Level Up Your Virtual Events with Rebecca Silver

WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:07.839 Welcome in to be to be growth. I'm your host, Benjie Block. 2 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:12.919 Today we're joined by Rebecca silver. She's a senior vice president of marketing at 3 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:19.160 let's get checked, previously VP of brand marketing and founding member of kind body, 4 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:22.000 and we're excited to have you, Rebecca. Welcome to be to be 5 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:26.679 growth. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. So I know 6 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:30.199 I gave titles right. Just give me, like, fill in the gaps, 7 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:32.320 Rebecca. What else do we need to know about you? Tell us 8 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:35.320 a little bit more about about who you are in the position you're in. 9 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:41.679 Yeah, I started off in the traditional advertising space and agency world and then, 10 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:47.399 over ten years ago, joined healthcare start up and have been in healthcare 11 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:51.600 marketing ever since. So for over ten years now I've been leading marketing teams 12 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:57.280 that serve both DDCY and B tob audiences and really working to make healthcare more 13 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:03.600 accessible more consumer friendly for all. Nice. I love the DDCY and be 14 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:06.319 to be because obviously we're in the be tob space, but I think your 15 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:11.640 DDC really can inform us today and be an unique piece that you bring to 16 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.280 the table. We talked earlier and kind of got ready for this call, 17 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:19.920 in this conversation, and in that conversation I saw a lot of passion that 18 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:25.879 you have for virtual events and we started to agree, like virtual events kind 19 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:29.959 of could be red bull right for your sales team and your marketing team, 20 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:34.359 but then, like a poorly done virtual event could almost be like decalf coffee, 21 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:36.760 like you thought it was going to be something great out a bunch of 22 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:40.120 energy, and it does like the opposite, or it has no real effect. 23 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:44.519 So you're a huge believer in the effectiveness, in the outcomes that virtual 24 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:49.159 events can drive. Rebecca, what woke you up to that reality, the 25 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:53.879 power of virtual events in the first place? Virtual event specifically, definitely by 26 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:59.040 force because of the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, a kind body, 27 00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:02.560 we did find events to be a really effective way to build community, to 28 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:07.640 connect with our audience. It's an emotional offering, it's a fertility offering, 29 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:10.439 so it was a great way to just be real and show that we were 30 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:15.560 this like real emotional care provider. When the pandemic happened, we all of 31 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:19.520 a sudden had to be really creative and figure out how to have that same 32 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:22.840 effect, be able to build a community and connect with our audience in a 33 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:27.479 way that was virtual because we couldn't gather in person anymore. And really quickly 34 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:30.919 we actually we had an event scheduled that was in person and we had two 35 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:36.000 weeks to figure out how to make it a virtual event and quickly figured out 36 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:38.680 how to use zoom and upgrade to the number of users we needed and just 37 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:44.319 made it happen because we had to. And we were super happy with the 38 00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:47.599 results and found that virtual events can provide something that in person events camp, 39 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:53.120 which is being really interactive, so you're not just like presenting to an audience 40 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:58.319 that's there and listening. You can have the audience be part of the conversation 41 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:04.039 in a really real way. So whereas in an in person event you're talking 42 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:07.439 and then you have questions at the end, it's pretty formal and a virtual 43 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:12.960 event the chat itself can become a community and you can have prompts and people 44 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:15.719 just, you know, jump in and share stories and we find it was 45 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:21.240 just a really powerful way to get that engagement and much more scalable. So 46 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:24.000 if you're a company that has different locations, you know and you might have 47 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:27.919 had to do different events and different locations. With the virtual event and you 48 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:32.120 can obviously invite everyone from everywhere and just be much more scalable with the offering. 