A webinar is an online conference given by a company. In the field of marketing, specifically Inbound Marketing, these are presentations given by members of an organisation with the aim of imparting knowledge about a specific marketing concept or area.
They can be conferences, but also seminars, lectures, courses, round tables, workshops or other similar formats. Any format that allows the company to position itself in a place of theoretical knowledge emission, which is aimed at users who, firstly, are interested in the content of the webinar and, secondly, trust the company or decide to do it for the first time.
The person or persons in charge of giving them are always part of the company's staff. It is not necessary that it is always the same person, the only important thing is that it is someone whose knowledge and work within the organisation corresponds to the subject matter.
How to organise a webinar
The content of the webinar must be related to some technical competence in the field in which the company works. For example, at OCCAM we work on digital marketing issues related to SEO positioning, blog management, lead capture, analytics or integrations. They therefore have an educational function that favours those who participate in the presentation in a curricular or personal way.
The word "webinar" implies the telematic format of the webinar. The presentations take place through online chat platforms that include, in addition to the written conversation, video, audio and other useful tools such as the screen and content sharing function.
Given its free nature, access to the webinar requires prior registration from the company's website where some information is requested, the most frequent being the name and an email address. It is to this email address that an email is sent with the invitation where the date and time of the meeting are repeated, along with an access link that will be automatically activated at the moment the presentation begins.
Most of the webinars are live but, given the advantages offered by technology, it is possible for some to be registered so that they can be accessed later. Among the advantages of the digital format, the most beneficial for the company that gives it are the low costs and the wide reach that technology provides. It does not reduce the meeting to the inhabitants of a city, or even of a single country. This heterogeneity is of great benefit in terms of enriching the meeting, but also in that the company's reach networks cross borders that otherwise would never have been reached .
These meetings are free of charge, but they entail organisational, technological and time costs for the company, in addition to the productivity that the company loses with the employee(s) who are running the webinar. So what does the offer get in return?
The main benefit obtained from these meetings is the attraction of new potential clients who automatically become leads. Although there may be frequent attendees to these meetings, the thematic variety favours the attraction of new companies or individuals who want to obtain first-hand and quality information on a subject that generates interest or concern in relation to their company. This continuous traffic of new integrations, expands the presence of the company in the market, already with an image of high reliability and rigour, and improves its publicity.
The previous form required for participation is the best payment that can be made to the company: information. Through some data, the user becomes a lead and the information provided becomes part of the company's database. The most important is usually the email, through which a communication with the attendee is created afterwards. But other data such as gender or origin are highly useful to know the clientele and establish a more accurate buyer persona. It is a high quality information because participation in a meeting with such a specific theme offers a lot of information about the customer but also attracts people interested in a specific content to the company.
Secondly, but no less important, webinars are an excellent generator of interaction with the user. The exchange begins with the transfer of data, although, once the meeting has begun, the live nature and the conversation tools that the platforms offer generate a real conversation between the company and the attendee.
Feedback and interactivity are important in conversational terms. A webinar that does not give the client the possibility to participate is losing much of its potential. Although each conference is different, interaction is usually scheduled at the beginning of the meeting, leaving the interventions for the end of the presentation, making recapitulation pauses, or continuously motivating, if necessary, the attendees to participate and continue the debate.
In our case, OCCAM organises webinars once a week with different themes:
- Boost your marketing team
- CMS
- Hubspot service
You can keep up to date with all of them on our LinkedIn profile, where you can also find the access link.
