Using Virtual Events For Lead Generation

Since launching in 2021, events have been an integral part of Chezie’s marketing strategy. Being that we were bootstrapped until earlier this year, we needed a cost-effective way to establish ourselves as thought leaders in the ERG space while increasing our brand awareness with our target audience. Events have checked all of these boxes. Over the past few years, our monthly events, ranging from panel discussions to speaker series, culminated in our ERG Summit last October. We've welcomed over 1600 individuals from hundreds of companies to these events, consistently adding them to our email lists and converting many into leads for the top of our sales funnel. With that in mind, here are three tips for effectively leveraging virtual events for lead generation: 1. Know your audience: Generating excitement for an event begins with a deep understanding of our audience. By tapping into insights from our vibrant ERG community on Slack and engaging in ongoing conversations with customers, we thoughtfully curate event topics. This approach guarantees that our events not only resonate but actively engage our audience, leaving them eagerly anticipating the next one. 2. Use your registration form wisely: Harnessing the power of your registration form strategically provides a valuable opportunity for market research and shapes your follow-up outreach strategy. Move beyond the standard inquiries of name, email, and company. Our registration forms serve as a window into understanding attendees' ERG programs, assessing alignment with our ICP, and gauging their interest in exploring our software. It's an approach that deepens our understanding and tailors our interactions with each registrant. 3. Content beyond the event: The event is just the beginning of our content journey. Post-event, we go the extra mile by crafting engaging recap blogs, creating bite-sized 30-second clips, and hosting AMAs with our speakers. Repurposing content isn't just a tactic; it's a way to effortlessly extend your brand's reach across various platforms and channels. This not only maintains a dynamic presence but significantly boosts the chances of connecting with our target audience in diverse and meaningful ways. While events demand careful planning and time, when executed well, they become a powerful tool for increasing brand awareness and building pipeline. I’ve gained a ton of knowledge in event planning over the years, so I'm happy to share more about how founders can execute a successful event marketing strategy. What do you want know? 👀

In October 2021, we generated 250 sales leads in 2 hours without coding, AI, or sales expertise, and we have never looked back. Here's exactly how we’ve used webinars to generate $3M+ in pipeline since launching our company. A week after launching Chezie's ERG platform in August 2021, we hosted a simple webinar that changed everything. The idea came when we noticed most ERG content online was outdated (think black-and-white websites from 2014; it was dark out there). We saw an opportunity. Here’s our process: 1. Find your topic     Look for LinkedIn conversations in your niche. Use tools like Perplexity to research what people are actively searching for.     2. Get the right host     We reached out to my friend Morgan Matthews (she/her), who was working as a DEI Manager at Peloton at the time. Your host should either have a strong following, work at a notable company, or ideally both.      The more notable your speaker, the easier it is to drive signups.      3. Structure your event     We titled ours "From Intent to Impact: How to Get the Most Out of Your ERGs." Morgan gave a 45-minute presentation and left 15 mins for Q&A.      Keep it simple – a fireside chat format lets your host prepare answers in advance.     4. Capture leads strategically     Have attendees share key info during registration (company size, current solutions, etc.). This helps you qualify leads before the event.     5. Execute and follow up       Some tips for a smooth event:       • Host on Zoom (everyone’s familiar with it by now)   • Pay attention to which participants are most engaged   • Share recordings after via email to warm the inbox   • Focus follow-up on qualified leads      Fast-forward to today: We've hosted 60+ events and turned webinars into our #1 go-to-market channel, even as we've expanded to other strategies. If you have questions about the process, qualifying leads, or anything else around webinars as a GTM motion, comment below; I’m happy to help! 👇🏾

Webinars in B2B marketing are not dead. Last week at Digioh we hosted our largest webinar to date alongside our partners Gorgias, Klaviyo, Tapcart, and Hawke Media. And it was our best webinar to date from across every business goal. Webinars have been a core piece of my marketing strategy throughout my career. Here are 6 things I've learned that not many talk about to take webinars from 🚮 to great. 1️⃣ Pick a topic that your audience is looking for answers to If your topic isn't interesting, it doesn't matter who's speaking or promoting it — people will tune it out. "5 Strategies for Digital-First Personalization" < what does that even mean? "5 Step BFCM Workback Plan" < I know exactly what I signing up for. If you are unsure what your topic should be in the first place, talk to some customers. They will tell you everything you need to know. 2️⃣ No sales pitches One of the quickest ways to get people to drop off the call is to hard sell. Nobody likes being sold on a webinar. Lead with valuable information, that is how you sell. 3️⃣ Every partner shares a similar ICP This ensures the leads you do generate/share are relevant to everyone. Better leads in = better results 4️⃣ Have a rock solid pre-event automation strategy Every touch point matters from the landing page, to the confirmation email, to even communications pre-event to boost attendnace/engagement. One of the lowest hanging fruit for building rapport with webinar registrants is offering them more helpful resources on your post-submit page or follow-up email. Ask them to submit their questions by replying, offer them a pre-event survey, anything... Start 2-way communication early 5️⃣ Airtight alignment with your sales/biz-dev team Post event follow-up is the number 1 area where webinars go to die. If you aren't aligned with your team on who will own follow-up you're going to have a bad time. Getting a grip on operations for list enrichment is also highly important. You need to be able to suss out the good from the bad, size up who's a fit for your business, etc... and to do that quick enough to capitalize on the webinar cycle. 6️⃣ Don't be pushy Just because a person you deem a "whale lead" signed up for your webinar doesn't mean they have any interest in buying yet. The nurturing has just begun and it may take several touches to rule them in or out. This is where looking at lead scoring, intent signals, and leveraging more content/resources can be highly valuable. For example, we send every webinar registrant our top 2 playbooks on what Digioh can do for them + several ungated resources. It's a way for us to lead with value rather that pitch slap. It's been a game changer for nurturing & building a strong funnel. 👉 Tl;dr webinars that have great content themes, great speakers, solid operations, and thoughtful pre & post event follow-up are still an incredible way to grow your top of funnel. Does anyone else think webinars aren't dead?