How Can You Automate Webinar Follow-Ups to Increase Sales Conversions?

How Can You Automate Webinar Follow-Ups to Increase Sales Conversions?

Driving sales conversions from your webinar leads requires strategic, automated nurturing post-event. Here are effective ways to automate your webinar follow-up sequence to maximize conversions:

Send Automated Thank You Emails

The first follow-up should be a personalized thank you email to all registrants and attendees sent immediately after the webinar concludes. Automate this in your email service.

• Thank individuals for attending and investing their time.
• Recap key takeaways from the webinar to reinforce learning. Include links to the recording, slides, related resources etc.
• For leads, include a call-to-action with a compelling, time-limited offer or discounted next-step product to convert interest into sales.
• For existing contacts, cross-promote other relevant webinars, content offers or special discounts on your products or services.
• For disengaged contacts who registered but didn’t attend, reiterate the value they missed and invite them to watch the recording to gain similar benefits.

A well-crafted thank you email kickstarts the nurturing process on a positive note right after the live event. Automate this completely so it is triggered once your webinar ends.

Send Follow-Up Sequences

Schedule a sequence of follow-up emails over subsequent days and weeks using segmentation:

Attendees Who Expressed Interest

• Send a series of value-driven emails like executive summaries, cheat sheets, templates, slide downloads etc. to reinforce webinar information.
• Intersperse promotional emails pitching your paid offers and highlighting discounts. Increase urgency and discounts with each email.
• Track opens, clicks, and downloads to gauge engagement and send reminders to unresponsive leads.

Attendees Who Did Not Express Interest

• Re-engage by sending fresh, value-added content like articles, demos, tools etc. that expand on webinar topics.
• Repurpose webinar content into micro-learning formats like infographics, videos, podcasts etc. that provide new perspectives.
• Monitor engagement, and nurture with helpful educational content before eventually pitching paid offers.

All Registrants Who Did Not Attend

• Thank them for registering and share a link to the webinar recording so they don’t miss out on the content.
• Highlight key takeaways and insights they would find valuable based on their interests and profile.
• For leads, offer special discounts or trials for your paid products to provide extra motivation to still convert.

Automating tailored email follow-up sequences nudges your leads further down the sales funnel while they still remember your webinar.

Promote Upcoming and Related Webinars

In your follow-up sequence, promote registrants to sign up for other upcoming or related webinars:

• Give sneak peeks into topics, speakers etc. to build anticipation.
• Provide discounts or early access for signing up for multiple webinars.
• Prioritize upcoming webinars on topics most aligned to their interests based on past registrations and engagement.
• For related past webinars, share on-demand recordings, handouts, and key takeaways to extend your content’s shelf life.

Automated cross-promotion exposes leads to more of your library and diversifies content consumption.

Share Curated Content Playlists

Curate and share themed content playlists tailored to the interests of different attendee segments:

• Group your most popular past webinar recordings, articles, ebooks, and tools related to the webinar topic into a playlist.
• Recommend playlists relevant to each attendee segmented by their intent – educational, promotional, or product-focused.
• Feature different formats like blogs, videos, case studies etc. within playlists to provide wider appeal.
• Automate playlist emails in your follow-up sequence based on interests expressed during the webinar.

Content playlists provide binge-worthy, tailored content that deepens engagement.

Send Post-Webinar Surveys

Send timed surveys to collect feedback a few days after your webinar:

• Ask ratings, testimonials and reviews that can be used for marketing collateral.
• Gather feedback on content, presenters, engagement tactics, key learnings and overall satisfaction.
• Seek input on additional topics, content formats, and speaker suggestions attendees want to see in the future.
• Ask attendees to share individual questions, comments or concerns via email for your one-on-one follow up.

Automated surveys provide invaluable insights to continually enhance your webinar strategy while distinguishing your commitment to customers.

Monitor Lead Activity

Observe lead behavior following your webinar using lead scoring to gauge sales readiness:

• Award points for post-webinar actions like visiting product pages, downloading content, email opens/clicks, and site re-engagement.
• Deduct points for inactivity over certain periods.
• Configure sales alerts when leads exceed defined score thresholds indicating sufficient interest.

Lead intelligence helps prioritize and escalate outreach to hot prospects at the optimal point in their buyer’s journey. Automate lead score tracking and actions based on behaviors.

Schedule Reminder Emails

To re-engage disengaged leads, automate periodic reminder emails:

• Set reminders at fixed intervals like 2 weeks, 1 month etc. post-webinar to stay top-of-mind.
• Repurpose content into microformats like key takeaways, Q&As, templated frameworks etc. to provide new value.
• Feature limited-time offers with discounts or trials expiring soon to compel action.
• Send no more than 2-3 reminders spaced sufficiently apart to avoid irritating leads.

