Webinars have long been a top-ranking tactic among B2B marketers and for good reason: They work. More often than not, webinars deliver measurable upside across the entire customer journey by incrementally building and strengthening brand awareness, trust, preference, and loyalty among prospects and customers.
But it’s a different story in the B2C world where anecdotes, casual conversations, and bona fide studies all indicate the same thing:
B2C companies don’t seem to use webinars.
At least not very much.
It’s somewhat puzzling, particularly since many B2C marketers are using marketing automation platforms that integrate – often at little or no cost – with their company’s current web conferencing platform (e.g., WebEx, GoToWebinar, Yugma, etc.).
So we decided to unravel the knot, taking a look at whether webinars could benefit B2C-focused companies and, if so, to what extent.
The results were intriguing enough that we turned them into an eBook, which is available now.
Our opinion? You be the judge. Here’s the title: The Benefits of Webinars for B2C Marketers: If You’re Not Using Webinars, You’re Losing Money.
By the numbers
The primary stats that kick-started our efforts came courtesy of Content Marketing Institute’s 2014 B2C Content Marketing study.
Here is B2C’s use of webinars in 2013:
- 42% of B2C marketers used webinars as part of their marketing mix, with 58% rating webinars as effective.
And here is B2C’s use of videos in 2013:
- 72% of B2C marketers used videos, with 65% rating videos as effective.
That’s a 30-point difference in webinar/video usage – but only a 7-point difference in effectiveness. Put another way, B2C marketers rated videos only 12% more effective than webinars, yet used them 71% more frequently.
Fascinating.
So we did the next logical thing: We called all our friends (our B2C friends and colleagues, that is) and asked them about webinars – if and how they used them. Scientific approach? Not so much. But the exercise was telling, nonetheless, as summarized in this response: “Oh, you mean videos? Yea, we kinda do the same thing. It’s called YouTube.”
Seemed to us that webinars suffer from an image problem among the B2C set.
Which is a shame because, as our eBook title overtly posits, webinars can be a handy addition to the B2C marketing mix.
Here’s what we uncovered, and what you’ll find when you download the book:
- Four ways webinars can benefit B2C marketers (Yes, they’re all tied – directly or indirectly – to revenue upside.)
- Industry-specific webinar ideas
- Key elements of webinar success
- Costs
We’d be honored if you’d give it a read, see what you think, and then …
Share Your Success Story with Us
Are you part of a B2C company that’s had success with webinars? Do you have any examples to share?
Let us know.
Your ideas will surely inspire peers and colleagues who read this blog, and we might include your stories in our next update of the eBook. Download it now.
Image by Vivanista1, used under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.