We’re currently experiencing unprecedented, challenging times, and as we move forward, life may not return to what we knew before the crisis. Will this crisis see the end of the handshake? Will it accelerate the usage of curbside grocery store services and smartphone delivery apps?
It’s highly likely. As a marketer, it’s already changed the way we do business and market to customers. And those changes may take a permanent hold on our industry. With disruption comes agile and unique innovation that can change an industry.
Change can be scary, but it can also be exciting. When it comes down to it, technology has always been there. It’s our level of reliance on it that’s changed. We’re all learning to operate in this virtual world together, and that learning curve can get steep. Luckily, technology gave us the internet, ushering in an era of rich knowledge sharing that we’re still enjoying today.
At Keysight, we recently launched the Innovate Anywhere program that takes aim at this very concept. Now, more than ever, companies need to virtualize their products and make them accessible from anywhere, and our program is intended to act as a knowledge-sharing portal with continuous learnings, training, and digital tools and software that enable them to maintain business continuity.
On the topic of heavy technology reliance, a big challenge for marketing teams is figuring out how to deal with the loss of critical face-to-face events. With so many global trade shows getting postponed or canceled, the need to find alternative ways to engage with customers is higher than ever.
One way to do this is through interactive webinars that combine live and prerecorded content. We held a “Virtual 5G Innovations Experience” featuring our 5G experts and solution demos that were originally slated to be part of one of our trade show booths. This hybrid approach of prerecorded content, live presentations and an interactive Q&A created a dynamic experience for participants.
I believe implementing interactive elements across all virtual marketing activities will become increasingly important — for the web, email campaigns, live webinars and so much more. Here are a few of my favorite tactics:
1. Call To Action
Your audience’s virtual content journey doesn’t have to end when your live event does. After your event, try suggesting related content, linking back to your website, and providing an opportunity to opt in to an email subscription or to contact your brand directly. A tried-and-true way of communicating this is to send a follow-up email to attendees. This works well because it can include multiple calls to action in one place, allowing the attendee to decide how they want to interact with you.
But don’t underestimate the power of social media. You’ve likely put a lot of effort into building your brand’s following across a variety of social channels. Use those channels to let them know you just hosted a webinar (or any type of virtual event), and provide a link for them to learn more or access an on-demand replay.
2. Certification And Collateral
Some brands may offer certification for watching a presentation for a predetermined amount of time or for filling out a web or email form. However, a PDF certificate may not be enticing enough (and will likely end up in their computer’s recycling bin).
Take this concept a step further, and offer some collateral, such as a white paper or an e-book. To make sure you’re sharing collateral they’ll find valuable, ask them to participate in a brief survey at the end of the presentation so you can gain deeper insights about their interests.
3. Group Chat
Think about it. If you were giving a presentation at an event, the attendees would be physically sitting next to each other, able to interact and exchange opinions about what they were seeing. Enabling a chat option for your virtual attendees can make them feel as if they are at the event itself, sitting among a group of their peers.
It’s always a good idea to let them know at the beginning of the presentation that this option will be available. The earlier the audience knows there will be an interactive element, the better! And it doesn’t hurt to have a moderator fielding the comments or questions, especially if you plan on having a live Q&A at the end.
4. Polling
An interactive poll is a good way for the presenter to gauge the audience’s level of engagement. It can also make the audience feel more like participants and less like spectators. More than ever, I’m finding that people want to feel like they are a part of something. Seeing their response reflected in a poll, influencing the content, can help do just that.
For example, you might get to a certain point in the webcast where you have a few different topics you can dive deeper into. Poll the audience, and let them decide! Their choices may even help guide you on the most effective collateral to offer them after the event is over.
As marketers, we’re always planning for the future and anticipating changes in how we should market to our customers. Surprise! What we once thought would be the distant future seemingly arrived overnight. Now, more than ever, we must continue to expand our digital strategies to stay connected with our audiences.