Well-timed reminders counter lead attrition and bring hard-won webinar leads back into the sales fold.

Integrate With CRM and Marketing Automation

Integrate your webinar platform, email service, website, and payment systems with CRM and marketing automation software like HubSpot, Marketo, Eloqua etc. to enable:

• Real-time centralised data capture and contact database updates
• Automated segmentation and email targeting based on webinar behaviors
• Completely pre-programmed lead nurturing sequences with escalating offers
• Sales alert triggers based on lead scoring thresholds
• Progressive web forms, landing pages, and payment pages

Integration amplifies automation capabilities and unifies the data required to track lead progression seamlessly from webinar to customer.

Leverage Built-in Automation

Make full use of automation capabilities within your webinar hosting platform:

• Automate post-webinar surveys to instantly collect feedback
• Enable automatic sharing of on-demand recordings with registrants
• Schedule social media updates to go live with webinar highlights
• Trigger customized emails to attendees based on actions taken
• Programmatically generate certificates of participation

Webinar platforms like Demio, GoToWebinar, and Zoom offer robust automation options you can fully leverage for follow-ups.

A carefully orchestrated and automated sequence of webinar follow-up enhances engagement, nurtures leads, and drives sales. Automation frees staff to focus on personalized outreach to hot prospects at the right times to convert opportunities.

Conclusion

Automating webinar follow-ups using email sequences, lead scoring, content playlists, and built-in platform functionality ensures you deliver high-touch engagement at scale.

By consistently providing value and motivation through automated nurturing, you guide your leads smoothly through their conversion journey in a personalized yet cost-effective manner.

Set up and rigorously test automation workflows well in advance of your webinar to ensure flawless post-event execution. Use A/B testing and data-driven optimization to maximize your event ROI over successive webinars.

With automation removing repetitive tasks, your team can devote energy towards building genuine connections with attendees. Combined with that human touch, automated follow-up sequences will measurably amplify your webinar conversions.

FAQ: How Can You Automate Webinar Follow-Ups to Increase Sales Conversions?

1. Why is automating webinar follow-ups important for increasing sales conversions?
Automating webinar follow-ups ensures timely and personalized engagement with leads, nurturing them towards conversion without manual effort.

2. What are the key components of automated webinar follow-up sequences?
Key components include sending thank-you emails, scheduling follow-up email sequences, promoting upcoming webinars, sharing curated content playlists, sending post-webinar surveys, monitoring lead activity, scheduling reminder emails, integrating with CRM and marketing automation, and leveraging built-in automation features of webinar platforms.

3. What should be included in automated thank-you emails sent after the webinar?
Thank-you emails should include personalized gratitude for attending, recap of key takeaways, links to recording and resources, call-to-action for special offers or next steps, and cross-promotion of other relevant webinars or content.

4. How can automated follow-up email sequences be tailored to different attendee segments?
Follow-up email sequences can be tailored based on attendee segments such as attendees who expressed interest, attendees who did not express interest, and all registrants who did not attend. Each segment receives targeted content and offers to maximize engagement and conversion.

5. How can automated cross-promotion of upcoming and related webinars increase engagement?
Automated cross-promotion encourages registrants to sign up for other upcoming or related webinars by providing sneak peeks, discounts, and prioritizing topics aligned with their interests based on past engagement.

6. What is the benefit of sharing curated content playlists in automated follow-ups?
Curated content playlists provide binge-worthy, tailored content that deepens engagement by grouping relevant past webinar recordings, articles, ebooks, and tools related to the webinar topic.

7. How can automated post-webinar surveys enhance webinar follow-up sequences?
Automated post-webinar surveys gather valuable feedback on content, presenters, engagement tactics, and overall satisfaction, allowing for continuous improvement of webinar strategies and distinguishing commitment to customers.

8. Why is lead scoring important in automated webinar follow-ups?
Lead scoring helps prioritize and escalate outreach to hot prospects based on their engagement behaviors, ensuring timely and targeted follow-up to maximize conversion opportunities.

9. How does integrating webinar platforms with CRM and marketing automation enhance automation capabilities?
Integration enables real-time centralized data capture, automated segmentation, targeted email workflows, sales alert triggers, progressive web forms, and landing pages, amplifying automation capabilities and unifying lead progression tracking seamlessly.

10. What is the role of built-in automation features in webinar platforms for follow-up sequences?
Built-in automation features in webinar platforms offer functionalities such as post-webinar surveys, automatic sharing of recordings, scheduled social media updates, customized attendee emails, and programmatically generated certificates, streamlining follow-up processes and maximizing engagement.