4 Ways Data Centers Get the Most Out of Webinars

Most data center executives and cloud service providers understand the value of webinars. A well-executed webinar is effective in educating, building trust, and converting leads into customers.

Depending on the hosting platform, webinars can tell you who tuned in, how long they tuned in for, and allow hosts to interact with prospects/clients.

Webinars are complex campaigns that require a lot of preparation, material, and promotion to get business owners the most value for their content. With all the time and effort required to plan a webinar, it is crucial to remember to promote both the live and the recorded version to draw in prospects/clients.

The following are various ways data center executives and cloud service providers can promote webinars before and after the initial broadcast.

Email Segmentation

“One of the biggest mistakes that people make is they blast their entire email database at once,” says Joshua Feinberg, VP and Co-Founder of SP Home Run, “That would be like shouting out from a megaphone and assuming that everyone cares about the exact same thing.”

At the click of a button, your data center could be blocked forever from reaching someone. People will not respond to material that does not pertain to them. “It is the easiest way for people to stop paying attention to your emails,” says Feinberg, “It is the easiest way for people to unsubscribe. In some cases, if they really don’t like you, they will hit the spam button.”

Segmenting should always take place when promoting content to ensure you are delivering relevant information to the proper audience.

Another way to use email to market your webinar is through the email signature function.   “In the weeks leading up to a webinar, add a call-to-action to your email signature,” advises Feinberg. This call-to-action serves as an unobtrusive reminder for clients or prospects.  

Social Media Promotion

First and foremost, social media promotion should be segmented through buyer personas. Again, promoting unwarranted content to your entire audience could lose you followers at the click of a button. Instead, target specific lists and use the social media channels your prospects and clients are more likely to frequent.

Blogging is an excellent way to promote a webinar both before and after its initial broadcast. In the weeks leading up to the webinar, hint about the material you will discuss. After the broadcast, use quotes and material from the broadcast to attract readers to the recorded version.

Another way to extend your reach is through co-marketing. Hubspot defines co-marketing as “when two companies collaborate on promotional efforts for a co-branded offer.”

“Co-marketing partners, joint venture partners, and channel partners can all help you more effectively grow your reach,” says Joshua Feinberg.

Paid Search and Paid Social

Cloud service providers and data centers may choose to invest in paid advertising to help promote an upcoming webinar. Two ways to strategize this are through:

• Paid Search: Google AdWords
• Paid Social:  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook

Learn how to distribute your resources (or premium content) by consulting your buyer personas. Segmenting content through buyer personas allows advertisements to fit in more organically on a web browser.  

Calls-to-Action

Feinberg’s final piece of advice for promoting a webinar is through calls-to-action on your website. “These can be used especially on your higher traffic website pages,” says Feinberg, “Place calls-to-action on any relevant pages to promote the likelihood that a prospect will see it.”

A call-to-action can be placed on your blogs, social media, and websites, and should include action verbs to be compelling. A call-to-action should also be placed in a visible but natural place—so as not to be intrusive to the viewer.

Are you using webinars to attract and educate prospect and clients? How is your data center or cloud service provider business currently promoting its webinars? Let us know the Comment section below.

To learn more about how to promote a webinar and other best webinar practices, be sure to listen to our webinar recording, “Webinar Best Practices for Data Centers and Cloud Service Providers.”