At its core, there are a handful of goals that your firm’s content should achieve. These include:
- Providing relevant and educational information that’s of interest to your target audiences.
- Addressing the biggest concerns and problems that your prospects are faced with.
- Establishing your firm’s expertise and building your reputation within the marketplace.
- Increasing your visibility online.
Webinars can accomplish all of these.
While there are many elements to a content marketing strategy – blogging, video marketing, social media, email – webinars can be a big time commitment, both for your firm and for audiences.
The longer time commitment, though, can also mean that webinar attendees are already more interested in what you have to say, and value it. They want to educate themselves. And we know from research that educating buyers is one of the top techniques that ultimately close more business.
Webinars offer an informative and engaging experience for prospects. By using the research you’ve conducted about your target audience, you can tailor webinar content to speak directly to their needs. However, webinars aren’t just for your clients and prospects’ benefit—they can make a big difference for your firm, as well.
5 Reasons to Add Webinars to Your B2B Content Marketing Strategy
1. A deeper level of engagement. Webinars are middle of the funnel content. They’re educational and relevant just like many other content formats, but also require contact information to register and therefore tend to be for warmer prospects.
A successful webinar can help convert a new visitor to a lead or take a current lead and move them further along in the process to submitting a request for a proposal. A lot of B2B content is one-sided with minimal interaction. Typically, your website visitors read content or watch videos on their own, but attending a webinar enhances the level of engagement between your firm and potential buyers.
2. Opportunities for partnerships. Webinars are great opportunities for joint marketing with other firms that have similar audiences. Although you may be hesitant to share the spotlight at first, a partnership can have big advantages. By building relationships with organizations that complement your services, you can tap into their already established audiences, expand your reach, and improve brand awareness. The expertise that you each bring to a webinar means a better value proposition for attendees.
SEE ALSO: An Introduction to Partnership Marketing
3. Establish your leadership and authority. You want prospective buyers to view your firm as a leading authority in your industry. A webinar is a great opportunity to fulfill a need and showcase the knowledge you have to share.
4. No geographical boundaries. Since webinars are virtual and can be attended from anywhere with an Internet connection, you can encourage prospects from all over the world to participate. Online presentations and Q&A sessions provide an opportunity for potential buyers to connect with your firm regardless of their location.
5. Gain valuable intelligence. By paying close attention to the questions or themes that come up during your webinars, you can gain valuable information to drive your content strategy forward. What did your prospects struggle with? What did they find most engaging? The answers to these questions can give you the insight you need to make your next content choices.
Your B2B content marketing strategy needs diversity to keep prospects engaged through each stage of the sales funnel. Individuals absorb information differently and have content formats that they prefer. Webinars provide a unique and engaging experience beyond typical content digestion. The mutual benefits for your prospects and your firm make webinars an effective addition to your content strategy.
Additional Resources:
- Download Hinge’s Content Marketing Guide for Professional Services Firms for more tips on creating content that builds credibility and demonstrates expertise.
- Better understand today’s buyers with our How Buyers Buy Professional Services research report.
- Get a copy of our Online Marketing for Professional Services book to learn techniques that will generate more leads and increase awareness of your firm.
How Hinge Can Help:
Hinge has developed a comprehensive plan, The Visible Firm℠ to address these issues and more. It is the leading marketing program for delivering greater visibility, growth, and profits. This customized program will identify the most practical offline and online marketing tools your firm will need to gain new clients and reach new heights.
