How to use HubSpot for a smooth operation of your webinars

To create an impactful webinar, you need more than just great content. You need a plan, and HubSpot brings you all the tools you need to execute it and smoothly create webinars.

So what’s your plan?

As in all complex things in life, you first need to define the steps you need to take before starting. Create a timeline for the organisation of your webinar that gives you a complete overview. 

To create such a timeline, you must find an answer the following questions:

  • What is your goal?
  • Who will be joining your webinar (define a target audience)?
  • What is the message of your webinar, and what are the learnings for attendees? 
  • How and where can people register for the webinar? 
  • What promotional assets will you use?
  • Who will develop the content for your webinar?

The answers to these questions will help you to hop into the cycle of preparation, delivery, presenting and follow-up.

Don’t mix up goals and objectives

There is a difference between goals and objectives, and it is good not to get them mixed up. Keep in mind that the goal of your webinar is the general intention of the webinar. However, your objectives are the specific and measurable results that must be achieved to reach your goal.

In many cases, the goal of a webinar is lead generation. Further, the objectives can be defined by anything measurable: from the number of registrations to the number of (live) attendees. 

To some, this may sound like a no-brainer, and to some like a lot of hassle. No matter which group you belong to, it is always good to know why you need to set your goal and objectives. Setting goals and objectives does not just give you a sense of direction, but it also gives you a way to measure success, which can be an excellent motivation for your team. 

These are the HubSpot features you need for your webinar

Now that you know what you want to achieve with your webinar and have a timeline of getting there, it is time to get to work. Or rather: to organise your HubSpot in a way that it does the work for you. Emails must be sent, registration forms and landing pages have to be made, and you need some consistency in all of it. The webinar fundamentals for your HubSpot:

  • Create Forms

You want to know who your attendees are and have a way to follow up on their registration for the webinar. So the least you need is their email address. To really get to know people, you want more information. It is totally okay to add some more fields in your forms in HubSpot. But be aware of the fact that people just give away details if the perceived value of the webinar is enough according to them. Or: the more valuable the information in your webinar, the more information your attendees are willing to give.

There is no need to create a separate form for each webinar; just create a generic webinar registration form. This can save a lot of work and helps you to keep things simple by minimizing the number of forms in HubSpot.

  • Quick fix lists

Once people start registering for your webinar, you want to follow them in the larger stream of all your other HubSpot contacts. Create a list of all your registrants so you can send them emails with updates.

The lists can be useful as a quick fix for communicating with your audience that is about to join the webinar, from reminders to follow-ups.

  • An irresistible landing page (and don’t forget to say thank you)

This is the page that needs to be so compelling that people register for the webinar. You want to convince potential attendees to join, but at the same time, you don’t want to overwhelm them with too much information that could send them into a state of inertia.

Please stick to the basics like date & time, topic and presenters, and the compelling learnings or outcome of the webinar.

After the registration over the landing page, you want to thank people, and you can create a separate page for this. A thank you page is a perfect way to keep people on your website.

  • So many emails, so little time

    Communicating and spreading the word are the keys to the success of your webinar. With HubSpot, you can automate a lot of your work involving the targeting, sending, and tracking of your emails.

    Consider all the different possibilities that email automation has to offer, like:

    • Create confirmation emails with the details of your webinar. When automated with HubSpot, it works in a workflow that will be triggered by the webinar registration form on the landing page.
    • Make a selection of contacts you already have. Email contacts you already know to give them a gentle nudge towards your next webinar. Or send them a special invitation, with all the details that are on your landing page.
    • A post-event email to say thank you and define the next step. Never forget to follow up on your event: say thanks, send a recording of the webinar and define a next step in your relationship (like keeping in touch or making an individual appointment for a demo).

Keep it simple and use HubSpot

The days that you had to make detailed lists and planning in spreadsheets are finally over. They never worked as they should anyway. By using HubSpot for all the steps towards a webinar that makes an impact, you have the time to focus on what matters: the message you want to communicate by interacting with them.

So keep it simple and get involved by automating your marketing.

Would you like to speak to one of our specialists? We will be happy to schedule a call and answer your questions.

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