The Top 10 Reasons You Need to Be Presenting on MegaCast & EcoCast Webinars

Since their inception a little over four years ago, ActualTech Media's MegaCast and EcoCast multi-vendor webinars have been turning the traditional IT webinar world upside down. Why?

Part of the reason is because of what they deliver:

The Numbers Don't Lie...

• 121,023 registrants our webinars in 2021 alone
• 1185 audience-submitted Q&A questions in the last 12 months

• Massive lead counts
• The hottest enterprise technology themes
• Access to a humongous live audience
• And the opportunity to present back-to-back with the biggest names in IT

🤫 PS: Looking for pricing on tech webinars? Get a price list here

Our highly-engaged audience of IT pros and decision makers use MegaCasts and EcoCasts to quickly evaluate and compare the solutions available to them in a particular technology niche - all in a single event and without conference travel.

In the last four years, over 100 different vendors have presented on MegaCasts and EcoCasts, and over 70% return to present on multiple events in a given year.

So, if you're an enterprise technology vendor, why should you tap into this new multi-vendor, Megacast and EcoCast webinar model?

First of all, let's give you a brief idea of what makes a webinar a 'MegaCast' or 'EcoCast'...

What is a MegaCast or EcoCast?

First, we start with a technology space.  In the last 12 months, we've done everything from Cloud Solutions to Containers to Data Protection to Converged Infrastructure to AI & Big Data.  If it's hot, we have an event for it.  (You can view the full upcoming event schedule here to see what's coming up.)

After we've identified a technology to feature, we pull together a mix of established and up-and-coming vendors that have solutions in that space.

Vendors present to the live audience back-to-back - not in round-table format.  This allows presenters uninterrupted presentation time and a long enough slot to present their choice of a mix of slides, screenshare demo or video (as desired) during their 20-minute allotment.  After the 20 minutes is up, some non-competitive, audience-submitted questions are discussed live with vendor presenters and the ActualTech Media moderator.

The ground rules for presentations require that no vendor is allowed to directly reference or disparage any other vendor or competitor: the audience dislikes it when presenters go negative, so we insist on maintaining a respectful environment on these events.

Now that we've covered the format, let's consider the top 10 reasons why you should tap into this new multi-vendor, Megacast and EcoCast webinar model as an enterprise technology vendor...

1. IT pros & decision makers rely on these multi-vendor webinars make buying decisions

What the Audience Says...

68% of our audience say they use MegaCasts and EcoCasts as their PRIMARY way to learn about new technology solutions

IT professionals and decision makers used to rely on industry tradeshows, user groups and VAR pitches to learn about new solutions. But with limited time and budget available for in-person events and travel, they are now doing their own research online.

This is where ActualTech Media’s MegaCasts and EcoCasts come in: in a single sitting, IT pros can join an online MegaCast or EcoCast and see up to eight solutions in a row and compare their various approaches to the challenges they solve.

Some even call it ‘speed dating’ for solutions:) Many now use them as buyer’s guides.

Live answers to their questions from the vendor experts on the events help drive additional instant interaction, engagement and value for attendees.

Finally, attendees are also exposed to new solutions and vendors they didn’t even know existed prior to the MegaCast or EcoCast and likely wouldn’t have otherwise considered.

This makes MegaCasts and EcoCasts the perfect platform for announcing new releases and product launches to a mass audience who are often planning new deployments and refreshes in the very near future.

Tip: Looking for fresh audience sources and leads?  Vendors consistently tell us they see leads they've never encountered before, en-masse, on MegaCasts and EcoCasts.  If you're looking for audience you haven't seen in your other marketing efforts, these events are your ticket!

2. Present live to a green-field audience of several hundred IT decision makers on a single event

If you’re like most marketers, your company's technical presenters are in high demand. You need to be able to maximize their time and effort to put them in front of as many prospects at a time as possible to best leverage their availability.

MegaCasts and EcoCasts help you do just that: Your presenter's time goes farther than ever before, getting your message in front of several hundred buyers at once - all in one webinar event.

The kind of live audience numbers that MegaCasts and EcoCasts drive don’t come along very often and that's why such a high percentage of presenting vendors come back for more.

Tip: If your presenter is strapped for time, you’re welcome to pre-record your entire presentation for playback during the live event.

3. Get your brand in the mix with the other top vendor brands

There’s no way to sugar coat this: if your competitors are tapping into MegaCast or EcoCast events, you need to be there too.

If you’re a large or established brand, you’re in an enviable position: because you’re an essential part of the technology conversation the audience is looking to hear from you. Participating regularly in these events cements your place at the table when audiences are evaluating and comparing solutions, especially as you continue to innovate with new product capabilities and releases.

What about newcomers and hot startups? There’s literally no faster way to elevate your messaging that place yourself side-by-side with the best in the business. Joining top brands on MegaCasts and EcoCasts shows you’re ready to play and be considered in the mix where you belong.

Tip: If you’re a marketer at an established brand or a hot startup, you already know that multiple touches with prospects are key: Salesforce.com found that it takes six to eight touches to generate a viable sales lead. One presentation rarely causes a customer purchase order to drop from the sky. It takes a consistent cadence of exposure and nurturing to open up conversations and opportunities.

