Now technology is more important than ever for the profession of dietetics. So how do we utilize technology to keep moving our businesses forward? The answer is simple. You must adapt.
For many of us, this pandemic has dramatically changed our lives. Social distance has created the need for new and unconventional ways to keep things going.
This post explores why webinars can be a great content marketing strategy to spread your message of nutrition education.
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What Is Content Marketing?
According to Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is a marketing strategy that focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience in order to drive profitable customer action.
Content Marketing’s sole purpose is to create, publish, and distribute content for a specific segment of the population. It can help businesses accomplish the following outcomes:
- Attract attention and generate leads
- Expand customer base
- Generate or increase online sales
- Increase brand awareness
- Create and engage with an online community of users
As you share valuable free content you will attract prospective consumers. Companies use content marketing to provide valuable content to their consumers in order to build a relationship built on trust and rapport.
As the relationship grows, consumers will get to know, like, and trust that company. A feeling of loyalty will blossom and there will be a willingness to purchase products from the company in the future.
Content marketing draws on the customers’ already existing needs by creating solutions for problems they may already be facing. This means delivering value to get something valuable back. One article in Mashable sums it up great. It is the creation of storytelling material that attracts readers, viewers, and listeners to a brand. “Instead of the commercial, be the show. Instead of the banner ad, be the feature story.”
First Focus On the Customer’s Needs
In content marketing first and always focus on the customer’s needs. The main goal of a business is to solve a problem. So what problems or solutions can you solve for consumers?
Disseminate Information To Solve A Problem
Once you have identified what problem to solve you next want to figure out how you are going to disseminate information. You will need to find a digital channel to disseminate your information that can include social media, recorded video (Youtube), and webinars.
Social Media Has Limitations In Content Marketing
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of connecting with others over the internet is social media. There were about 2.95 billion people reported to be engaging in social media in 2019 with a projected increase to almost 3.43 billion in 2023.
This makes it a great medium to build brand awareness, customer loyalty, and opportunities for people to engage with your content. Despite these high numbers of active users, there are some limitations when it comes to content marketing on this medium.
Followers and Likes Do Not Always Lead to Customers
For starters, followers and likes do not always convert leads to customers. This means that someone may like your content but will not engage with your brand.
Information on Social Media Followers Is Limited
There is also a limitation on how much information you can collect from fans on social media. You are bound by the information that is provided by the social media platform which withholds certain demographics that may help to provide your consumers with solutions.
Information from Social Media Is Limited
You may not be able to hold the attention of a consumer for very long. Scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds may lead to the consumer wanting to see what else is out there. Social engagement may not last long. This is also the case with live video.
Live Video On Social Media May Not Hold Viewers
Live video provides an interactive platform. Holding a consumer’s attention may be hard to do with live video when they are strapped for time. A scheduled predetermined appointment like a webinar will give you direct access to their attention
Social Media Content Stays within These Channels
Social media content stays within social media channels. This can be problematic if your target audience is not on social media.
You Have to Pay To Play On Social Media
You have to pay to play. Many social platforms are giving first dibs to advertisers. This means your brand may not be seen organically if you are not paying for facetime.
Social Media Not Built for Businesses
Some argue that social media is not built for small businesses. This can be why there are some limitations on these platforms.
Social Video Has Limitations In Content Marketing
Video content resonates well with consumers and has become a big part of content marketing. This is a great way to showcase your nutrition messages but like social media, there are some setbacks with this medium.
It can also be entertaining and eye-catching but it is hard to know how long a video has actually been watched and if someone was actually engaging with the content.
Email Funnels May Actually Be the Result of Sales from Social Media and Video
The return on investment (ROI) is hard to figure out when it comes to social media and video recordings. Consumers may go through your sales funnel from social media. However, little information is available to ensure sales are actually being generated from this medium.
Webinars Are the Future of Content Marketing
Unlike social media and recorded video, webinars are built with the intent to educate and inform the public.
What Is A Webinar?
The word webinar comes from the merging of the words “web” and seminar” so basically it is a seminar on the internet. It usually is a video workshop, lecture, or presentation on a particular topic. It is hosted using webinar software.
What is the Purpose of a Webinar?
The purpose of a webinar is a place to share knowledge, ideas, and educate others. Typically webinars are used in content marketing strategies to foster relationships between consumers and businesses as well as build authority on a topic or service.
Webinars can be carried out to promote a new product or service or generate brand awareness.
Benefits of Webinars
There are many benefits to using a webinar as a content marketing strategy.
Webinars are Inexpensive
Webinars are an inexpensive way to get your message out to the masses. If you wanted to set up a summit or in-person event it would take a lot of manpower to plan, organize, and pay to execute.
