Events are made for people, by people. That’s a fundamental aspect that no one should forget about. Sometimes we might be so focused on business value, technical features, and financial revenue that we forget the general idea and goal.
So to create a successful online event, you need participants. And to get their attention, you need to entice them with your content.
Promotion is one of the most important parts of every strategy. It doesn’t matter whether your webinar is perfect and gripping. It won’t help your business unless the right participants know about it and are interested in attending.
May we have your attention, please? If so, let’s find out where to post events online and how to promote them effectively and creatively.
How to make people want to participate in your event? A psychological point of view
Science shows that, nowadays, many people experience FOMO, which is an acronym for “fear of missing out”.
What does it mean? It’s a feeling that occurs because we live in a constant rush and create high expectations of ourselves that can lead to frustration, and a combination of envy and exclusion. Social media users might be particularly prone to feeling it, as they constantly keep in touch with others via the internet.
To put it simply, according to John M. Grohol, it’s “the potential for simply a different connection. It may be better, it may be worse — we just don’t know until we check”.
How can FOMO be useful for business?
Although it might seem like there are no benefits to FOMO, it can actually become a handy tactic for your business. People might fear missing out on offers, especially those available for a limited time. It might also refer to online events!
The main goal of using the FOMO phenomenon to your company’s advantage is to emphasize urgency. Why? Because it prompts people to take action.
To conclude: when planning your promotional strategy, you should remember to focus on creating needs. The key is to make people think they have to participate in your event in order not to miss something. In the next sections, we’ll take a closer look at methods that support your promotion while applying the principles of FOMO.
Who is my audience? Get to know your target group
When you know the general purpose of running your webinar, you can specify your goals and find out how to achieve them. You have to define who will be your participants, what channels you're going to use to promote and stream your video content, and assign all relevant tasks.
Understand who the webinar is for
Finding your target audience is fundamental when planning a webinar. To help you better understand who your potential participants are, how they behave, and where to reach them, you can create a marketing persona. With a visualization of your ideal participant, you can adjust your strategy to their lifestyle and increase the chance of attracting them with your content.
You might also define if the purpose of your online event applies to people who are classified to be at the top, middle, or bottom of the sales funnel and take that into account when creating and leading the webinar.
If you're not a marketer, the concept of defining a perfect client (or even a few) might be new to you. There's a website on which you can make a buyer persona step by step, and better identify your audience thanks to it. On Make My Persona, you can find out more about this tactic and use its simple tool to visualize your target group.
Research your competitors
You can follow the good practices of your competitors and put your own spin on them. Thanks to that, you can base your strategy on others' experience and not commit the same mistakes. You don't have to do this by hand - these tools might be useful: Facebook Analytics, Instagram Insights, Twitter Analytics.
Where to post events online
Many events are broadcast on social media, as that's the place where many communities gather online. Although this is common practice, it's beneficial to be aware that other spaces might be more suitable for your business. Adjusting every facet of the strategy to your specific business is truly essential.
Choose a place to host your webinar
You've already created your buyer personas. Now you know your audience, and thus you can decide where to host a webinar. Should you do so on your website or stream it to social media? Be where your target group is, and get familiar with the requirements and unique features of each platform.
There are a few options for video streaming to choose from.
- Broadcast to social media. The first thing that might pop into mind is probably Facebook, but it's not the only option. Of course, if most of your leads are there, then it is perhaps the best place for your webinar. However, don't neglect the power of YouTube or Vimeo. You can stream live events directly to any of these three platforms, depending on your and participants' preferences.
- Host a webinar under the domain on your website. You can use the embed code feature to add a streaming event to your official page. It may be the only place where your event is shown, or you could use it as a second platform. Run end to end webinars and manage all meeting details on your webpage to attract a wider audience. By retargeting people to your website, you can attract more customers without a dedicated campaign.
- What if you can’t choose just one place for your webinar? What if your audience is spread across a few platforms? Omnichannel approach rocks. There’s another solution. You can experience the power of real-time communication by streaming to any of YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and Periscope simultaneously.