This is why using MegaCasts and EcoCasts on a regular (we recommend quarterly) basis to boost prospect recognition and familiarity is essential for presenting brands. Top performers use their MegaCast and EcoCast presentations as part of their larger funnel and engagement approach, quarter after quarter.

4. Show what makes your approach different from other vendors

You may play in the same technology space as other companies, but your approach to solving problems in that space is no doubt not the same. You have unique technology and competitive differentiators that audiences need to see and understand.

The MegaCast and EcoCast webinar formats were designed to showcase what makes you “you”. As a result, we skipped the ‘everyone talk at once’ panel or round-table-style format and give you a dedicated and uninterrupted presentation and demo time to strut your stuff.

Audiences have consistently told us they hate it when vendors use their time to bash one another, and we agree. As a result, our moderators don’t allow presenters to reference other vendors when presenting or ‘go negative’. The result is a respectful, positive event you can feel good about participating in.

Tip: MegaCast and EcoCast presenters win when they focus on why they’re different and where they shine.

5. Uncover who's most interested in learning more about you

With the sheer number of leads that MegaCasts and EcoCasts provide, how can you effectively prioritize sales follow-up?

Great question! To help you make sure you capitalize on the most-interested leads and prospects, we’ve formulated a special poll question that runs right after your presentation slot. It gives audience members a chance to raise their hand and request more information right from their viewing console.  This is coupled with our other advanced lead scoring and reporting metrics.

To ensure sales gets those leads ASAP, we flag those leads for you our special post-event reporting. We'll dive deeper into this a little further down the page in No. 9.

6. Generate sales & opportunity pipeline

Of course, interest metrics are good, but this is what it’s really all about: creating opportunities and sales pipeline.

This is what MegaCasts and EcoCasts do best!

Don’t take our word for it:

Actual questions submitted on recent MegaCasts and EcoCasts:

• “Can I get a one on one with someone in sales?”
• “Who can I contact to chat about possible POC?”
• “How do I request an eval?”

If you’re a marketer measured on opportunities and pipeline created, MegaCasts and EcoCasts can help you nail your targets.

7. Audience questions that inform your marketing messaging

Recent Sample Audience Questions

• "How does this work with multiple remote sites?"
• "How is the data protected at rest? What kind of RTO can I expect?"
• "Are there options to use this in a hybrid model, co-existing with our current setup?"

There’s nothing like a live stream of questions from real IT pros to help you realize what potential buyer’s real concerns are and where they may need more help to better understand your solution.

Intelligence gained from the Q&A streams during your MegaCast or EcoCast presentation can help you align your marketing messaging with buyer’s real needs and concerns.

You're also able to see where you may have gaps in your messaging that could be filled with answers to common questions or concerns.

Tip: Think about where this feedback could take you: it’s like having hundreds of potential customers telling you what really matters to them.

8. Some of the most affordable CPLs in the IT marketing industry

Sometimes there’s no fancy way to put things: they’re just a straight-up good deal.

And that’s the opportunity with MegaCasts and EcoCasts: the cost-per-lead on these is some of the lowest in the IT marketing industry, especially when you consider the fact that these events are live, with a captive audience that comes ready to learn, compare and short-list.

We don’t know a marketer that doesn’t love low CPLs and we’re thrilled that MegaCasts and EcoCasts do that at scale!

9. Exclusive reporting that helps you prioritize sales follow-up

As a marketer, you know that the more background and data your sales teams have on a lead that’s handed to them, the more likely they are to close that deal. Not only that, the more likely that deal is going to be attributed to your marketing campaigns.

With this in mind, we build our exclusive Post-Event Action Reports to give you the summary and background data that sales need the most. (View a sample).

You can share the entire two-page PDF report with your sales teams or cut and paste whatever you find helpful into your CRM to provide sales with the data they need to build rapport with their leads, understand the prospect’s environment and start building a relationship.

Tip: Our clients tell us these reports also help them clearly communicate the value of their MegaCast and EcoCast participation to their management and executives.

10. Presentation coaching from marketers who actually get the technology

Time for some cold, hard truth: as marketers, we’d all love to have rock star-quality presentations 100% of the time to maximize the effectiveness of our webinar campaigns, but the reality is that sometimes our presentations come up short, both in hitting the right message with the audience and the right high-energy tone.

At ActualTech Media, we feel your pain and we want to help. We host well over 100 webinars a year and we see week after week what works (and what falls flat), and we’re happy to share everything we've learned with you to ensure your presentation is a success.

We now offer no-charge presentation coaching that includes actionable feedback and recommendations to help you really 'dial things in' for your appearance on an upcoming MegaCast or EcoCast.

Killer presentations = killer sales pipeline!

Conclusion

These 10 reasons outline why so many enterprise IT vendors are consistently hitting their quarterly lead and pipeline goals with MegaCasts and EcoCasts.  We're confident these events can become a key component of your marketing toolkit in 2019!  Big leads counts, affordable CPLs, increased exposure and real sales pipeline are waiting for you as a MegaCast and EcoCast presenter - seize the day!

What you should do now

• Head on over to the interactive event schedule calendar and see what topics are coming up, who’s already in for presenting vendors and descriptions for each event to help you see if the event is a fit for you.
• Build a 'wish-list' of events that look interesting.
• Request a quote and include any questions you may have.  There's a button to contact us on the events schedule page or you can just click here.

We look forward to seeing you on an upcoming MegaCast or EcoCast!