A webinar is the next best thing to give consumers a chance to learn from the comfort of where they want to be. You are no longer tied to location but can reach worldwide audiences with a webinar.
Webinars Can Answer Questions In Real-Time
The downside of recorded video is if someone has a question they need an answer to right then and there. Webinars give you the opportunity to answer questions then and there in real-time. It also gives the business to show their authority in the niche.
Webinars Can Be More Powerful Than Social Media
Unlike social media which can be limited to a specific platform, webinars can be optimized to reach a target audience using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices. This is when you create content around things that people are already searching for in Google.
Webinars also offer a longer shelf life. With social media, you are tied to how long that platform lasts. If the channel dies with it goes all of your content. Having a webinar will keep your content living long past the social media platform.
Webinars Offer Direct Interaction with Consumers Without Distractions
Social media channels can engage with consumers but often they are just looking to see what is in their feed. The nice thing about webinars is you have a direct line of communication with your audience without any interruptions.
Webinars Can Show How You Stand Out From The Competition
Social media is extremely popular with brands. Webinars help to make you stand out from the crowd. It can showcase your authority in that particular niche.
Webinars Give You the Chance to Show Massive Value
During a webinar, you have a tremendous amount of time to give value. You can provide various content including handouts, worksheets, slides, or the video.
Webinars Give the Scarcity and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Factor
Webinar content can hint to consumers about the need to watch live. If there is a special offer or something of interest it can compel them to be there for the webinar. If they choose to watch the replay at another time they may be missing out on something they don’t want to miss.
They will also be out of luck if they have any questions. This can enforce the fear of missing out making them want to be on the inside with everyone else.
Webinars Give You Content To Repurpose for Marketing Efforts
Once you put together a webinar presentation you will have a substantial amount of content that can be broken down and repurposed into other marketing efforts. You can take it and create email campaigns, articles, social media posts, and Youtube videos.
Webinars Can Get You Up Close and Personal With Your Audience
Webinars open a door to getting straight to the consumer. They enable you to have a real conversation with your audience. It is a personal and intimate approach to educating your consumers.
How to Choose A Webinar Software
Now that you know what a webinar is and how it can help your business the next thing you want to do is pick out software that will let you run a webinar.
I had spotted a membership deal for one webinar software and took the plunge and bought it. That software was WebinarNinja.
What Is Webinar Ninja
WebinarNinja is an all-in-one webinar platform that does the work for you. Focused on ease of use, this conversion-centered software makes it easy to teach, market, and sell.
Optimized for results, but simplified for users, WebinarNinja lets the host focus on the presentation, not the software. It includes built-in landing pages, email sequences, and slide templates.
Types of Webinars Available with Webinar Ninja
Their all-in-one platform gives you everything you need to run your webinars. It offers the following
- Live webinars
- Automated webinars
- Hybrid webinars
- Webinar Series or Summits
Live Webinar
Live webinars are when the host is live and presenting a topic in real-time. During these live events, the host will be able to interact with the participants and answer questions and poll them on specific things.
Automated Webinar
An automated Webinar is when a host has pre-recorded a webinar and will set it up to run at a specific day and time. It can be re-occurring as well.
Hybrid Webinar
A hybrid webinar is one that runs on a pre-recorded video. This allows the host to interact with their attendees on the live chat as they watch the video presentation. The host can also ask questions and set up polls.
Webinar Series or Summit
If you have a series of topics you want to present you can set up a series of webinars to run as well.
Webinar Ninja Has an Easy Set Up For Creating Webinars
Webinar Ninja has the ability to get a webinar up and running with just a few steps:
- Choose one type of webinar
- Create the webinar: set a date and time for the webinar and give it a title
- Customize your sales and registration pages
- Invite registrants
Webinar Ninja Makes Marketing Easy
Your registrants will be up to date with all the happenings on your webinar with their automatic confirmation and reminder emails. You can edit emails to add your own personal touch. There is automation for setting up follow-up emails to both attendees and those who want to watch the replay.
You can edit emails as a sequence to be dripped out or have a campaign that is sent once and done.
Webinar Ninja Has Easy to Create Landing Pages
In order for someone to sign up for your webinar, you need a place to collect their information. Webinar ninja has you covered their easy to create landing pages that you can customize with your own logo and images.
