Content creators often fall into the habit of churning out webinars based on random ideas, regurgitated content from competitors, and attempts at news jacking to trend in organic search.
Random approaches like these are focused more on riding bandwagons and keyword volume than user pains or intent. Which often fails to attract ideal leads and does no favors for lead quality in the marketing funnel.
So, let’s kick this off by answering a fundamental question: “Why do people attend webinars?”
People typically attend webinars to solve problems. They are seeking guidance, knowledge, and actionable insights from subject-matter experts on a particular topic.
Webinars that don’t meet these expectations, and offer actual solutions to relatable pains, are bound to cause “funnel leak.“
“Funnel Leak” occurs when leads stop engaging with a brand, thus exiting the marketing or sales funnel. By not taking the next conversion step, they may be considered cold or lost leads. Identifying where funnel leaks or bottlenecks occur is an integral step in Funnel Optimization.
Clinton Byrd – Growth Marketing Expert
And when funnel leak happens, it is an indication of other strategic weaknesses:
- Siloed marketing teams with misaligned goals and campaigns.
- A content strategy that disconnects from business goals and the brand’s expertise.
- The lack of an integrated marketing strategy to offer a cohesive user experience.
Successful webinars align with a broader buyer journey that is crafted to help to guide leads down the funnel toward a desired outcome: a purchase.
So, in this article, I will explain webinar strategies for each stage of the customer’s journey that I’ve used while leading marketing strategies for multi-million dollar business to achieve 60%+ registration rates, 57%+ attendance rates, and 80%+ MQL to SQL conversion rates!
These intent-driven guidelines will help you make better webinars for different target audiences, support buyer journey mapping, improve the overall user experience, and attract and retain qualified leads.
Note: The terms “customer’s journey” and “buyer’s journey” are often used synonymously, so I will use them interchangeably.
The Awareness Stage
The awareness stage is where people are first becoming aware of a problem, as well as your brand. At this point, they are seeking to educate themselves on their pain and its causes. To meet this need, you should create “Pain-Focused Webinars.”
Pain-Focused webinars center around a problem that can be tied back to your solution and expertise. These webinars should identify a specific pain or question that they are addressing, and cater to users that have limited to no knowledge of the topic.
Users in the awareness stage often have informational search intent, and may use search queries with questions like, “Why is this happening” or “What is this.”
Since these users are both unaware of your brand and their pain, this places them at the beginning of the marketing funnel, also known as, “top of the funnel” or “TOFU” subscribers or leads (depending upon your lead qualification model).
A best practice here is to incorporate “user stories” in the early stages of your creative process. In short, “user stories” are simple statements that indicate a specific type of user, an action, and a goal. While epics are broader, more generalized user stories that can be broken down into multiple user stories.
Both user stories and epics are often used in AGILE methodology and UX design.
A simple template for a user story would look like this, “I am a [persona], and I need to [action] so that I can [goal].”
If you can’t fill in the blanks of a user story, then you aren’t making your webinars for users – you are likely basing them on business or personal goals instead. If so, take a step back, and do some audience research so you can start creating from the user’s perspective. This is a vital step that you should not skip.
For pain-focused webinars, you want to do 3 things:
- Offer a top-level explanation of a problem.
- Explain the symptoms of their problem, so they may self-diagnose.
- Explain potential consequences if the problem is not resolved.
A successful pain-focused webinar leaves attendees feeling educated and like they have taken a first step in the right direction. Ideally, they will now have the desire to learn more from your brand, engage with your related content, and work towards a solution.
While you could offer a top-level overview of potential solutions here, take care not to make the webinar come off as a sales pitch. If your content is designed and served to keep leads engaged, then you should have ample opportunities to pitch your product in the following webinars with better-qualified leads.
Use pain-focused webinars to introduce your content as a valuable resource and attract leads that you can guide down a path towards your product. The next stages will surface users who are serious about pursuing a solution.