49 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:36.680 So when we're discussing virtual events, give me an idea of like what 50 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:39.960 all fits within that scope in your mind, like the variety that's that's available 51 00:03:40.039 --> 00:03:44.240 within what you would call a virtual event. It can be anything from a 52 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:47.199 zoom event where you have a set link and a set time, to an 53 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:53.319 IG live where you're streaming anything that's that's live, I would consider a virtual 54 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:57.639 event, no matter what platform you're using. And then the beauty of a 55 00:03:57.719 --> 00:04:00.439 virtual event is that you can then record it and then have it live after 56 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:03.080 the fact. So the event itself is live, but then it lives on 57 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.879 as an asset for all you know, for forever. Yeah, and we'll 58 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:11.960 dive into some of how it's evergreen. That I really find one of the 59 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:15.680 maybe hidden secrets that people don't think about when they're not running them consistently. 60 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:17.839 Let me take you back to something you said, because you said you had 61 00:04:17.879 --> 00:04:21.279 to pivot an event when covid kind of hit and so you were having to 62 00:04:21.319 --> 00:04:27.120 think through all of that. What was that event and what was the some 63 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:30.560 of the major shifts that you kind of went through transitioning it to be completely 64 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:35.040 virtual. Yeah, well, kind body. We would do these regular fertility 65 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:39.879 one on one events and we would have people come in person and the offering 66 00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:43.600 was fertility services. So that was how we were educating and bringing people along 67 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:47.000 throughout the funnel. So we turned our traditional fertility on one event, which 68 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:53.759 was a doctor speaking to potential clients, into a virtual that. So we 69 00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:58.600 had to work closely with that speaker to put what they would normally say into 70 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:01.879 a Dack, and I do th think it's important to have a visual aid 71 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:06.240 when you're doing virtual events through a platform like zoom. It's too much, 72 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:11.040 I think, just to have, you know, somebody speaking at a virtual 73 00:05:11.079 --> 00:05:15.040 audience for an hour without a visual aid. So I personally find having that 74 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:21.160 visual aid very helpful. So we work to turn that talk into a dack 75 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:26.000 that was really visual so that we could bring people along, and then we 76 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:30.279 set up a zoom and invited people to our SVP and then share the link 77 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:34.120 for those zoom event with those who ur SPPD. Nice. It's actually it 78 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:39.680 was pretty simple. Yeah, there's a simple way. Like I don't feel 79 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:43.360 like a bar has to be crazy high to jump into this as a potential 80 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:47.279 seeing for companies to do, and we can get into some of because the 81 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:50.920 bar is sort of low, there's also ways to really raise the bar to 82 00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:54.879 make sure that you are being more effective and not just doing the minimum, 83 00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:59.639 which I know you're exactly about. So there's a lot of variety in the 84 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:02.600 type of virtual events we could throw. I want to talk about something you 85 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:10.040 mentioned, which was the funnel, right and how you would say strategy, 86 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:14.279 like effective strategy for thinking through what part of the funnel am I hitting with 87 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:17.720 this event? Like, when you think about it, how have you kind 88 00:06:17.720 --> 00:06:21.319 of geared events? Maybe two different parts of the funnel, or is it 89 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:25.959 kind of broad to everybody and there's a little breakouts? Yeah, talk to 90 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:30.120 me about about how it fits the funnel. I think events are the number 91 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:33.399 one thing and marketing that spans the whole funnel truly from start to finish, 92 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:36.120 and that's the best way to think about them. So at the top of 93 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:43.360 funnel you can use events as a really effectively Gentol, so you're not just 94 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:47.079 saying purchase my product, you're saying RSP for this event which is really valuable 95 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:51.000 for you and has really interesting and engaging content. So at the top of 96 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:58.720 funnel you are driving people through paid social media to Ur SVP. You then 97 00:06:58.839 --> 00:07:01.839 have a really engage subset of people that you know are interested. In addition 98 00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:05.199 to that, you can engage with your current audience, your email list, 99 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:10.439 serve and get them to our SVP and and share this valuable content with them. 100 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:14.839 So that's really activating top of funnel as well as mid funnel. And 101 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:17.800 then, once you know people attend the event, you know that as a 102 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:24.800 really engaged set of individuals, you can continue to speak to and you can 103 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:29.480 continue to share content that's relevant for them. Hm. So let's get racked. 