Virtual Roundtable Tips To Increase Leads And Conversions

Use These Ideas To Ensure Your Online Roundtable Discussion Generates Leads That Result In Conversions 

No matter the industry, senior decision-makers want to discuss business challenges with people on their level and within their market. 

Hosting a virtual roundtable is a great way to connect mid-level and senior executives looking to hold discussions that will inform their next business decision. With all the virtual event tools available, you could probably arrange one within the next 24 hours. 

But the challenge is hosting an effective virtual roundtable. You need to convince senior decision-makers to attend and facilitate a successful discussion. 

Let’s look at the ins and outs of virtual roundtable discussions and how you can leverage them to increase leads and drive home conversions. 

What Is A Virtual Roundtable Discussion? 

A virtual roundtable is an organized discussion with a single moderator, hand-picked speakers have chosen to offer different perspectives on the topic and an audience. Sometimes the audience members just observe, while other roundtable models use a Q&A session to interact more. 

Some virtual events use roundtables in breakout sessions so that small groups can participate and interact with experts during a conference or training module. 

Event planners often record the virtual roundtable discussion and post it in their content catalogs or media libraries for future professional development or OnDemand viewing.

6 Tips For A Successful Virtual Roundtable Discussion

To learn how to run a virtual roundtable discussion, you’ll need to understand how these conversations can do for your brand, as well as what you need to do to host a successful event.

Let’s take a look at six tips you can use today to organize a successful roundtable discussion for your company. 

1. Outline Your Event Objectives For Your Company And Audience Members 

Event planners need to make sure that audience members will instantly see the value your virtual event provides. 

Your roundtable discussion needs to have a goal of being valuable to your target audience.

You also need to define your pre-planning stages. 

As you outline your virtual event objectives, ask yourself these questions.

• How Will I Create An Engaging Customer Experience? 

• How Many Registrations Will Help Us Meet Our Target Attendance? 

• Which Metrics Will Tell Us Our Event Was Successful? 

• What Format Makes Sense For Our Company Size?

If you don’t keep the end in mind from the start, it will be difficult to curate the right marketing plan and event message to convert attendees. 

2. Select An Interesting Discussion Topic

Roundtable discussions offer unique opportunities to make connections with potential clients. 

Your roundtable topic is the backbone of your discussion. It’s what encourages your target audience to register for your virtual event. Your discussion topic needs to be relevant and engaging for your audience. 

To select a topic, let your potential attendees guide your decision-making. Research what is valuable to them and which topics were successful at past roundtable discussions in your industry and related fields. 

Ensure the topic you choose is on-brand for your company and that the discussion points connect with a product or service it offers. This connection to your company name is a crucial component to generating leads and conversions through your virtual roundtable. 

3. Choose The Best Format For Your Virtual Roundtable Session

Once you decide on a topic, you’ll want to determine the format. The ideal duration of roundtable discussions is between 60 and 90 minutes. Any longer, and you will start to lose your audience's attention. 

Set an agenda and send it out to attendees ahead of time so they know what to expect and how much time to block off on their calendars. 

Next, pick a date,m time, and virtual event platform to host your roundtable discussion. Always choose a high-quality virtual conferencing platform that can be used on any mobile device and offers interactive features like live polling and media libraries.

4. Choose A Moderator Who Is A Subject Matter Expert

To make your roundtable discussion flow, you need to employ a moderator who is an industry expert or thought leader. They should have ample experience within your industry and actively guide a discussion to hit all the correct points. 

If you hire a notable moderator, it’s a great tool to boost attendance numbers to your virtual roundtable. The audience is attending the session for knowledge, and an industry thought leader’s participation is a promise of learning opportunities for attendees. 

You could also choose an independent person to moderate your discussion. They still need to be an expert but will have moderating experience and know-how to make the most of your brief virtual session.  

5. Guarantee Engagement During Your Roundtable Discussion

A unique user experience is crucial to your roundtable’s success. You must focus on increasing engagement at your virtual event to ensure attendees will become interested in your company and convert. 

There are several components you can incorporate into your virtual roundtable discussion to increase attendee engagement. 

• Social Media Gamification

• Live Polling 

• Quizzes 

• Microlearning 

• Breakout Sessions

By showing your audience that you care about their engagement, you build relationships with potential clients and helping them move forward towards conversion. 

6. Follow-Up With Attendees And Collect Feedback 

Once you wrap up your virtual roundtable discussion, your job is far from over. You need a solid follow-up plan to determine what went well and what needs improvement before your next virtual event. 

Your virtual roundtable was the top-down component of your top-down, bottom-up marketing approach because your attendees are senior decision-makers. 

They won’t be deciding to convert on their own; they will most likely consult with their buying team, which means you need to have a call-to-action ready for the influencers of the critical conversion decision. 

Announce your call to action at the end of your event and send a follow-up email with an event survey to collect data. 

You can also have your sales team follow up directly to collect feedback, which will inevitably help build relationships that generate leads. 

Generate Leads And Increase Conversions At Your Next Online Roundtable Discussion

Hosting an effective virtual roundtable will generate value and business for your brand. These discussions are impactful in many sales situations. 

With a high chance of success, you always need to put your audience first. Always provide visible, extreme value for them to pave your pathway to success. 

When you are ready to begin planning your virtual roundtable discussion, contact BeaconLive and let our team of experts help you plan a successful virtual event.