To attract more people, you can go a step further still! If you have a 360° camera, you can use it while streaming your live event thanks to the solution developed by LiveWebinar and Samsung.
Use retargeting
To get your message across, consider targeting those who are already familiar with your brand. While you’re at it, you can also use link retargeting and grow your audience this way. If this sounds like something that might interest you, consider using a URL shortener, such as Rocketlink, that allows sharing branded links.
You can include links to your webinar in your social media posts or the description of a Facebook event, and send them as a part of a newsletter or as a pop-up on your website, for example. These are all great ways to promote events online comprehensively.
How to promote events online? Social media tricks
Let's recall the FOMO concept. When creating content for your social media, your goal should be to show the recipients just the right amount of material. Your followers should be curious enough to want to know more, and to experience it.
#1 Choose the right channels
Sometimes there’s no point in posting on every social media platform. It’s better to focus on one or two and invest more effort in creating engaging content. Get to know the most effective practices related to the platform of your choice and take advantage of them. You can communicate with your audience via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or even TikTok.
Be present and post on social media regularly. Show users that they can reach you, update them with engaging content, and build trust.
#2 Plan & prepare your content in advance
Regular posting is key to building a positive image of your brand among followers. They want to keep in touch with you, see what’s happening during the preparation of an event, and know what they can expect, etc.
That’s why you should think about creating a series of posts and schedule them a few weeks before the event. Build emotions around your publications, plus show that you are present and ready to answer any questions.
Post frequently to engage people and highlight the value of your event. However, try not to provide them with too much content or uncover too many details. Leave things understated in order to enthuse followers - make them want more. Make them want to enter your digital event and see what’s behind the curtain.
Pro tip: Gather the "behind the scenes" material and share it. Also, consider content that you can create and distribute during your event. People love seeing last-minute relations. It warms up the atmosphere and makes them want to become a part of the event more.
Plus - thanks to running an event online, you can even sell tickets during it! You can gain participants after the webinar has started and earn more still.
#3 Make the most of the possibilities that social media provides
Social media platforms have features that you can use to interact with followers. Besides setting up paid promotion, you can also make the most of organic traffic. Here are some ideas that can inspire your marketing actions:
- Use a countdown clock on Instagram. It can be helpful for your participants because they will be reminded precisely of the moment when your event starts. You can be sure that they won't miss it or have to remember your webinar among many other things.
- Post testimonials from past editions. Nothing is more convincing than the opinions of other people. A few of your posts might include photos and quotes from past participants.
- Hashtags. Create a unique hashtag for your event This is especially important if you use Instagram or Twitter. People can help to promote online events unconsciously by posting content about your webinar.
#4 Be clear with your communication - highlight the benefits
Highlight that online events are about breaking borders, being open to new opportunities, and learning from people across the country or even the world.
Show the benefits one can get, including physical items like PDFs or ebooks, as well as non-physical ones such as knowledge and business contacts.
A secret weapon - business influencers
We might associate influencers with people who promote low-quality swimming costumes or cheap jewelry. There’s nothing strange about this picture, however, it’s a very narrow idea of who such people are (or might be).
Who is a business influencer?
A person who has a team of loyal followers thanks to their business position. This type of influencer owes their standing to expert knowledge shared within social media communities. Thanks to that, users perceive them as professionals.
How can working with influencers help with webinar promotion?
Such people have already built a strong personal brand, having a specific network consisting of users who are interested in their content. If what a particular influencer shares line up with your actions, there's a high chance that people who follow their profile will be captivated by your brand. You can reach a wider audience without spending money on overpriced ads.
The type of collaboration depends on your needs and the demands of the influencer.
Want to know more?
We hope that this question intrigues you, because that's exactly what your content should do! To promote online events effectively, you have to highlight the value of your webinars in ways that your audience will find interesting.
Try to follow these tips and tricks to make your event easily recognizable.
If you want to know more about how to promote an event online, you can check our article about the best practices for digital marketing on Facebook.