104 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.319 Has A as a much broader audience than kind body. We have health 105 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:38.759 tests for a really wide audience range. So what we've done here is offer 106 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:45.399 events for different audiences that we serve. So we have recently launched a female 107 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:50.279 health test for pcos. So we had a virtual event specifically about pcos and 108 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:56.519 female hormones. So we were able to advertise for that event specifically how people 109 00:07:56.519 --> 00:08:00.079 are SCP for that event and we now know this is a really engaged audience 110 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:03.839 about that specific topic. So we can continue to serve them with emails and 111 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:09.879 communications and content that is, you know, specifically relevant to their interest. 112 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:15.279 So in that specific instance it's topic related that you're drawing an audience where they 113 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:18.480 might be in all different parts of the funnel, but they're gathered around a 114 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:22.120 topic. Have you ever done an event where you're thinking strategically about a specific 115 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:26.480 part of the funnel, or is that something that maybe would be not worth 116 00:08:26.519 --> 00:08:30.759 it because you just think you can hit the whole funnel anyway? Well, 117 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:35.960 I've definitely I've done that as well. I love to have as broad an 118 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:39.720 effect for these events as possible, so my preference is to leverage events across 119 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:45.120 the whole funnel. But there's definitely examples where I've done more. Mid bottom 120 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:48.960 funnel a get kind body. It's a fertility service, or top of funnel 121 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:50.960 would be just learn about your fertility, coming for an assessment, and then 122 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:56.480 lower funnel is let's learn more about fertility cycles and what's entail. You know 123 00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:01.440 what that, like service itself entails. So there's definitely ways you can segment 124 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:07.440 it two different parts of the funnel. But I'm all about scalability and yeah, 125 00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:09.240 the more, the more people you can reach, like the the broader 126 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:13.960 you can make a topic to engage with lots of people but also still be 127 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:18.120 catered to what people want. That's kind of that's the sweet spot, since 128 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:22.639 we don't have unlimited time as marketers. Right when you do have those big 129 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:26.200 events, do you utilize breakouts in any specific way or is it all just 130 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:31.919 sort of one big thing? I've done breakouts before. Yeah, it depends. 131 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:37.080 I think mostly one big thing, but using prompts to engage, so 132 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:41.720 you can do things like surveys throughout, you can do audience polls. So 133 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:46.519 I really like having it be one big thing because I love the community like 134 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:50.080 engagement part where you're just having people type in the chat, and the more 135 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:54.759 you have people type in the chat, the more you know, it feels 136 00:09:54.759 --> 00:10:00.399 really momentum there. There's momentum exactly. So in addition to, you know, 137 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:03.960 the speaking and the presenting, will have people that are in the chat 138 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:07.720 and their role in the event is to get engagement in the chat. So 139 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:11.639 they'll ask prompts, answer questions. So when you're doing healthcare events, you 140 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:16.480 tend to have a lot of like specific healthcare related questions and clinical questions. 141 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:22.559 So we'll actually have clinicians and experts in the chat itself. Answering questions and 142 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:26.279 we always say like don't be embarrassed, don't be don't be afraid to ask 143 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:28.960 a question, because it's probably something that so many other people also have an 144 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:33.720 are experiencing as well. So for the sake of momentum, it's nice to 145 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:37.279 have a be as big and happening as possible. On that shot, I 146 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:41.720 love the idea of having the professional in there, which is something obviously you 147 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:46.519 in a healthcare setting that's probably more thought through than even other parts of our 148 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:50.639 be to be audience where that's an easy value add to just have a professional 149 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:54.080 on standby to where when you do prompt questions, it's not just like a 150 00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:58.320 hey, we'll get back to you on that. You know there's actual engagement. 151 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:01.120 Can Happen there where there's a legitimate back and forth. So I like 152 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:05.000 that. Okay, thank me. On the evolution, Rebecca, like some 153 00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:09.039 lessons that you've learned from maybe the first couple virtual events you've done till now? 154 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:13.639 What are some examples, some things that you've really thought through as you've 155 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:16.600 done this multiple times? I mean, just like with anything and marketing, 156 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:20.320 the more you do it, the more you understand what the exact right cadences. 