Example of a Pain-Focused Webinar
While leading the marketing team at Songtrust, I developed a campaign based on on of the most fundamental pains that every musician encounters in their career: song splits. For this campaign, I scripted a pain-focused webinar called “All The Way Splits Can Go Wrong” that provides musicians fundamental knowledge about how song splits work.
So, if we made an epic for this webinar, it may be, “I am a music creator, and I need to learn how to monetize my music.”
If we made a user story for this, we could go into further detail, “I am a songwriter and I want to watch a webinar to learn how song splits work to monetize my music.”
This webinar speaks to users in the awareness stage since it doesn’t assume that the audience has significant prior knowledge of song splits or how they impact royalties – it starts from scratch. For example, technical terms are not used until after they are explained, and the speaker takes time to outline other fundamental topics that users should know about along with resources to fill any knowledge gaps.
This pain-based webinar is a necessary prerequisite before the attendee can delve deeper into their pain and a building block for relationships with audiences that are just coming to realize their pain exists.
The Interest Stage
The interest stage of the buyer’s journey is where users have chosen to commit more time and attention to researching their problem. At this point, they are likely putting a priority level to their pain, and ready to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. Since they are ready for deeper dives, you should offer, “Lead-Nurturing webinars.”
“Lead-nurturing webinars” are the next conversion after the pain-focused webinar, where you offer users more informational content on the pain:
- More technical explanations and related topics
- Perspectives from experts or peers
- Insights about solutions
Users here are more vested in understanding their pain and its solutions, so they could be considered to be “middle of the funnel,” or “MOFU” and marketing qualified leads (depending upon your lead qualification model).
Successful Lead Nurturing Webinars position you as an authority on the user’s pain, reinforces their need for a solution, and fluidly incorporates your brand into the conversation. They also encourage other engagements, like content downloads or page views to further build trust in your brand as a valuable resource and potential solution.
Example of A Lead Nurturing Webinar
Lead nurturing webinars require finesse, because you don’t want to be overtly salesy, but you do want your product or service to be positioned naturally in the outcome. A good example of a Lead Nurturing webinar is Songtrust’s “Removing The Borders On Global Collections Webinar.” This was another webinar that I created and scripted for musicians who have fundamental knowledge of music royalties and are at a “middle of funnel” point where they are seeking answers to important questions that Songtrust’s service directly resolves:
- How does international royalty collection work?
- What are the entities involved in royalty collection?
- How do I collect my royalties worldwide?
This lead nurturing webinar is a crucial next step in the buyer’s journey that takes users deeper into the esoteric world of music publishing and opportunity to expose obstacles in royalty collection that users may not be aware of. Making it a key touchpoint helping users to prioritize their pains and seamlessly introduce the solutions!.
The Decision Stage
The decision stage of the buyer’s journey is where the user has a firm understanding of their problem and is now researching solutions. Since they have learned about their problem from you, you have an advantage over your competitors. So, this is your opportunity to offer, “Product-Related webinars.”
Product-related webinars introduce your value propositions and explain why you offer the ideal solution. So, this is where you can now discuss your technological advantages, industry experience, and offer content like case studies and white papers.
When a user attends a Product-Related Webinar, this is an early indication of buying intent, which often categorizes them as a “bottom of the funnel” or BOFU sales qualified lead (depending upon your lead qualification model). And at this point, you may determine these leads to be “sales-ready,” and assign a sales development representative (SDR), or a sales representative to make initial contact, nurture a relationship, and see if there is true buying interest.
The user interactions become very important here, as there could be false buying indications. For example, some technical professionals may just be researching new technology on the market for educational purposes, but not looking to replace any in their existing stack – giving a false indication of buying intent.
At this point, the search intent is often in the realm of “commercial investigation” or “transactional” since they’re researching which product/service is the “best fit” for their needs. Now they are likely using specific branded keywords in their search queries to find product information and comparisons.
