So, you just completed your first-ever virtual event activities, and it was a resounding success. Great! What now?
This is where most marketers fail to leverage the power of virtual events fully. Sure, you got a thousand registrations for your event, and there was significant participation, but all of this is for nothing if you don’t manage to convert them into paying, loyal customers.
And how do you do this?
Allow us to take you through our tested, proven strategy to convert leads into customers.
Step 1: Send them a Thank You mail
This one is pronounced and is just basic courtesy. Part of being a good host is sending a thank you mail to the participants for taking time out of their busy day to attend your event.
But there’s more to it!
Ever thought about sneaking in a goodie in the mail?
Most marketers add a link to a survey to rate the event. Sometimes they even ask for written feedback. This is a bad idea. You really don’t want to make people do some more work. Most will simply ignore it if you’re just soliciting a review.
Here’s what you do instead. Send them a link to a survey anyway, but this time offer an incentive.
“Get our awesome marketing ebook for free! All you have to do is complete this quick survey.”
Sounds good, doesn’t it?
You’re guaranteed to see better results if you use this strategy. You’ve also started to condition them to think of you as the “useful resource person.”
Step 2: Have a Pipeline of Content
After the event, you’ll find yourself sitting on a massive pile of data, thanks to your meticulous data gathering strategy. If you’ve been brilliant, you now have a good idea about your audience demographics. All you need to do now is to repurpose the content generated during your event and keep feeding it to your new audience.
You can repurpose the content into:
- A series of articles
- An ebook
- A podcast episode or two
- A summary video, or
- As an infographic, depending on the topic
For example, let’s say there was a panel discussion on “Marketing in The Time of COVID-19.” Without a doubt, such a topic will elicit lively discussion from your panelists. Make an ebook out of this debate and distribute it to your audience. This should be at the top of your virtual event marketing plan at all times.
Be mindful of how often you’re engaging with your audience. Too many emails in a short span is a sure way to the Spam folder. Space out your emails, but make sure each one has a free resource linked inside it. This free resource must be ideally hosted on your brand’s website, whether an ebook, a podcast, or an infographic.
After a few iterations of this, your brand will find a place in their minds. Next time they have a query, guess who they’ll think of first?
You cannot buy loyalty. You need to earn it. If you still haven’t earned their loyalty, worry not.
Step 3: Invite Them to Everything
Don’t you just love being invited to parties all the time? Sure, you might not have the time or the interest to go to one, but just being invited makes you feel special.
Leverage this emotion and invite your attendees to all your future endeavors. Soon, you will have an army of loyal followers lurking and hopefully actively engaging in all your events.
Step 4: Begin the Push
You’ve welcomed them with open arms, plied them with goodies, and made them feel special. Now it’s time to push your offerings gently. The keyword here is “gently.”
As a safe bet, do your virtual event planning by mentioning a limited-time-only discount offer. If your product has a fingerprint-free trial period, let them know about it in all your conversations.
Urgency is a proven marketing tactic. Convey to your audience that your product/service is available for a significant discount but only for a limited time! If you’ve played your cards right, you would’ve gained a loyal customer by now.
To Wrap It Up
Seasoned marketers know better than to poach new customers without offering them value. Hosting virtual events — free or paid — is a great way to provide value.
Planning virtual events and hosting them isn’t exactly an easy job. You need to coordinate between your panelists, ensure that the correct mail goes out at the right time to the right people, prepare a thorough checklist for the virtual event, and stay on top of all queries from all stakeholders at all times.
Yes, Speaker Engage can do all that and more. Get in touch with our expert consultants today!