157 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:24.919 So you know when the right time is to start advertising. You know, 158 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:28.600 okay, if we get this many RSPPS, we can expect this percent 159 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:31.000 of people to show up. Like, the more you do anything, you 160 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:35.279 just start to see these patterns. So from the first event till now, 161 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:37.200 I've gone a much better sense of when you should start running ads. Like 162 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:41.960 how many weeks before? If it's too long before, people are a sep 163 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:43.879 and then just not calm and they'll forget about it. So there's kind of 164 00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:48.720 a sweet spot of a few weeks. There's a sweet spot of the the 165 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:52.039 number of emails you send to get someone to come. You know, about 166 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:54.679 three emails to tell them, to them, remind them, and then one 167 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:58.480 right before to say hey, just reminder, it's happening today. When's the 168 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:03.320 like first email kind of hitting? Are you saying that that first emails in 169 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:05.039 those first couple, like two weeks out? Three weeks out, you're saying 170 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:09.080 out exactly? Yeah, okay, three weeks out yet and then another reminder 171 00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:16.159 email and then one right before. I like to not share the specific event 172 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:20.279 link until right before so that you have a reason to our SCP, and 173 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:24.480 those r svps are the most important thing because that's the lead. So if 174 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:28.039 you just can you know, access the zoom link, like if you just 175 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:31.000 see it in the event right, then you might not our ACP and we 176 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.879 want that our SCP. What kind of gap are we talking between people that 177 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:37.600 if when it's not two to three weeks before and you were trying it further 178 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:41.240 out, like you see a bunch of people rsvp and then they don't show 179 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:45.840 up. Like talk a little bit more about the gap there. Anything more 180 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:48.120 than a month, anything more than three weeks, you're going to have a 181 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:50.679 much lower show rate. I'm a little torn on that because on the one 182 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.480 hand it is great to have, like more rcps, the better, because 183 00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:56.720 you still have those people that you know we're interested in that topic. So 184 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:01.639 that's good, but then you also want people to attend the event, because 185 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:05.399 it's not just a marketing tool at actually as a service you're providing and you 186 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:07.360 wanted to take its service and you want people who are interested to actually remember 187 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:11.759 that's happening and come. So on the one hand, on like more Ur 188 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:13.919 sps the better, on the other hand I'm like you want people to remember 189 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:18.360 and come. So you know, three weeks, I think is the right 190 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:22.600 is the right sweet spot there? Okay, so if we have our base 191 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:26.639 event, we have the zoom call, we have a slide deck. Let's 192 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:30.399 say that's the baseline. What are some other things we can do to sort 193 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:33.200 of elevate the event to the next level? Things we can think through. 194 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:35.480 I like the professional in the chat. Anything else you would include there that 195 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:39.679 maybe a first time person wouldn't be thinking about? That have really elevated your 196 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:43.879 events over time. Yeah, well, the first one I ever did was 197 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:46.960 just one person speaking and then as I started to do more of them, 198 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:52.440 I would work in additional speakers and elements. So when you can start to 199 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:56.639 really have a panel of experts come together and speak, it provides another level 200 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:01.840 of engagement and it's not just one person talking an audience. It's a diverse, 201 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:05.080 you know, group of people with different expertise areas. So in the 202 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:09.480 in the hormone event we just did at let's get checked, we had a 203 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:13.360 nurse. We actually had people not just from let's get checked as well. 204 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:16.320 So we had somebody from like a sister company, natural cycles, who was 205 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:22.600 talking about things from their perspective. We had a nutrition expert. So I 206 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:26.519 