Product-related webinars should communicate your strengths and competitive advantages:
- Real-world scenarios where your products would offer an effective solution.
- Competitive comparisons.
- Panel discussions with existing customers explaining how they use your product to solve their problems.
Successful product-related webinars convince users that your solution is the best option to meet their needs.
Example of A Product-Related Webinar
I found a good example of a product-related webinar by SEMrush. This is a marketing tool that I frequently use for competitive analyses and content creation.
This webinar, “How to Land 200+ Links with Free Data and One Great Story: A Case Study”, would attract an audience that has preexisting knowledge of link building, their need for it, and an understanding of its value. It represents a real-world application to convince users that the SEMrush’s service is an ideal solution for this purpose.
The value proposition is ingrained in this content, which makes it perfect for “bottom of funnel” leads as well as existing customers looking to get the most out of the service.
The Acquisition Stage
The acquisition stage of the buyer’s journey is where the user is assuredly “sales-ready” and is now “buying-ready,” which means that they are seriously considering purchasing your product, may currently be in a deal with sales, and are making their final purchase decision.
Search intent at this stage is commercial and transactional, as the user is looking for the detailed information they need to buy. So your content is all about your offering.
This is where lead nurturing tapers off or ends, and your sales team takes the reins with “Product Demo Webinars” to convince sales-qualified leads (SQLs) and opportunities to make that final purchase decision. The leads invited to these webinars should be vetted and preferably in open deals. No guest here should be “window-shopping.”
While “Product-Related Webinars” are often led by your marketing team, “Product Demo Webinars” should be led by or involve members of the sales team. Depending on the level of technical detail presented, collaboration with the product team would also be impactful.
After all, Product Demo webinars are where you make your detailed sales pitches to the most qualified leads that will close deals:
- Walkthrough of your product features and benefits
- Explain pricing tiers, subscription, and membership options
- Discuss technical requirements and implementation
This is where you may have to answer tough and detailed questions from multiple decision-makers. And no one is likely more qualified to answer tough questions on the spot or know where to redirect those answers, than the sales team or your technical product team.
It is not a bad idea to use recorded technical product demos. However, live product demos should always be available for highly qualified leads, especially when you have a high-ticket service.product. Also, a live demo with a ton of interested leads can add a layer of social proof that could make help a deal close.
Successful Product Demo Webinars end with either customer conversions, closed-won deals, or movement of deals in the sales pipeline.
[Product demos are fairly straightforward, so I excluded an example from this section.]
The Loyalty Stage
The loyalty stage of the buyer’s journey is for users who have now become new customers, and where you make your important first impressions as a service provider and prevent buyer’s remorse. Product adoption is the main goal, which will encourage your users to integrate your product into their day to day workflows.
Search intent for topics at this stage is normally informational, commercial, or transactional and includes brand terms. New users will typically research various aspects of your product and resources from your website, blog, and help center to understand how to use your platform and make the most of it. This could involve upgrading plans for a feature they did not think they needed initially or troubleshooting a setup (e.g. connecting an API).
For this stage, you will provide “Product Training Webinars” for new users. These webinars may also be leveraged to reengage cohorts who signed up but did not complete vital onboarding steps.
Example of Product Training Webinars
Product Training Webinars should cover the basics that every customer needs to know to start using your product right away and incorporate it into their daily routine.
This is an essential part of a product-led growth strategy. And, for this purpose, it is best to have a series of prerecorded onboarding videos for automation to serve every new customer. If you provide a high-ticket product/service, it may be in your best interest to host live ones periodically – those clients deserve the white glove treatment.
Product Training Webinars are also where you should proactively answer frequently asked questions and concerns or inspire creative ideas:
- Onboarding Videos (e.g. account activation, user registration, etc.)
- Important features that are often underused or overlooked.
- Step-by-step walkthroughs of technical/intricate features.
- Features that are critical to getting the most out of your product.
