Have you experienced “webinar fatigue”? That’s the term for “the apathy and lethargy that many people are experiencing due to the sheer number of webinar invitations they are receiving.” With more and more webinars being offered each month, the competition for attention is fiercer than ever.
Even marketers find themselves inundated with webinar invites. Studies show that 53 percent of marketers say there are too many webinars, while only 13 percent claim to want more.
Almost overnight, the global pandemic expanded the use of virtual meetings and conferences in place of in-person events. Now, people are growing weary of existing ways of engaging with colleagues, prospects, and customers on screen.
According to the Harvard Business Review, “the move to Zoom has forced us to scramble and come up with new solutions to keep things interesting.”
ViB is here to help you on your quest to find new and effective methods for boosting virtual engagement. Learn how to leverage innovative virtual strategies in this short, 30-minute recorded webinar. This episode is part of the ongoing Success Series of webinars brought to you by the marketing experts at Virtual Intelligence Briefing.
GET KEYS TO SUCCESS
ViB Labs is a process we utilize with our customers to validate and develop exciting new solutions. One solution to recently emerge from ViB Labs is the ViB Virtual Networking Forum. This solution came about as an alternative to webinars.
While webinars remain an important part of the marketing mix, they no longer play the part of a competitive differentiator. That’s because there are simply too many webinars being offered, and not enough time to watch them. Audiences have reached the point of webinar fatigue.
However, marketers still need to find ways to engage audiences virtually as physical events may not return anytime soon.
Tom explains that the ViB Virtual Networking Forum is “an exciting new solution we developed in conjunction with a leading customer.” From our customer’s point of view, this “is the most significant advance in virtual engagement since the webinar.”
FIND OUT WHAT MAKES VIRTUAL NETWORK FORUMS EFFECTIVE
The Virtual Networking Forum is “a one-hour virtual networking session on a ViB-hosted platform,” says Tom. “We bring together your target personas to discuss topics that are seeded by you and are interesting to them as well.”
As the participants actively engage with each other, the enjoyable and informative experience creates a bond with the customer’s brand. According to Tom, that bond “makes attendees more likely to take a sales call or another follow-on activity.”
This solution is groundbreaking for marketing organizations that are looking for a way to gain a competitive virtual event advantage. And it’s more than just a way to increase prospect engagement.
Tom explains that customers “want knowledge sharing bi-directionally, not just knowledge that they’re imparting to the attendees.” Companies are seeking traditional feedback along with live, interactive feedback from prospects and existing customers. Virtual Network Forums offer both and “create true brand bonding — that affinity with your brand that motivates productive next steps.”
These events also help enable a customer-centric organization. With much of the discovery work done, companies can move right into understanding use cases in more detail.
DISCOVER THE VIRTUAL NETWORK FORUM PROCESS
The first step is to decide on a topic for the forum. Once that’s in place, ViB creates a landing page and registration page for the event. Based on the targeting criteria, ViB delivers 15-20 participants to the meeting.
The event is hosted on the ViB platform and moderated by the customer. “We provide very quick and effective platform and moderation training,” says Tom.
After the session, you can download the transcript at the click of a button. You also get the recording, participant contact information, action items, and other learnings generated during the event. From beginning to end, ViB “can spin this up with about four weeks’ notice.”
LEARN ABOUT VIB VIRTUAL FOCUS GROUPS
Another new solution from ViB Labs is the ViB Virtual Focus Group. Focus groups are commonly used by marketers, product management, customer experience professional strategists, and other business professionals. “But there are problems with the traditional approach to focus groups,” Tom explains.
Many times, focus group panelists are not properly qualified. “They’re not engaged at the right level to be motivated to provide you with very high-quality feedback.” The value of any focus group depends heavily on the panelist’s quality.
“Because of the capabilities, breadth, and depth of engagement of the VIB community, and our ability to focus them on topics, panelist quality is an area that we excel in,” says Tom.
Another issue is the difficulty assembling a focus group at the optimal time for a company’s needs. “When you have a pressing question that needs to be answered, you don’t want to wait a month, two months, or three months down the road.”
Companies seek answers that are time-sensitive and business critical. Frequently they use focus groups to gather input about whether to launch a product, which messaging resonates with a target audience, and whether their strategic positioning is effective. “Getting an answer to those questions helps you get to the next step.”
Additionally, traditional focus groups are very costly, presenting barriers to entry for companies without the budget for such initiatives. ViB Virtual Focus Groups are affordable for most organizations.
FIND OUT WHAT MAKES VIRTUAL FOCUS GROUPS VALUABLE
Focus groups “help you understand the needs, the perceptions, preferences, attitudes and beliefs of your prospects and end-users,” says Tom. ViB Virtual Focus Groups provide the opportunity for an intimate, bi-directional conversation with qualified panelists to meaningfully discuss your brand, your solutions, and your services.
Take, for instance, feedback on a website. Customers use Virtual Focus Groups to ask if people like the flow of their site and to find out if it’s providing the information needed.
Other people may utilize Virtual Focus Groups for concept testing and validation. Customers can discover if they’re offering the right solution, with the right features.
Coming in at the right cost and with the right participants, ViB Virtual Focus Groups are valuable for a whole host of companies and use cases.
PUT WINNING STRATEGIES TO WORK FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Overcome webinar fatigue and reach new audiences with innovative virtual engagement formats. Find out more by watching the entire episode, “The Art and Science of Virtual Engagement.” Put the latest advancements in virtual engagement techniques to work for your company. Get the answers you need, now.
If you are interested in learning about ViB and our effective marketing programs, contact us.