think it's great to have a diverse group of speakers and not just limited to 207 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:30.440 people from your company. Another really great element as you can have people from 208 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:33.080 other companies that are, you know, related to what you're doing. And 209 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:37.639 then what's also great as they can share it with their audience and, you 210 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:41.120 know, with their users and members. Do you have a host for these 211 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:46.159 events that's kind of talking in between before sort of engaging people in the chat, 212 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.679 or how do you set that up? Yes, having one host is 213 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:54.559 very important. I've played that role a lot. It's just anybody who's comfortable 214 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:58.559 with what the run of show is who the speakers are. So the role 215 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:01.639 of that host is to kind a welcome everyone when they first come in, 216 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:05.480 introduce the speakers and then, you know, kind of be the time manager 217 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:07.639 and make sure that you're moving from topic to topic in a timely fashion and 218 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:13.879 then being the person to bring forth q and a's throughout the event or at 219 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:18.279 the end. So it's always good to encourage people to ask questions in the 220 00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:22.639 chat and then you can choose to either ask those questions throughout the speakers or 221 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:24.320 do a QNA at the end. But the role of the host is to 222 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:28.399 monitor, like what what are these people interested in and then bring forth the 223 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:33.720 questions that are relevant for the speaker's to answer for everybody. This may be 224 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:39.279 a dumb question, but when you think of a virtual event versus like a, 225 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:43.159 I don't know, a Webinar, what like, the way that they're 226 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:46.080 marketed or thought of, do you see like distinct differences, or are we 227 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:50.519 sort of hitting a similar vein with each you know, what I'm saying is 228 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:54.279 like event makes me more excited, but I also see some potential overlap and 229 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:58.799 what's happening? Hmm, I think it's really similar. Just event is a 230 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:04.159 much more engaging way of describing it. One difference could be that a Webinar 231 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:08.759 is you don't have you don't see the audience that's there. It's just the 232 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:12.320 panels. So Virtual Webin are you just have the panels and everybody else is 233 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:17.279 hidden. Yeah, but I do think it's all it's all the same. 234 00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:21.440 It's just how you're describing it and Webin are just sounds so like cut and 235 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:26.240 dry. I feel like Webinar is such a bee to be phrase, and 236 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:30.639 so everyone listening to this just cut out the word let in our and let's 237 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:33.600 just make it virtual events. At this point, especially like Rebecca, what 238 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:37.639 you're saying, in this post covid space that we're in now, people are 239 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:42.120 so used to attending virtual events anyway, and I feel like, just going 240 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:47.159 to that phrasing, it's just a lot more exciting and there's a lot more 241 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:48.960 even leeway, because when I think of a Webinar, I think I almost 242 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:52.919 feel like I know exactly what I'm going to go to, like the exact 243 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:56.159 model that they're shooting forward. Versus an event, it almost feels like every 244 00:16:56.159 --> 00:17:00.679 time we do when it might be slightly different, there's more energy in it 245 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:03.640 and just a different excitement. I don't know if that haps that makes sense 246 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:07.960 or resonates with you. Definitely, an event is more about you as the 247 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:11.440 attendee, right, not just the people that are speaking, so it's much 248 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:18.440 more inclusive and encouraging of your participation as well as the speakers. Yeah, 249 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:21.680 okay, so one of the things we really nerded out about in our first 250 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:27.440 conversation with specifically around all the potential in the follow up process, because once 251 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.079 people attend an event, and this is where I think a lot of people 252 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:34.440 get it wrong, awesome, you got them to show up, but really 253 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:38.880 that's like the starting line right. So talk me through some of what you've 254 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:42.920 learned in the follow up process that you find to be super valuable. Yes, 255 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:47.359 the follow up is the most important part. Well, to begin with, 256 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:49.519 it's great to have a special offer for everybody about attended the event. 