Certification webinars are a powerful tool marketers can use to engage audiences, deliver value and drive business results. Done right, they not only meet professional development needs but also serve as a significant lead generation and branding mechanism.
To explore best practices, ON24 held a session titled The Marketers’ Guide to Successful Certification Webinars, which is now available to watch on-demand. This featured tips and expert insights from Tessa Barron, SVP Marketing at ON24; Nicole Thames, Webinar Program Lead at Protiviti; and Michelle Spadaro, Event and Technology Specialist from Shipman & Goodwin.
Here are a few highlights from the event.
Understand the certification requirements for your target audience
Before creating any certification webinar, you must understand your governing body’s requirements for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) or Continuing Legal Education (CLE). For accounting, this would include organizations such as the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).
“It’s not as simple as just deciding ‘hey, we’re going to run a webinar and issue credits’,” Barron emphasizes. Each governing body — like NASBA for accountants or individual state bars for lawyers — has its own set of standards your content must meet.
“It’s essential to have a good understanding of what the requirements are when you go and you look at what NASBA requires for us to even offer that continuing ed credit,” says Nicole Thames.
Additionally, Spadaro points out the importance of process. “When you have so many moving parts, it’s very easy and you’re able to quickly make a mistake. And that’s something that you really want to avoid, especially when it comes to CLE,” she said.
Build strategic partnerships
Whether you run the certification process end-to-end yourself or collaborate with a learning and development team, partnership is crucial for success. As Thames explains, “I have a very, very close partnership with our learning and development team, who are kind of the owners of the CPE application process.”
Use automation tools
The right tools can significantly boost efficiency and accuracy. The ON24 Intelligent Engagement Platform, for example, offers a robust certification tool that aids in the process of verifying requirements are met and issuing certifications.
“One of the cool things about the tool is that you can do a lot of customization. You can define the number of minutes an audience member needs to be on the webinar for, whether that’s polling, or other elements of engagement,” Thames said.
Spadaro also taps into the utility of automation: “The ability to customize every facet really and automate all the reporting behind the scenes has been very helpful. That has allowed me to create a reporting template … once the webinar has ended, I tie it up in a nice bow and I send it right off to our learning and development team.”
Document your processes
Having a documented process is indispensable. “Understanding and defining roles and responsibilities early on is really essential,” Thames said. Echoing this, Spadaro highlights the importance of having everything documented to the point where someone can easily take over in your absence. “I try to make them turnkey for someone else on the marketing team just to be able to pick up in my absence for whatever reason,” she said.
Plan to scale your certification programs
Both speakers emphasize the importance of scalability. From creating template-based events to having a step-by-step process, scalability ensures you can manage multiple events efficiently. “We are, we’ve actually just rolled out a new program. I want to tell you a little bit about it because it has been a game changer for us,” Spadaro shares about their success scaling their certification webinar efforts at Shipman & Goodwin.
On-demand content extends the value of your efforts beyond live events. “Capitalize on our on-demand content and build out our on-demand programming…so when they create content for you, you take it and run and try to give it as much longevity as you can,” Spadaro said.
Integrate your certification programs into your broader marketing strategy
Successful certification webinars should not operate in isolation; they should be an integrated part of your larger marketing strategy. “It’s integrated into the overall strategy,” Barron said. “It’s not just sitting out in its own totally separate program.”
Webinars can serve multiple functions — from lead generation to establishing thought leadership and brand trust. “It [has] significantly improved the process for our attendees, but it also has improved the experience for us on the back end,” Thames said, speaking on how the ON24 platform’s tools have streamlined work.
Embrace agile strategies to respond to change
When new regulations or industry shifts occur, an agile approach can be beneficial. “One of the things that happened for us at Protiviti earlier this year was the SEC actually issued a requirement on ESG…and we were able to turn around, stand up a webinar and offer that CPE credit for our audience within, I think, three business days,” Thames shares.
Final thoughts
Running a successful certification webinar involves understanding certification requirements, building strategic partnerships, using automation, documenting processes, scaling efforts, integrating with broader marketing strategies and embracing agility.
To get all the tips from the session, watch the full webinar on-demand — and if you’re ready to take the next step, explore how ON24 can help power your certification webinar strategy.