Content Wisdom: Insights from 99 Webinars

Have you ever attended a webinar? Have you thought to host one? Have you been a part of one?

After six years of webinar experience, I am nearing my 99th webinar in the automation and robot sector for the A3 Association for Advancing Automation, Robotics Industry Association. 

This calls for a celebration of sorts! Why? Good webinars are a lot of work. 

Webinars take planning and practice to really make a difference for both the attendee and the participant. These events are intended to focus on teaching and thought leadership. It’s a medium that can prove complex at times because production can be so multi-faceted. In preparation I’ve had to arrange for experts to participate, create detailed and organized production notes to ensure smooth sailing, run through a quick practice round, and execute the event in a way that enlightens and engages attendees and sponsors alike.  

I originally thought that coming up with a steady stream of topics would be difficult, but experience has proven me wrong on this point. New products and ideas have been emerging every day and they’ve kept the industry booming with innovation that needs to be shared with all those who are interested. One of the educational formats that I really like is the “expert webinar” in which I invite industry experts who are open to sharing their experience with a broad audience for discussion. These "thought leaders" are excited about participating in the global engagement and business advancement that comes along with being a part of niche webinar series. 

Throughout my experiences, I have learned a thing or two about the importance of webinar production. This includes benefits for the consumer, the host, and the sponsors, as well as some tips and tricks for making the most out of your webinars, if and when you choose to host, sponsor or produce. 

Why Webinars are Great for Sponsors

• Webinars are an immediate and effective marketing vehicle where attendees trade their emails for valuable content. Sponsors quickly gather a list of prospects, suspects, competitors, and other interested parties.
• Webinars give exposure to new products or services that manufacturers or machine builders are working to promote. I liken a webinar to a sales call: if you get 200 people attending a webinar I count it as 200 sales calls and that could be a solid year of a b2b work done in one sitting. 
• Webinars create visibility for the sponsor by putting a face and voice to a name thereby making the business feel more authentic to the attendees. 

Why Webinars are Great for Attendees

• Webinars are easily accessible because the content is usually posted for at least a year and can be consumed in a variety of ways: live attendance, downloads, post-written blogs, email links and notes, etc. 
• Webinars are interactive so attendees can see, meet, and ask questions of the people taking part in the conference. 
• Webinars are versatile in that they are great for both experts and newbies in the field as everyone is able to learn about new products, applications, and best practices. Also, webinars are viewed in a variety of locations so people can either fill up a conference room or take part in the comfort of their own space while eating lunch at their desks.

Webinar Tips & Tricks

• Webinars are meant to be educational and non-promotional. Nothing turns off people more than being sold to in disguise. 
• The name of the webinar is really important. It’s the hook! Webinars can be successful (or not) just based on the title alone. Adding an enticing description to follow can make or break the turn out as well. 
• Webinars are great for content re-purposing. Once the webinar is over, it’s not really over. You can re-use a lot of the content created during the event by creating downloads, writing blogs, hosting post-webinars, and sending prospects to a recording, just to name a few. 
• Listen to your audience! The audience keeps you honest. There will be experts and newbies in attendance and all of their feedback is gold. Your audience makes you better, so listen closely and make adjustments, as needed. 

I am very lucky to work with RIA and A3 on this project. I have learned so much and met hundreds of automators, sales, and technical experts across all kinds of specializations: robots, machine vision, motion control, standard automation products and manufacturing.

Earlier this year, I launched a podcast to extend the conversation. If you are interested in robotics and automation, enjoy listening to podcasts, or would like to get involved, please get in touch with me. I will send you the resources and links required to be a part of A3 The Robot Industry Podcast.

A kind thanks to my partners on this podcast project: all of the experts, my web team at PaintedRobot.com and the kind folks at A3 Association for Advancing Automation

You can subscribe and listen to #TheRobotIndustryPodcast on Spotify on Apple and on Android, or wherever you normally subscribe to podcasts.

Jim Beretta is a strategic marketer to the robot, automation, and machine-builder community, located in London, Ontario. He consults companies, manufacturers, associations, technology start-ups, and governments across North America and Europe.