Webinar Ninja Pricing
The pricing of the platform is decent for webinar software. See below for Webinar Ninja’s price packages
Starter Price
- $49.99 a month
- Host up to 100 attendees
- Run live and automated webinars
Pro Plan
- $95.00 a month
- Same features in starter price above
- Host up to 300 attendees
- Run a webinar series & summits
- Facebook ad tracking
Plus Plan
- $159.00 a month
- Has features of Starter and Plus plan
- Host an additional 200 more attendees
- Run a hybrid webinar
Power Plan
- $249.00 a month
- Same features as the Plus Plan
- Additional 500 attendees making your total audience cap at 1,000 people
As you can see the initial rate is quite inexpensive for those just starting out. This has been shown to be lower than other webinar software and provides more attendees.
If you pay in full on any of these plans for the year you can also save between $10 and $50 a month depending on the plan you choose.
How Webinar Ninja Can Help You Grow As a Business
Webinar Ninja is software that grows as your business grows. Starting out with the basic membership you can then move to a higher plan as your audience grows and you need bigger capabilities.
This webinar software is a great entryway into the webinar space. If you are someone who is just starting out and has a smaller audience their starter audience offers a lot for a lower price point.
Webinar Ninja Has a Large Library of Resources
Webinar Ninja has a large library of resources that can help you become a webinar aficionado. They also periodically have live workshops and challenges to help you make the most of their experience on Webinar Ninja.
One resource is a nine-chapter article that takes you through everything you need to know on how to implement a webinar from start to finish.
Webinar Ninja Stands Out With Its Community Network
Webinar Ninja has a community where you can post your webinar to be seen on the platform’s own forum, the Webinar Finder. This is a search tool that anyone with a Webinar Ninja account can search for webinars they are interested in attending. It is a great way to broaden your network of potential customers.
There is also the ability to become a featured webinar. This feature will showcase your brand and encourage others to attend your presentations.
The Pros and Cons of Webinar Ninja
Like any product, there are good and bad to this software platform. Here are the pros and cons of WebinarNinja.
Pros of Webinar Ninja
I have had very few technical issues with this webinar software. For the most part, when I used it to create a webinar my video quality was good and I did not have any complaints from consumers. I also liked that there was an easy setup for creating the webinar.
It is really easy to use and share on various social platforms. There is also an ease of integrating landing pages into email software like Mailchimp. This way if someone signs up for your webinar they will automatically be added to your email list.
The Cons of Webinar Ninja
The cons are that I have no basis for comparison. While I love this webinar software I have little experience with other software out there and would like to get more experience with it. I do find that it is a good option for those starting and other reviews agree it is a better platform than others on the market.
Any platform will have flaws. Finding the right one can be done with a test run of the product.
Webinar Ninja Has Great Customer Service
Personally, I have not dealt with any problems when doing a webinar so I have not had to deal with customer service. They have been applauded for their customer service and many reviews speak highly of this.
What Do the Reviews Say?
The reviews on WebinarNinja are somewhat mixed.
A June 2019 review from ActiveGrowth had some issues with the platform. They felt the video quality was poor, the polling and Q&A features needed improvement, and the special offers are not customizable and eye-catching.
They also felt the run time of the webinars was too short and limited to only two hours. I checked the website and it seems that the webinar can surpass two hours but only the first two hours will be recorded.
Capterra, a software review website had 144 reviews with an overall score of 4.5 out of 5. It got a 4.4 out of 5 for ease of use and a 4.6 out of 5 for customer service.
The biggest complaints were video issues due to an upgrade that the company did not email about during COVID-19. The company thought the upgrade would be seamless and not take long. They were also understaffed at the time but have since increased their support staff.
WebinarNinja was featured as one of the top webinar platforms for small businesses by Podia and Adam Enfroy named it one of the 17 top webinar software of 2020.
Personally, I never had any of the issues mentioned above. The platform is continuously being upgraded and modified so it could have been a past issue. This past January when I ran a webinar I did not have any video issues.
Try Webinar Ninja FREE Before you Buy
Like most software platforms WebinarNinja offers a 14-day free trial so you can try it before you buy.
Why I Use Webinar Ninja
I had signed up for Webinar Ninja on a whim a few years ago. They had a special lifetime membership that offered the platform for around $49. I have been using them ever since and have been impressed with their growth.
All of the webinars I have hosted have been positive experiences. I have even had some followers sign up as a result of being within the Webinar Ninja community.
Below is a video with more information about the platform. Want to learn more? Sign up for a free trial on their official website.
More Resources for Your Nutrition Business
- Start a Subscription Box Service with Cratejoy
- Track Client’s Nutrition Intake with Cronometer
- Create Interactive Videos with Doodly
- Create Enticing Email Forms on any email mail service with HelloBar
- Make Recipes on Your Website with WPTasty
*These are my affiliate links, which means that I get a small commission when you sign up, at no extra cost to you.