Webinars, or web-based seminars, are a great platform for brainstorming ideas, presenting a lecture, or conducting an online workshop with your target audience. It’s the perfect opportunity to gather your clients in one place and share your expertise with one another.
However, all your hard work will be wasted if nobody shows up for your webinar. No matter how insightful your intended content is, it won’t mean much if you can’t attract sign-ups from your clients. So, what should you do to make your webinar irresistible to your target group?
The first thing people will notice upon seeing your business webinar invitation is the topic. If it’s not interesting or relevant, they will just ignore it outright. To prevent this from happening, follow these tips in choosing a winning topic for your webinar.
1. Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm.
Would you believe that you already know the best topic for your webinar? Yes, you read that right. All you need to do is get a pen and paper and write everything you can think of. Exploring topic ideas is the most crucial part of the selection process. To get the ball rolling, try to answer these questions:
a) What do your clients nag you about?
b) What subjects do you find engaging?
c) What’s the most important thing your customers need to know?
Try to come up with an extensive list to choose from later on. If you need more ideas that would really click, identify your most popular blog posts and frequently asked questions. You’ll never know the golden ideas you can find from the resources you already have.
2. Ask your target audience.
At this stage, if you’re still unsure (or if you just want to be absolutely sure), consult your target audience about webinar topics they’d be interested in. Webinars, as a marketing strategy, will only work if people are ready to share the ride with you. Although conducting a survey among your clients can take up more time, it will pay off in the end.
3. Narrow down your topic.
You might think that generic topics can attract a bigger audience. Sorry to burst your bubble, but this isn’t actually the case. Topics that are too broad don’t attract a lot of attention because the audience will have a hard time figuring out what your webinar really is about and what they could learn from it.
For example, “Content Marketing via Facebook: Our Predictions for 2016” sounds a whole lot better than “Content Marketing in 2016.” The readers will immediately have a good idea about what to expect and whether they should attend.
4. Identify a practical objective.
Choosing one specific objective will help set the direction your business webinar should take. Ask yourself why your clients should attend and what participants would gain from it. This will help you draft an organized outline and select the content that would fill those bullet points.
5. Look for reliable references.
In your webinar, you’re the expert. So act like it. If you need to expand your discussion, you may opt to consult other references or experts. However, make sure that these sources are reputable and highly regarded in your industry. External insights should be able to add something truly valuable to the ongoing discussion, so think carefully about how you’ll incorporate them in the webinar.