Webinars work, and that’s probably why many organizations incorporate them into their marketing arsenal. The only problem: you need to host webinars yourself or get someone else to do it for you.
To drive sales and generate revenue, you need to frequently and quickly deliver value through webinars. However, if you have limited resources, it can be difficult to hire additional help in running live webinars. In this case, an automated webinar can help scale live events without the need for additional resources.
In this article, we’ll help you understand automated webinars better and dig deeper into how you can grow your business with automation.
What Is an Automated Webinar?
Automated webinars are pre-recorded events that can run automatically without a host. They’re also referred to as evergreen or on-demand webinars, which are delivered similarly to traditional webinars. Webinar attendees get the same look and feel as live events. The only difference is that with automated webinars, they see a pre-recorded video instead of a live stream.
You can schedule automated webinars as recurring events so that attendees can easily pick a convenient time. This is particularly beneficial for businesses with potential customers across different time zones. Being able to offer a flexible schedule for your webinar attendees means higher attendance and engagement rates.
Live vs. Automated
The struggle with hosting live webinars is engaging with attendees without any interruptions while the event is still running. With a live event, the host needs to multitask: giving the presentation and addressing comments from the audience.
Below you’ll find the clear differences between an automated webinar and a traditional live.
- High-Quality Video – A live event is more prone to video freezing and latency issues. But with webinar automation, you can keep recording until you have a high-quality presentation you can upload on different automated webinar platforms.
- Reusable – You can only use a live event one time. Once it’s done, you can never go back. On the other hand, an automated event is reusable. And as long as it contains value, you can play evergreen automated webinars on a recurring schedule.
- Pre-set Interactions – Hosting a live webinar room requires manual interaction, managed by the host itself or another co-host. But in an automated webinar room, there are pre-set interactions, including polls, questions, and special offers that you can take advantage of. By using reliable automated webinar software, you can use these features to engage your audience throughout the event so that they’ll stay until the end.
- Flexibility – When running a live event, the host is occupied with presenting and ensuring everything goes well. But with an automated one, since it’s pre-recorded, the host can freely do other things like interacting or engaging with the audience.
How To Create Automated Webinars
To ensure the success of your automated webinars and guarantee a higher engagement rate, careful planning and strategies are essential. Maximize your automated webinar by following these steps.
1. Pick the Best Automated Webinar Software
Research the webinar platforms for creating a pre-recorded webinar video. Among different webinar platforms, pick one and base your decision on which has all the features you need. Most importantly, it should offer a solution that aligns with your brand and helps your business shine.
2. Plan Your Content Thoroughly
Marketing webinars become easier when you have evergreen content to offer. Just like with live webinars, take the time to analyze the slides, videos, or demos you plan to include in the presentation beforehand. Also, make sure to have an outline and a script of what you should discuss. Insert a sales pitch and when you should say it throughout the webinar timeline.
Ideal Flow
The big difference between an automated vs.s a live webinar is audience interaction. You’re not actually in front of the camera to engage attendees throughout the webinar, so you need to plan interaction points in advance to ensure they stay until the end.
Here are the steps to help you come up with an engaging pre-recorded webinar.
- Welcome your attendees and ask some questions.
- Encourage attendees to interact and assure them that you’ll address all of their concerns.
- Give incentives or tease them with a special giveaway.
- Gather more information with questions and give more content with free tips and downloads.
- Add a call to action to encourage your attendees further.
- Wrap up the event and thank everyone for attending.
3. Start Recording Your Presentation
Once you’ve chosen a webinar platform and have a plan in place, use whatever webcam and microphone you have to record your presentation. Although, if you want high-quality pre-recorded videos of your event, you’ll need equipment with high specs.
4. Customize Your Automated Webinar
After you’ve edited your presentation and are satisfied with the results, you can upload it to your chosen automated webinar platform. A great platform lets you create an interactive experience for your attendees through engagement features like polls, custom registration fields, chat messages, automated emails, and many more.
Choose a platform that offers a free trial to check if it helps save time, keep track of how many attendees you have, and lets you customize your landing page that’s aligned with your branding. When it comes to marketing automated webinars, the registration page is what you use to attract sign-ups and gather personal data. So, the more professional it looks, the higher your registration rates will be. If you don’t want to start from scratch, there are also many registration page templates available.
Another useful customization is the just-in-time setting. This is one of the features effective webinars look for, as it makes your presentation always available in the next few minutes to increase sign-ups.
5. Make Your Webinar Available
You need to be where your potential customers will be. Once you’re ready to share your automated webinar, make sure to make it available to your attendees in different places, such as:
- If your webinar is for training or onboarding, make sure that the link to the registration form can be found in your onboarding emails.
- If your webinar is for a demo, make sure the link to the whole webinar is visible and accessible on your website.
- If you have a knowledge base page that lists all your events and training, make sure to include the webinars there as well and allow registered users to access them.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How does automation for webinars benefit my business?
Running webinars on autopilot offers numerous benefits for your business.
Firstly, it allows you to collect valuable customer data during registration, enabling you to gain insights into your audience and personalize your webinar content.
Integrating your CRM software ensures that all webinar-related activities are seamlessly recorded and tracked, enabling better lead management and nurturing.
Finally, the automation features, such as in-app messages and email marketing, enable you to engage with your audience effectively and convert them into loyal customers.
2. Can I integrate autopilot with my existing CRM software and customer data platform?
Autopilot is designed to integrate with various CRM software and customer data platforms. Integrating automation with your existing tools allows you to consolidate customer data and streamline your webinar workflows.
Whether you use popular CRM software like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Microsoft Dynamics or have a custom-built customer data platform, Autopilot offers flexibility and compatibility to ensure smooth integration.
3. What are some advanced features available with automation for webinars?
Automation for webinars offers a range of advanced features to enhance your webinar experience. These features include in-app messages, which allow you to send real-time notifications and updates to your webinar attendees, creating a more interactive and engaging environment.
Additionally, Autopilot provides robust email marketing capabilities, enabling you to send personalized emails to your audience at different stages of the webinar journey. These features help you maximize attendee engagement and drive conversions.
4. Is running webinars on autopilot suitable for both small and large businesses?
Absolutely! Webinar automation is designed to cater to businesses of all sizes. Whether you are a small startup looking to generate more customers and new leads or a large enterprise seeking efficient ways to engage with your audience, Autopilot offers the scalability and versatility you need.
The platform’s intuitive interface and customizable features make it accessible and adaptable, empowering businesses to leverage the power of automation in their webinar strategies, regardless of their size or industry.
Enjoy Around the Clock Revenue
Just like traditional, live webinars, your automated ones don’t have to be perfect. As long as you have reliable webinar software or platform, you can always edit or re-record later. And since your automated webinar runs anytime, make sure to find a platform that doesn’t require you to be physically there when attendees have questions.