Songrust’s video, “How To Setup Your Songtrust Account is a a good example of a solid prerecorded Product Training webinar. It is is under 90 seconds long and gives the users the information they need step-by-step:
Successful Product Training Webinars ensure that new customers understand how to fully utilize your product/service, apply it in their environment, and hopefully get them even more excited about their purchase, your product, and your brand. And any customers who still have questions are directed to where they can get answers.
These webinars are also your chances to show users that they are a part of a larger community of active and new customers, which adds a layer of social proof to your webinars.
Pro Tip: This is a prime opportunity to create webinars for various audience segments of your customers that use specific features to garner high engagement levels and positive feedback.
The Retention Stage
The retention and referral stage of the buyer’s journey is when users have become customers and past the buyer’s remorse period. Your efforts are geared toward long-term customer satisfaction and preventing churn (e.g. service cancellations, non-renewals).
Before we proceed, allow me to address an important nuance between loyalty and retention – they may be perceived as similar, but they are not the same thing! Consumers can be fiercely loyal to your brand, love your product, be resistant to competitors, and yet not be a customer.
For example, you can firmly believe that Tesla is the best and most innovative automotive brand in the world. However, if you can’t afford the lease for a Tesla EV, you may purchase a Chevy Bolt instead.
You can adore the Apple brand, and yet still switch from an iPhone to an Android to escape the closed and pricey Apple ecosystem. Or maybe a Samsung Z Flip caught your eye, with its unique folding design, and that was enough to convince you to make the change.
You could be a long-time Platinum American Express credit card holder who reaps the rewards from its benefits program. However, since you can no longer access airport lounges for free, you move on to an alternative card.
These are all decisions we make every day as consumers. And where companies have to go beyond “loyalty programs,” with separate retention plans designed to actively prevent churn.
The bottom line is that although there is a correlation – where many efforts, goals, and outcomes overlap – loyalty does not equate to retention.
At this point of the buyer journey, customers will have experienced your product hands-on and can make a sound determination whether they will remain customers in the long run and would even refer your product to others. “Product Update Webinars” will play a big role in this regard, and in proving to your customers that you are still the ideal solution.
Product update webinars should include,
- New features and improvements.
- User Experience enhancements.
- Platform, service, and pricing changes inspired customer feedback.
Successful Product Update Webinars prove that you are listening to your customers’ evolving needs, improving your product to meet those needs, and worthy of their continued business renewals and referrals. “Word of mouth” is one of the most powerful marketing channels, and this is one key way to encourage it.
These “bottom of the funnel” webinars are just one way to keep customers inside your marketing funnel and turn them into evangelists who will champion for your brand. This reminds us that marketing funnels, like the customer journey, are flywheels – winning over your customers is a never-ending task.
Infographic: Map of Webinar Types To Customer Journey Stages
After applying my methodology and matching these webinar types to stages in your marketing funnel, it should like the following infographic:
This webinar-customer journey stage funnel allows you to easily spot the gaps in your webinar strategy and if it has been aligned with your business goals.
Use this to quickly answer many questions:
What can I due to improve my middle-of-funnel MQL-SQL conversion rate?
What can I do to impact my churn rate for 6?
So by following these guidelines, you should not only be able to make the necessary improvements to your webinars, but can also enhance your overall marketing strategy:
- Incorporating user intent into your creative processes.
- Ensuring that webinars align with your target audiences’ pains.
- Creating content that supports lead qualification
And this may even inspire ideas for repurposing your old webinar content!
I can tell you from experience – while leading growth marketing strategies for various companies – that the buyer’s journey seems simple in discussion. But when you begin mapping it, and as your marketing strategies, tactics, and channels expand, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep your entire team aligned with it.
So, I highly recommend for you to periodically revisit your customer journey map as you introduce new content and touchpoints, then you will always have the user experience in perspective as your guiding light – as it should be.