257 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:55.200 So some sort of discount or special offer for event attendees only. You offer 258 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:57.680 it to them at the end as a thank you for attending. It's crucial 259 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:02.039 to always send a follow up em well afterwards. You can share that special 260 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:06.200 offer again. You can share recording of the event that they can share it 261 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:08.319 with their friends who might be interested in it or if they didn't get a 262 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:11.759 chance to attend, anyone who are a SCP does get the follow up email, 263 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:15.599 so then they'll still get access to that discount and they can see the 264 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.759 event on Youtube or rubber. You've shared it. So that follow up is 265 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:22.480 really important. And then from there you can put them into a life cycle 266 00:18:22.519 --> 00:18:27.759 campaign. You can continue to send emails on that topic specifically. So let's 267 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:32.680 get shack. We now know that this audience is interested in our female health 268 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:36.599 products, so we continue to share information with them about our female health product 269 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:38.960 specifically, and then for future events. Our next one is going to be 270 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:41.960 a thyrooid event and then a cluster event. We know that the people that 271 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:47.079 attended our sp are interested in those specific products. Are Our product lines? 272 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:51.759 Yeah, and you're building out strategic sort of content for like those that you 273 00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:56.200 know are interested in those specific things. Exactly. Okay, so tell me 274 00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:00.640 what it looks like as far as what you're hitting with them? Hitting them 275 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:04.279 with content, wise, after the event, once they've, let's say enrolled 276 00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:07.680 and you have their email or something. HMM, two emails at least. 277 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:11.559 So one immediately following the event, ideally that day or the next day, 278 00:19:11.559 --> 00:19:17.039 sharing the length, sharing the special offer. Another email, let's say a 279 00:19:17.079 --> 00:19:19.839 week later, depending on how long you give for the special offer, for 280 00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:22.680 them to use it, reminding them of the special offer. And here you 281 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:26.799 can see the event, if you miss it, on Youtube. So one 282 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:30.000 to two follow ups for sure. And then, depending on how robust your 283 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:37.200 life cycle marketing is, from there you can enroll them in life cycle marketing 284 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:41.839 campaigns where they continue to be served emails at a regular basis. What kind 285 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:48.519 of engagement have you seen happen after a virtual event that gets you so excited 286 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:52.519 about this model and the follow up process working effectively. You have like some 287 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:56.960 results you could share there? Yeah, well, to start with, like 288 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.839 looking at it from the top, it's a much more cost effective way to 289 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:03.759 get people in and through the funnel. So if you're spending a couple hundred 290 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:07.480 dollars to get someone to purchase, you're spending, you know, in the 291 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:11.440 tens to get someone to our Sep. But then you're able to convert them 292 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:18.400 to purchase with those emails and those targeted com so you're acquiring new purchasers at 293 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:23.319 a much more cost effective rate. So that's been really, really important and 294 00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:27.759 successful, and you can then use events to bring down your overall cost of 295 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:33.640 acquiring new customers. Nice who like that. You mentioned off the top the 296 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:40.039 evergreen nature of these events, and let's go there real quick. How you 297 00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:47.640 see what's happening in the the event then becoming this this evergreen content you have. 298 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:52.319 Yeah, so you put it on Youtube, put it on your social 299 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:56.039 channels, put on your website, put it in your email. So you 300 00:20:56.119 --> 00:21:00.200 now have a video asset that you just have you now because you recorded the 301 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:04.799 event. So you've, you know, instantly created something that you can put 302 00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:10.680 on your channels and use to educate and inform your audience about that topic. 