June 15, 2021 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Why are practically all companies doing webinars these days? It’s a fashion? Although it is a trend in marketing, if you do not meet basic requirements when managing it, you will not generate the desired results.

A webinar should be useful, entertaining and unforgettable. And for this to be true, it must be aimed at a specific audience, deal with a specific topic (that concerns your audience) and focused on a goal. And the most important thing of all is that attendees connect with your brand on a personal level, that they get to know you, give you a voice and a face, and that ultimately humanize your brand.

There is another thing that you should not forget when creating a webinar: offer attendees valuable content, be it downloadable content, exclusive accesses, gifts or some bonuses , since they have taken the trouble to reserve their time to attend and you have to reward them for it. This will make it easier for them to perform the next action you want.

Remember that with this format your objective is none other than to get qualified leads , that is, to convert potential customers into buyers of your products or services. So that you understand me, it is about giving a conference, with the difference that you are not physically with the public. And to improve your brand awareness and / or increase sales.

Types of webinars according to the broadcast

Webinars are one of the most effective ways to get sales, create a good community, and increase reputation and visibility. As you can see, there are many advantages. The downside is that many entrepreneurs believe that doing a webinar is recording themselves on the screen, giving advice and winning subscribers. But no, that is not the way.

You can do it live or not, and you can record it to use that content later on other online channels. Do you have doubts about which one suits you best? I will tell you below the types of webinars that there are and their characteristics so that you can decide on the one that best fits the objectives of your business.

Automated webinar

This is characterized by being a recorded content. In other words, it is as if it were a live show, but the way it is transmitted is different, since those who register can access it whenever they want to see it.

What I like most about this type of webinar is that it generates sales in an automated way, without you having to be present at that moment when your potential clients want to see it.

Webinar Just in time (JIT)

The other type of webinar is this, very similar to the previous one but with the difference that the moment the user leaves their data, they can directly access the workshop or talk.

In both automated webinars and JITs, no dates appear. The user can leave their data and see it whenever they want.

Live or live webinar

This type of webinar is useful if you want to sell products that have a start date, such as a course. In these webinars the day and time of the broadcast appear.

Lives, as a general rule, attract more engaged potential customers. And they tend to convert users into customers better than the previous ones. However, automated ones are also effective and convenient.

I recommend that you do the first live webinars until you gain confidence and then automate them.

^{Webinars are one of the most effective ways to get sales / Image: Depositphotos.com}

The 5 most strategic types of webinars

These are the ones that work best today:

1. Educational webinar or panel of experts

The educational or instructional webinar is one in which you explain to your audience how to do something. To do this, you must first identify what are the fears and pain points of your target audience. And offer them the steps to solve one of their problems.

Normally, at the end of this educational webinar there are no direct offers. So, you ask yourself: what is it for? Mainly to build community, build trust and gain authority.

2. Question and answer webinar

There are several types of question and answer webinars. It will only depend on who you are addressing:

• To your subscribers.
• To those potential customers who do not decide to buy.
• To your students if they need to answer questions about the syllabus or the courses you offer.

So that you can control it, especially if you are alone and no one else on your team can help you moderate, limit the number of guests and interventions if you see it necessary.

3. Interview webinar

With this format, a reference in the sector is chosen to interview him and generate expectation before the audience.

The good side of the interview webinar is that the guest will share it in their community and have more reach and visibility.

4. Direct selling webinar

They are usually structured with a presentation, valuable content, the presentation of a product and finally with the launch of questions and answers.

They are usually products with a value not exceeding two thousand euros.

To know more:

5. Sales webinar with phone call

This is similar to the previous one, but with the only difference that it ends in a call or meeting to close the sale (the product or service exceeds the value of 2000 euros).

After the presentation, showing the content and showing the product, they are invited to schedule a meeting or fill out a form. Then the question and answer section ends.

Of course, this is not the only thing you should take into account to make a webinar and to be effective, but it is the basics to get started. In addition, you must take into account other factors such as creating a registration landing, designing a promotional campaign, making a video to capture leads or automating emails. This, if you are interested, we can see it in another article soon.

Resource Library Page