10 Common Mistakes When Using Webinars as Content Offers

If you’re looking for an excellent content offer for your brand, webinars might be your best bet.

How does a webinar work? With webinars, you can share more information with your target market within a short span of time. With the average person able to speak anywhere between 125 and 175 words per minute, imagine just how much valuable information you can share in a 30-minute webinar.

They’re also more engaging for your customers. Webinar platforms like GetResponse have a range of features that allow your audience to join the conversation and let you reach out to your prospects at a more personal level. At the same time, they give your audience a taste of what your customer service will be like if they decide to buy your product or service.

And, of course, let’s not forget the fact that video is one of the top content marketing trends today. More than 85% of respondents in Buffer’s 2018 State of Social Report said they preferred live video to other types of content.

So, if that’s the case, why is it that not everyone who uses webinars gets amazing results with them?

More than likely, it’s because they’re doing something wrong.

Below are 10 common mistakes brands make when using webinars as content offers, and how to fix them.

Make sure you’ve got all the essentials covered beforehand by reading ‘How do webinars work?‘

1. No dedicated landing page

Believe it or not, one of the most common mistakes that brands make is that they don’t have a webinar landing page. Instead, they direct their visitors to a resources page where they store all of their webinars and other video content.

If you’re planning to use webinars as a content offer, you need to create a landing page for each your webinars. It sounds tedious, but it’s going to be worth it for two reasons.

First, it prevents your visitors from getting distracted. Providing too many opportunities for your visitors to click around can cause them not to sign up for any one of your webinars.

Second, creating a landing page for a webinar means additional pages on your site that will be indexed by search engines. As a result, they’ll help you rank higher for your chosen keyword.

Did you know that GetResponse just recently launched a new webinar landing pages feature? From now on, your visitors can sign up to your webinars directly from a landing page.

2. Text links as webinar’s CTA

Content writers still tend to use text links for their calls-to-action (CTAs) to collect webinar registrations. Sure, some people will still click on a text link. But, according to Joanne Reynolds, Marketing Manager of Paper Shredding Pros, your CTA will be more effective if you use an image instead.

“Images pop and stand out in articles,” she points out. “Since your goal when including a CTA is to get people to click on them, you need to make sure that it gets noticed, especially if you write long form.”

If you don’t have any design skills, you can get a really good CTA banner designed over at Bannersnack for a reasonable price. In my opinion, they offer a great way to create online static and animated visuals for banner ads.

3. A poorly designed landing page

There are two ways some content marketers get this wrong.

First, they put too much information about the webinar on the landing page, overwhelming the reader.

Or, the signup form is clearly visible, but there’s hardly enough information about the webinar content offer provided.

According to an article in the Next Web, it takes between three and five seconds for someone to decide if they would like to stay on a web page or leave. That said, you need to make sure that your landing page is designed to grab your visitors’ attention, so that they’re interested and sign up within this time frame.

One way of doing this is through eye-path heatmaps. These software tools show you how visitors to your landing page will scan through it, and highlight the areas where they will look at the most.

By knowing this pattern, you can now rearrange your landing page’s design to highlight your signup form.

Troy Fawkes, Founder of Delta Growth, also recommends choosing your signup form’s CTA button wisely.

“Make sure that you choose a bright and striking, but complementary color for your CTA button. That way, it stands out from the rest of the content on your landing page and grabs your visitor’s attention.”

4. A signup form with too many questions

Would you ask someone their entire life history the first time you meet?

I’m guessing not, and the same is true with your landing page’s signup form, according to Simon Golestan-Parast, Founder of The Millennial Marketers.

“Asking someone to sign up for your website content offer is like meeting someone for the first time,” he said. “You don’t rush in and ask things like ‘where do you live’ or ‘how much money do you make’ unless you want to get slapped. Yet, that’s how most companies treat their visitors when they create signup forms for their landing pages.”

Less is more when creating your signup form. Choose which information best helps your marketing and sales teams guide your leads down the sales funnel.

For example, if you’re using webinars as content offers to target people at the top of your sales funnel, a signup form asking for their name and email address will be enough. You can ask for their phone number if you’re targeting leads at the bottom of your sales funnel.

6. A signup form below the fold

The term “above the fold” essentially refers to the part of the website that visitors see without scrolling. This is the part of your landing page that 80% of your visitors will bother looking at. That is why it’s essential to make sure your signup form is positioned there.

Yet, because people now use different devices to go online, it’s possible your signup form can still end up appearing below the fold. You can check this using Google’s Mobility Test tool. This will show you what your landing page will look like on a tablet or smartphone. That way, you can adjust the layout if needed.

7. Long paragraphs in copy

Paragraphs and blocks of content take a lot more time to read. Even if they’re well written, they won’t serve you well if used on a landing page.

Use bullet points instead when writing the copy for your landing page. That way, your visitor can quickly scan the benefits they’ll get from attending your webinar, and will be more likely to sign up.

8. Wrong speakers

According to Tim Haider, CEO of Aesthetic Brand Marketing, another common mistake content marketers make when using webinars is assuming that all experts make excellent speakers.

“The challenge when doing a webinar is that you don’t have the audience physically right in front of you. If the speaker you chose does not have any experience doing webinars, you run the risk of the speaker not engaging with your audience or just reading through the slides in the presentation.”

Choose someone who’s got the right knowledge and expertise on the topic, and make sure that the selected speakers have some influence online. It helps if they have an email list they can notify of the event or if they have an engaged social community. That way, you can benefit from your co-marketing efforts.

9. Wrong time

“Timing is everything, especially when it comes to webinars,” says Adam Boalt, CEO of TravelVisa.com.

“If you want to have a high number of signups and attendees to your webinar, the best time to host is between Tuesday and Thursday. People are extremely busy on Monday and Friday, and no one will bother to watch a webinar on the weekend. As for the time, opt to host it late in the morning or early afternoon.”

It’s also a good idea to follow either the Eastern Standard or Central Standard Time zones. That’s because these are the two time zones when the most people are online, regardless of which part of the world they live.

10. No follow-up

Most companies, using webinars as content offers, stop communicating with the attendees after the webinar. This, according to Mark Leman, Marketing Director of Blinds UK, is a huge waste.

“Just because some attendees don’t make a purchase means that they’re not qualified leads. It could be that they’re still on the fence about what you have to offer them, and they need more information,” he explains. “The mere fact that they showed up and stayed until the end of the webinar means that they’re very interested. However, there may be something holding them back that you need to address.”

Setting up a drip email campaign is an excellent way to follow up on these leads. You could ask them for their feedback or provide them with additional resources. By doing this, you’re continuing the nurturing process with them, and guiding them through your sales funnel to convert them into a customer.

In an age where videos reign as the favorite form of content, using webinars as content offers is an efficient way to generate leads for your business. But, committing any one of these mistakes can ruin that opportunity. Fortunately, you can fix them. And once you do, you can turn things around for you and your business.

And make sure to promote your error-free webinar!