In today’s web-based world where business is conducted increasingly online and meetings are held either over-the-phone or behind a screen, it makes sense that companies who are looking to establish themselves as thought leaders in the industry would want to host webinars. Webinars are a great way to network with fellow professionals, all while increasing brand awareness for your company and developing your reputation as an industry expert – right from the comfort of your own office (or home).
According to Instapage – an awesome and intuitive platform for landing page development – data shows that during live webinars, a shocking 82% of users participate in Q&A, 35% engage on social, 24% answer polls, and 22% collaborate, group chat, and respond to surveys. So, nobody’s arguing whether or not webinars are an effective marketing tool.
The problem is, how do you get people to actually show up?
To increase webinar attendance, promotion is key. Emails and social media are important, but the registration landing page will set the stage for the webinar, and entice people to participate.
In order to maximize the performance of your webinar’s landing page, there are 7 specific aspects you should focus on to yield results:
Exciting Title:
What sounds more interesting to you: “How to increase lead generation for your company” or “Learn from the experts: How to build an incredible database of qualified contacts and kill the marketing game”? The latter, of course. In order to interest people, you have to BE interesting. Don’t underestimate the power of a well-written and exciting title.
Clear and Direct Messaging:
When it comes to the overall topic of your webinar, don’t hide the lead. Be direct and upfront with the overall purpose of the webinar, especially regarding the value it will provide to attendees. Try bulleting out the benefits of attending the webinar, and make those bullets bold. Your contacts are busy professionals, and they need to know what’s in it for them.
Speaker Images:
In business, it’s always beneficial to give a face to a name. Since this webinar will be virtual, be sure to include speaker headshots and bios on the landing page so attendees can visualize the experts they’ll be hearing from. Personalize the webinar to see real results.
Short and Simple Form:
Don’t make your prospects fill out a tax form in order to sign up for your webinar. Not only is that really annoying, but it’s also unnecessary. Focus on the basics, i.e. name, email, company, and maybe phone number. The goal is to get as many attendees as possible, so do everything you can to make sign-up a breeze.
No Navigation:
When you direct contacts to a webinar landing page, the mission is to get them to fill out the form and register as an attendee. Since that’s #1, don’t waste valuable landing page real estate by including a header or navigation at the top of the page, otherwise, you risk contacts clicking away from the form and losing the link altogether. The fewer distractions, the better.
Mobile Responsive:
Since about ⅓ of website traffic takes place from a mobile device, your webinar’s landing page needs to be optimized for phones and tablets, not just desktop computers. Always check your landing page on a mobile device before publishing, and make sure the images don’t slow down loading time and the text is big enough to input information with a click of a thumb.
Compelling CTA:
An important part of the landing page – perhaps THE most important part – is the Call To Action that contacts have to click to actually register for the webinar. A boring, grey-box CTA that simply reads “Register” isn’t very compelling, and can easily be missed. However, a bright orange pill-shaped button that reads, “Sign me up!” or “I want more leads!” might have a better chance of getting clicked.
Bonus Tip: Follow Up!
So this isn’t really about the actual landing page, but since you’ve built an awesome platform to register contacts for your webinar, the fun shouldn’t stop there. After contacts have signed up for your webinar, it’s essential to follow up with them a few days before (and the day of) the event to remind them the party’s still on. Provide necessary details, and thank them again for their attendance.
When it comes to building the perfect landing page for your company’s next webinar, there’s really no one-size-fits-all formula that will guarantee 100+ attendees. However, by following the 7+ tips provided in this blog post, you can at least ensure that your messaging is on point, your design is intriguing, and your brand identity is presented in a positive way. That’s a win-win for everybody.
So good luck, and happy webinar-landing-page-developing! (Or something like that).
