when spreading the word for your webinar. LinkedIn reports that employees have 10x more connections than a company has followers. So provide your employees with links and social copy so they can easily share on social.
7. Optimize your registration page
A great registration page means more registrations. Here are some simple optimizations you can do to your landing pages to boost registrations:
- Reduce form fields – In general, the fewer fields the better. Only include form fields that are absolutely necessary to register.
- Include a video – Including a video on a landing page can increase conversion rates by as much as 80%.
- Highlight the benefits – Tell your audience why they should register and what they can expect to learn/gain from attending. Just remember to keep it short; nobody likes a long registration page.
8. Use retargeting ads and other paid media
Just because a visitor didn’t register for your webinar, it doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t interested or won’t register for a future webinar. In fact, only 2% of web traffic converts on their first visit. With retargeting ads, you can effectively use your ad dollars on people who are already familiar with your brand and have demonstrated interest.
If you have the budget, it’s also worth experimenting with paid media, including targeted social and display ads. The key word here is targeted. Don’t just put banner ads everywhere. Seek out advertising opportunities on websites that are highly relevant to your audience. And use granular audience targeting to reach people in your desired demographic, industry, role, etc.
9. Send personalized webinar invites
Work with your sales team to craft personalized messages for key accounts. Not only will prospects appreciate the one-to-one attention, but your sales team will appreciate the visibility into your campaigns and the marketing support.
10. Make it a regular series
A regular webinar cadence can help you build momentum and maintain your audience’s attention. They’ll start expecting the next installment and will be more likely to register for the entire series. If you host a webinar series, forego hashtags for individual webinars and use one hashtag for the series.
11. Nail the topic and title
No amount of webinar promotion will work if you have a dud of a webinar title and topic. Before you decide on a topic, do some research to find the topics that will really resonate with your audience. What types of webinars are getting the highest registrations and attendance rates? What are the trending topics your audience is talking about on social media? Which blog posts are most popular? You can even tap your sales team for ideas.
Once you have your topic, write a clear title that has an obvious takeaway. The most effective webinar titles tend to be:
- Lists – ex. 10 Little Known Ways to [blank]
- How to – ex. How to do [something awesome] like [someone awesome]
- 101 – ex. [Interesting topic] 101: Learn How to [blank] Like a Pro
- Classes, Trainings, & Workshops – ex. Master Content Marketing Workshop
- New – ex. New Data Reveals How Marketers Should Be Doing [blank]
- Trends – ex. The New Trend in [blank] that [someone awesome] Swears By
12. Promote on-demand webinars
Promoting your on-demand webinars gives more people the opportunity to view the webinar at their convenience. In fact, 84% of B2B customers opt for replays over live webinars. Once you’ve completed your webinar, share the recorded version on your website. You can even create a central webinar library on your site. This positions your company as an expert with a lot of rich, educational video content. You can promote your on-demand webinars on your Resource page, in nurturing campaigns, etc.
You can also share your webinars on GoToStage where you’ll reach new audiences and generate new leads.
If you follow these rules of webinar promotion, you are well on your way to success — promotion is half the battle after all! Just remember to keep your audience in mind throughout the whole planning process, from deciding on a webinar topic to scheduling social posts to the flow of your landing page. What marketing tactics have worked best for your webinars? Share your favorite tricks in the comments.