303 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:15.920 So it's a great way just to build out your content library. It's a 304 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:19.119 great asset that you can use across all of your channels and it's a great 305 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:23.400 way to humanize who you are as a company. So you're you know, 306 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:30.039 you have information on your website, you have content everywhere, but having real 307 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:34.000 representatives from your company speak about these topics and provide education and that leadership is 308 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:38.039 such a good way to, you know, create a real emotional connection with 309 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:41.240 your customers. Right now, with what you guys do, Rebecca, do 310 00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:45.759 you cut it into microclips at all, or is it primarily sharing the full 311 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:49.599 event? What is what? Have you tried different things there? Yeah, 312 00:21:49.640 --> 00:21:52.920 we've tried different things. Sharing the full event is obviously the easy ass. 313 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:56.759 You just, you know, record it and then you upload it. We've 314 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:00.559 done clips on social media and then, you know, skies the limit and 315 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:04.880 bandwidth is the limit with what you give from there. Yeah, it's funny 316 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:10.480 because our conversation today, this was not timed, but so I work for 317 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:15.680 a company called sweet fish and we did a like essentially a live virtual events 318 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:21.359 today over lunch hour and we're taking that and repurposing it on the PODCAST, 319 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:25.519 right. So that's one of the ways that we're thinking through. You have 320 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:29.000 an event where people can interact in a much different way than a podcast. 321 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:30.920 Obviously, actually attending the event is going to give you a lot of what 322 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:34.440 you've talked about, the back and forth, the engagement, which is awesome 323 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:38.400 for community building, and then the podcast comes on the back end, right, 324 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:42.440 and we're there to share it again with the broader audience, which I 325 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:47.519 love that touch point. And then also you have all these assets and resources 326 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:52.039 that you built out for the live event that you can then share those graphics 327 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:56.640 separately. You have all these talking points that the speaker had to think through 328 00:22:56.680 --> 00:23:00.079 that then become content for you to post. So when I think about your 329 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:04.359 strategy after an event, I mean you just created a gold mine of information, 330 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:07.680 right, that now you can share snippets of for a long time to 331 00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:11.279 come. and I wonder, and this is where we'll go next, is 332 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:15.519 the cadence of how often you do these events, because if you have events 333 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:19.839 scheduled out throughout the year, you have content strategy in chunks, right, 334 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:25.400 because you have these events and then what follows is is taking that content and 335 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:29.240 repurposing it so what's the cadence been like for you? What do you think 336 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:33.640 is maybe been a good cadence? Obviously it's going to be different situationally, 337 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:37.039 but what are your thoughts? Yeah, I think once a month for each 338 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:41.039 audience segment is ideal. Nice, and then that gives you we talked about 339 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:44.079 promoting it three months to, you know, three weeks to a month out. 340 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:45.920 That lets you have one of that and then really quickly have the next 341 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:51.920 one up and ideally your you know, alternating content so that people that attended 342 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:55.519 one might want to come to the next one as well, and you can, 343 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:59.119 like we recycle content. But I like to, you know, have 344 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:02.839 have differences in the event so that it's not just getting new people in the 345 00:24:02.839 --> 00:24:06.960 door, it's also taking their current customers engaged. And when you have a 346 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:10.160 wide range of products, you might have customers that are interested in more than 347 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:12.839 one product. So it's great to have something always up that they can ourcp 348 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:18.799 to and engage with. Yeah, okay, so common issues that you might 349 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:22.480 see or people wouldn't really expect or anticipate when running an event like this. 350 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:27.680 What comes to mind is things we need to be aware of. HMM, 351 00:24:27.880 --> 00:24:34.839 virtual events are surprisingly stressful technical difficulties happen, people are I'm you did when 352 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:40.960 they should be. Side would say having like one person responsible for each thing. 353 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:44.400 So one person is doing the slides, one person is the host, 354 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:48.359 one person is the chat master, one person is the tech, you know, 355 00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:52.240 person who's letting people into the event, especially at first breaking out responsibilities, 356 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:56.839 because it is easy to get overwhelm with all the things that are happening. 357 00:24:56.119 --> 00:25:00.759 Yeah, one person over everything, like each thing is definitely helpful. 