Comments on: Attend the MarketingProfs B2B Forum and Get a Free Report on B2B Lead Gen and Web 2.0 Media - B2B Marketing and Sales Tip #95 http://www.theb2blead.com/webinars/attend-the-marketingprofs-b2b-forum-and-get-a-free-report-on-b2b-lead-gen-and-web-20-media-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-95/ B2B Marketing and Sales Tips Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:30:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 By: Pam O'Neal Mickelson http://www.theb2blead.com/webinars/attend-the-marketingprofs-b2b-forum-and-get-a-free-report-on-b2b-lead-gen-and-web-20-media-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-95/#comment-1722 Pam O'Neal Mickelson Tue, 06 May 2008 22:22:47 +0000 http://www.theb2blead.com/webinars/attend-the-marketingprofs-b2b-forum-and-get-a-free-report-on-b2b-lead-gen-and-web-20-media-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-95/#comment-1722 You know it is interesting. I suspect there will be many changes in the broadcast mechanism for Webinars as Marketers simply don't want to spend upwards of $4,000 to 6,000 just to broadcast their event. However, I'm not sure what that change will be. For some odd reason, in my experience the live events always pull greater attendance than pre-recorded events. Of course, you always want to archive the events for those who couldn't make it. But just offering up a pre-recorded event does not create the sense of urgency to drive large registrations. It's also important to remember the average viewing time of the YouTube viewer - 30 seconds. I believe some changes will have to take place to drive this trend. I haven't seen anyone who has cracked the code yet although I'm learning about others like BrainShark and the ON24 model. I think metrics would certainly be good and scoring/targeting based on behavior is certainly an excellent idea. The next few years will bring many new capabilities in this area. Are you aware of any companies capitalizing on this? At NetQoS, we actually used our blog to field live Q&A after the Webinar. Was a great tool to lure the interested attendees into a "conversation" on the blog. You know it is interesting. I suspect there will be many changes in the broadcast mechanism for Webinars as Marketers simply don’t want to spend upwards of $4,000 to 6,000 just to broadcast their event. However, I’m not sure what that change will be. For some odd reason, in my experience the live events always pull greater attendance than pre-recorded events. Of course, you always want to archive the events for those who couldn’t make it. But just offering up a pre-recorded event does not create the sense of urgency to drive large registrations. It’s also important to remember the average viewing time of the YouTube viewer - 30 seconds. I believe some changes will have to take place to drive this trend. I haven’t seen anyone who has cracked the code yet although I’m learning about others like BrainShark and the ON24 model. I think metrics would certainly be good and scoring/targeting based on behavior is certainly an excellent idea. The next few years will bring many new capabilities in this area. Are you aware of any companies capitalizing on this? At NetQoS, we actually used our blog to field live Q&A after the Webinar. Was a great tool to lure the interested attendees into a “conversation” on the blog.

]]> By: Suaad Sait http://www.theb2blead.com/webinars/attend-the-marketingprofs-b2b-forum-and-get-a-free-report-on-b2b-lead-gen-and-web-20-media-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-95/#comment-1715 Suaad Sait Mon, 05 May 2008 14:12:35 +0000 http://www.theb2blead.com/webinars/attend-the-marketingprofs-b2b-forum-and-get-a-free-report-on-b2b-lead-gen-and-web-20-media-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-95/#comment-1715 I read you post with interest, Pam. Good luck at the Marketing Profs event, I am sure you will once again be a HUGE hit. The thing that has got me wondering of late is the role of new media in B2B lead generation. My current thought is that webinars will become legacy and be replaced by new media such as YouTube for broadcast communication. What do you think about adding more measurement and live Q&A added around a YouTube video to measure and score the audience - as in adding Nielson-like measurement for real-time feedback guiding the audience to relevant targeted messages OnDemand? I read you post with interest, Pam. Good luck at the Marketing Profs event, I am sure you will once again be a HUGE hit. The thing that has got me wondering of late is the role of new media in B2B lead generation. My current thought is that webinars will become legacy and be replaced by new media such as YouTube for broadcast communication. What do you think about adding more measurement and live Q&A added around a YouTube video to measure and score the audience - as in adding Nielson-like measurement for real-time feedback guiding the audience to relevant targeted messages OnDemand?

]]> By: Cece Salomon-Lee http://www.theb2blead.com/webinars/attend-the-marketingprofs-b2b-forum-and-get-a-free-report-on-b2b-lead-gen-and-web-20-media-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-95/#comment-1703 Cece Salomon-Lee Thu, 01 May 2008 17:06:28 +0000 http://www.theb2blead.com/webinars/attend-the-marketingprofs-b2b-forum-and-get-a-free-report-on-b2b-lead-gen-and-web-20-media-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-95/#comment-1703 I wanted to provide my perspective based on our work with customers here at ON24 (note: we provide webcasting technology that can be used for webinars). Regarding attendance, my company did a report last year that looked at webinar attendance across our webcasting platform. The findings determined that attendance levels did NOT decline but remained even. Other factors may impact attendance - promotional efforts, topic, speaker, timing, etc. I think that there is also an increase in using webinars format for corporate communications and training (CPE and CME). You raise a good point about how to further nurture prospects through educational content, with webinars being one type. Here are some additional thoughts as you prep for your panel: 1) Lead scoring: This will further enable an organization to priortize these leads - who can be followed up with sales immediately and who should be funneled to your lead nurturing efforts. 2) On-Demand: As you mentioned, there is a lot of money and effort poured into driving audiences for the live event. Another component is maximizing the on-demand content. Group the content into a community, include in subsequent customer newsletter or posting the link elsewhere online are just some ways to further extend the shelf-life. For example, my company started Insight24 (www.Insight24.com) as a way to post archived B2B webcasts, videos and podcasts. You never know where your next sales lead will come from. 3) Rise of Virtual Events: When you think about it, the rise of virtual shows/tradeshows provides additional opportunity for \ I wanted to provide my perspective based on our work with customers here at ON24 (note: we provide webcasting technology that can be used for webinars). Regarding attendance, my company did a report last year that looked at webinar attendance across our webcasting platform. The findings determined that attendance levels did NOT decline but remained even. Other factors may impact attendance - promotional efforts, topic, speaker, timing, etc.

I think that there is also an increase in using webinars format for corporate communications and training (CPE and CME). You raise a good point about how to further nurture prospects through educational content, with webinars being one type. Here are some additional thoughts as you prep for your panel:

1) Lead scoring: This will further enable an organization to priortize these leads - who can be followed up with sales immediately and who should be funneled to your lead nurturing efforts.

2) On-Demand: As you mentioned, there is a lot of money and effort poured into driving audiences for the live event. Another component is maximizing the on-demand content. Group the content into a community, include in subsequent customer newsletter or posting the link elsewhere online are just some ways to further extend the shelf-life. For example, my company started Insight24 (www.Insight24.com) as a way to post archived B2B webcasts, videos and podcasts. You never know where your next sales lead will come from.

3) Rise of Virtual Events: When you think about it, the rise of virtual shows/tradeshows provides additional opportunity for \

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