10 Tactics for More Effective SMB Webcasts (continued)
Check the calendar and eliminate all holidays and the days before and after them. Don't forget time zones. Generally speaking, 2 p.m. Eastern time is a good time for the U.S., although you may need two events if you market internationally. You also should allow 2-3 weeks to properly promote your webcast.
Shorten the registration form. You'll reduce your response rate if you ask for too much information on your registration form. In fact, some companies require only an email address. Prospects will seek you out if they're interested, so resist the urge to use registration to gather information for a sale. If you must require more information for registration, pre-fill the form with what customer data you already have; your response rate will increase significantly.
Organize the invitation email. Put the most pertinent information into the first two lines of your email. It's also a good idea to use bullet points to break up the copy. Place the most important bullet points first, second and last (the last one always gets extra attention). Include a one-click Outlook reminder so registrants can easily add it to their calendars. 27% of the respondents to BBI's Marketing to SMBs in a Downturn survey said they learn about webcasts from colleagues, so add a note to remind prospects to alert colleagues and friends.
Keep subject line actionable. Make your title short and snappy – no more than 30 characters – to allow room for other words in the subject line. Make the title and subject line as actionable as possible. Puns and cute subject lines don't work well. Test a few subject lines and follow that formula for later webcasts.
Schedule follow-up promotions. Follow the initial email with a reminder 10 days before the event, another email the day before (or a phone call) and a final email one hour before the webcast starts. In those reminder emails, whet their appetites with more information about the webcast or a link to a white paper or case study on the subject.
Finalize the presentation. Keep words on the slides to a minimum and don't simply repeat what you put on them. Keep your webcast short – 30-45 minutes with 5-10 minutes for Q&A; your audience will thank you for it. Once you finish polishing the slides, it's time to rehearse. Do this at least once (twice is better). Your prospects will likely spend more time listening to a webcast and looking at your presentation than they will on your website. Use the first rehearsal to work out pacing and other issues. Have a second rehearsal a day or two before the webcast.
Thank attendees afterward. Send a thank-you email no later than 24-48 hours after the event, while it's fresh in attendees' minds. The longer you wait, the colder those leads get. Personalize the email and mention the key takeaways as well as a chance to sign up for a demonstration or some other call to action. Direct them to a special landing page or use a tracking code. Immediately forward the attendee information to your sales team and track the results. For registrants who didn't attend, send a sorry-we-missed-you email with access to the presentation and the call to action using a separate tracking code.
Move onto the next one. A one-time event won't get you the highest response. Offer a series of webcasts and give prospects more chances to learn about your offerings. Plus, your leads will be more qualified over time since you've nurtured them through the process.
Want to execute a successful SMB Webcast? BBI can help. Learn how.
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