Five Minutes With… Jon Fisher, CMO at Enzen Group

Were you doing webinars pre-covid?

As a marketing director, how did you respond to the pandemic?

From day one we needed to understand what the challenges of people working remotely would be and to let everyone know that we were still open for business. We created a campaign called ‘Making it work from home’ which saw our global workforce record videos talking about the projects they were still working on from wherever they were. We then edited it together and sent it round to our customers. It really resonated and brought everyone together.

How did that then evolve as a strategy?

Video was the last remaining channel for our customers to still reach their audiences so we turned to webinars as a key platform for creating customer events, company meetings and communicating with staff. We put some governance in place, we did some training on how to manage webinars and it made us more aware of how important video is to the marketing toolkit.

How has video evolved to help communication strategies?

It has been a perfect storm of video’s evolution and audience behaviors adapting to embrace video as a preferred means of sharing and consuming content. The mobility of video has really helped with elements such as social stories and video calling on-the-go. While the quality, increased bandwidth and simplicity of use has also helped

To watch Glisser’s full conversation with Jon Fisher from Enzen, access the on-demand webinar here.

How do you elevate video conferencing beyond the simplicity of everyday Zoom and Teams calls?

Firstly, it’s about understanding your audience and what content will delight and inform, based on their needs. Engagement is still the biggest challenge so you need to deliver authentic content that your audience is truly interested in. Build relationships beyond the online event as well, by continuing to serve content that deepens their understanding and allows you to push customers along the marketing funnel.

How do you ensure authenticity in video content delivery?

Ensure you have speakers who are not only specialists in their particular subject areas but who are also confident and effective communicators when presenting to camera. Invest in training subject specialists to talk on camera if required because video is the long-term future of marketing and being able to engage an audience by presenting in front of a camera will continue to be a valuable skill-set to have. Moving audiences away from slide-based presentations is another way to improve authenticity. The format of the event can help with this so introduce more Q&A-based sessions or round-table discussions. Data visualization is fine but we actively discourage our presenters from showing any slide that won’t move the needle on viewer engagement.

How do you guarantee technically proficient webinars?

Have the right equipment - a good microphone, a clear backdrop, a wired connection and a decent webcam. These are the basics of presenting online. Ensure you’re well lit from the front, and educate yourself on lighting set-ups and technical know-how.

What about data integration?

To make effective use of the available data from webinar strategies, they have to be integrated into the company tech-stack. We do it by integrating into our CRM and website so that we can see who is engaging with us and what they’re interested in. Data integration also allows us to segment our audiences so that we can continuously refine our content and keep audiences engaged.

What other pieces of advice can you offer for delivering webinars that delight attendees?

Make sure your content features real-world examples and case studies and that it’s available on-demand after the event. If slides benefit your content then also make them available after the event. Have a plan for a narrative that runs throughout the webinar. Make it clear, concise and engaging to follow. The ultimate aim of your webinar should be to deliver on its promise or title.

To watch the full and unedited webinar of the conversation between Mike and Jon, register for the on-demand version of Move The Needle: Delivering webinars and online event experiences that delight both you and your audience.