Given all the choices we have online to get the word out about what we do: Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, Pinterest, Blogging, Instagram and many more…Why add webinars to the mix?
Don’t get me wrong- I love social media!
It’s actually how I got my start as a solopreneur- by helping small business owners with their social media strategy and figuring out the platforms- I’m still very passionate about it and recommend my clients be active on social.
However, when it comes to growing my reach and building the know/like/trust factor nothing compares to webinars or a live training.
ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY
There are many ways you can establish yourself and get your name out there for instance: social media, guest blogging, and public relations. These are all excellent ways to promote yourself, however, webinars help you establish credibility quickly because a) not everyone is doing them and b) when you present on a specific topic you become the go-to person
When you conduct webinars, people get to hear from you in a different way than the written format that is blogging, which also helps build trust. With webinars you have the opportunity to strengthen relationships with your audience. For example, when you present in webinar format, your audience can show up live and ask you questions and you can engage with them.
SHARE EXPERTISE
Hosting a webinar is a way to get in front of your audience and educate them about what you do. For example, if you are a health coach you could do a webinar on 10 ways to detox in spring. Similarly, if you are a website designer, you may decide to present on the 6 website tweaks to get more traffic. Or if you are a copywriter, you may decide to present on the 3 Steps To Writing A Killer Sales Page That Converts.
Not sure what to talk about? What do you get asked often about?
Your webinar should focus on educating- the audience should walk away with something tangible. Remember it’s not an infomercial!
PROMOTE YOUR BRAND
Another amazing benefit of Webinars
You get to promote and broaden your reach on your own terms. You don’t have to wait for a guest post to be accepted and you get to dictate how often and when you want to do them.
As an example, if you are planning a new product or service launch, you may decide that you want to do a webinar every week or every month.
I run my webinars using Google Hangouts with slides but I could easily make them informal and just go live with my webcam and connect with my audience that way.
BROADEN YOUR REACH
When I promote my webinars, I announce it to my mailing list and I also reach out to whole new audiences through sharing on social media, joint venture partners or Facebook ads.
I use Facebook ads quite a lot as they allow me to reach new people, very targeted and similar to my ideal client avatar.
You could create one webinar and simply reposition who you are targeting that webinar to and offer it regularly as part of your marketing strategy.
GET TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Another advantage of doing a webinar is getting to know your audience. Because people are opt-ing in for a particular topic, it allows you to gauge the interest level of that topic. Webinars are an excellent way to have two-way communication with your audience as they are showing up live and you can engage with them with polls and live Q&A.
LEAD GENERATION
In the last three months, I have added 800 new people to my list by sharing my webinar in specific Google+ communities, Facebook groups, and Facebook ads. I haven’t seen this kind of growth doing any other marketing activity. Webinars allow you to grow your list and potential leads in a very big way- not like a trickle which you may see through other forms like social media and blogging.
That’s why I’m excited about webinars because I know that by growing my list and building relationships with my ideal clients, I can learn how to better serve them. Additionally, it’s another opportunity to segment your list.
When I conduct a webinar, people get added to my webinar list as well as my main newsletter list. Then, if I have a specific offer related to that topic, I can reach out to the webinar list and follow up with an offer.
To recap, through webinars you can establish credibility, broaden your reach, get to know your audience, have a reason to follow up, and can customize and segment your offers.
Are you excited to do your first webinar?
SANDY SIDHU // Founder of Sandy Sidhu Media
Sandy Sidhu is a digital strategist and idea igniter who helps entrepreneurs break down technology into simple concepts, learn the need-to-know of marketing and the web, all while helping you create community and connection with your customers. Sandy has a weekly podcast, The Business Ignite Show, where she interviews entrepreneurs who share actionable business insights. You can connect with her at www.sandysidhumedia.com or on Twitter @SandySidhu