358 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:03.599 You don't know one person person, yeah, and exactly, and it doesn't 359 00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:07.599 have to be everyone from the marketing team either. So I worked really closely 360 00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:11.759 with the customer service team on these events, with the clinical team. So 361 00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:15.200 you know, it's serving the whole company. So you can, you know, 362 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:18.920 pull people and to support across across different aspects when you do events like 363 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:22.920 this. To I find in an organization of any sort of size, you 364 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:27.480 start to tap into people's talent that you maybe didn't know because they were in 365 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:32.359 a specific role and they have like broader perspective or they do things outside of 366 00:25:32.359 --> 00:25:34.599 just their nine hundred twenty five. So there's a lot that you can grow 367 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:38.640 in your team. Even momentum internally. That, I think is a huge 368 00:25:38.759 --> 00:25:42.119 value add that people don't understand. With virtual events, the more people you 369 00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:47.200 involved and get sold on it, I mean all sorts of creativity comes out 370 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:52.039 of it and who knows where it leads your team. So really affect very 371 00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:55.640 true, very true. Well, Rebecca, this has been a really good 372 00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:59.640 conversation. We're starting to wrap up here. Anything you want to add before 373 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:06.079 we kind of conclude? I would just added hardy endorsement for events. It's 374 00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:10.880 a great way to build connection, to build your brand, to bring people 375 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:12.799 through the funnel. We talked a lot about. You know. We talked 376 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:17.279 about DC events and the B Tob side. You can make them, as 377 00:26:17.319 --> 00:26:22.440 you know, intimate as specific for your different audience segments as you want. 378 00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:26.920 I think it's just a great tool to use across all audiences and channels. 379 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:32.440 Absolutely yeah, learning a lot in this in this conversation. I think really 380 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:37.279 thinking through what you're going to do in the follow up process is like an 381 00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:41.720 absolute must and that's one of the things I walk away with, several things 382 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:44.759 from our conversation, but that is one that we have to be thinking about. 383 00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:47.200 And then the advertising timeline. Obviously, on the front end, if 384 00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:49.839 you're this is the first time you're trying it. Get that cadence down and 385 00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:53.920 but yeah, really be thinking through the value that you're adding after an event. 386 00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:57.920 How this content is evergreen content. Don't just you know, you host 387 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:00.880 this event and move on to the next one. There's a lot to take 388 00:27:00.920 --> 00:27:06.319 away from this and hopefully be really helpful for our audience as they host events, 389 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:10.079 not webinars, we host events. So, Rebecca, for those that 390 00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:11.559 want to stick connected to you and what you guys are doing it, let's 391 00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:15.599 get checked. Give us sort of where people should should follow you specifically, 392 00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:18.680 and then what you guys are all doing it with. Let's get checked. 393 00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:22.599 Yeah, I'm Rebecca Silver on Linkedin, so give me an ad there and 394 00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:27.640 let's get checked. Is a healthcare solutions company with the mission to increase access 395 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:33.039 to health information and care from home. So we offer a wide range of 396 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:38.039 health tasks, everything from covid nineteen to cholesterol fireroid hormone testing, to at 397 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:45.359 home pharmacy solutions to virtual care and support. So making healthcare totally accessible from 398 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:49.039 home wonderful. Thanks so much for being on B tob growth today. Thank 399 00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:52.359 you so much. It was great to be here, but we're always having 400 00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:56.799 insightful conversations like this on b Tob Growth. Find this super helpful. If 401 00:27:56.839 --> 00:28:00.240 you did too, you can rate and review the podcast and also make sure 402 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:03.920 you're subscribed if you haven't already. On whatever platform you're listening to this on, 403 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:07.200 you can connect with me on Linkedin as well. Just Search Benjie flock 404 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:10.759 and keep doing work that matters. Will be back with another episode grill soon. 405 00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:17.359 One of the things we've learned about podcast audience growth is that word of 406 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:21.640 mouth works. It works really, really well actually. So if you love 407 00:28:21.720 --> 00:28:23.680 this show, it would be awesome if you text it a friend to tell 408 00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:27.079 them about it, and if you send me a text with a screenshot of 409 00:28:27.079 --> 00:28:30.640 the text you sent to your friend that I know, I'll send you a 410 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:34.720 copy of my book content based networking, how to instantly connect with anyone you 411 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:38.160 want to know my cell phone numbers. Four hundred and seven, four nine 412 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:41.960 hundred and three, three, two eight. Happy texting.