How to master online events to grow your firm
Online events have been gaining importance in the world of business for a while and increasingly so as the world is in isolation. Now, during the global pandemic, professionals have begun to think even more about their usefulness for everyday contact, education and relationship building.
With that in mind, we wanted to talk more about online events and how your professional service firm can continue to use them to engage with clients and contacts, even when you’re not in the office.
How to master online events
There’s nothing worse than registering for an event and turning up to find that it is not what you expected. You’re disappointed, you’re wasting your time and you’re not thinking kindly about the person or firm that invited you. They are going to have to claw back somewhat to overcome your disappointment.
Pitching your online event to represent its purpose and value is equally as important as those that are in person. So, let’s take a look at each one that provides value to a professional service firm:
- Educational webinars
In the world of professional service firms, webinars are the most important online events one needs to master. They allow you to effectively share your expertise and insights, while at the same time offering the knowledge your clients are looking to obtain in an environment that delivers value.
In uncertain times, your clients will be looking for information and support that helps them to understand alternatives and equip themselves with the information that they need to make decisions. Now is the time to host them and share some insights into quick wins you have supported clients to achieve during the economic downturn.
Make sure to record your webinar, so that you are able to share it more broadly and introduce new clients to your topics, as they come to experience relevant situations. Webinars are also useful learning environments for staff training too.
- Presentations
Presentations are an excellent tool for focusing on specific niche topics that interest your clients. They are not an obligation, but a true value add, and an opportunity to explain a topic in detail and chat together about their interest and relationship that the topic has with their business or situation.
Offering personal presentations to high-value clients delivers a ‘white-glove’ level of service, providing special care and attention. It shows that you truly appreciate them and are prepared to invest your time in building a bespoke relationship.
Accompany the presentation with an information pack, containing tools or techniques or checklists to support implementing their learning or guide their future learnings on the topic.
- Podcasts
Podcasts are becoming even more popular as the days in self isolation continue.
To truly benefit from podcasts, connect them with your webinars and blogs, so you can both leverage content as well as tap in to different models of learning (as some people prefer to listen, or watch or read – or like to explore these different mediums to reinforce their learnings). Encourage your listeners to rate your podcast and share the content to help grow your following and spread your message.
Key takeaways
Across the many types of online events, leveraging content across platforms is key. Record the event, blog it, share it, socialise it, use it for training, and use it to introduce clients to new concepts and topics. In essence, online events are vastly beneficial for a professional service firm, especially in our current climate. Master it now.
If you want to learn more, feel free to contact us whenever you get the chance. We are here to help you be the thought leader you need to be.