I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If you want to excel as an MSP, actively marketing and selling your services is vital. Though partners can take advantage of a number of marketing assets–including brochures, white papers and eBooks–one often-overlooked marketing tactic MSPs should consider using more is the webinar. Here at eFolder, we generate a great deal of interest in our own products and services through webinars, and there’s no reason why our partners can’t reap the same benefits. Here are four reasons you should make webinars a part of your marketing repertoire.

1.     Webinars don’t require a huge investment of your time or money.

Let’s face it: Many MSPs don’t have much time, money or energy to allocate toward marketing. Fortunately, webinars are easy to produce and cheap (or free!) to broadcast.

Creating the content for a webinar is easier than it sounds; MSPs can take advantage of a lot of the content eFolder includes in our partner playbooks to educate clients on, say, the dangers of consumer-grade file sync or the benefits of a business continuity solution. Webinar content can also consist of material repurposed from a white paper, blog or brochure. As a result, producing webinars doesn’t require a huge time investment.

With the emergence of inexpensive webinar software, MSPs don’t have to worry about the cost of airing webinars. Companies like GoToWebinar and AnyMeeting make broadcasting webinars completely free or incredibly cheap for small businesses. MSPs deterred by the cost of marketing can use webinars as an effective and inexpensive way to get the word out about their products and services.

2.     Webinars help you demonstrate thought leadership.

Think of all the politicians and artists out there who have managed to capture the mindshare of thousands or millions of people. One thing they all have in common are platforms they use to communicate with their audience on a one-to-many level. Just as Taylor Swift uses online platforms like Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to communicate with her fans, MSPs can leverage webinars to demonstrate thought leadership to clients and prospects on a one-to-many level.

3.     Webinars are incredibly versatile.

Few mediums are as flexible and versatile as webinars. Don’t just restrict yourself to a PowerPoint deck; use videos, voiceovers and screen shares to convey important points in engaging and memorable ways. For example, you could demonstrate the ease of your file sync and share solution by doing a live demo for your audience. Since webinar software also lets you record webinars, you can reuse your webinars as educational tools in the future. Webinars let you provide useful content to clients and prospects while also gleaning live feedback on what you’re showing your audience, so you can address the needs of your audience in the best ways possible.

4.     Webinars help you do what you do best–connect with existing clients and gain new ones.

Thanks to their interactive nature, webinars can help you deepen connections and loyalties with existing clients. Clients who regularly watch your webinars will feel more connected with your company–they’ll think of you less as a provider and more as a partner. The more you provide truly useful, educational content, the better. Webinars can also act as an excellent way to promote new or existing product or service offerings, which can help you cross-sell existing clients and gain new ones as well.

Need some inspiration for webinar topics? Check out eFolder’s YouTube channel, which contains over 25 recorded webinars. Good luck out there, and let us know how else we can help you with your future webinar endeavors!

Neeraj Periwal is Marketing Coordinator, eFolder. Guest blogs such as this one are published monthly and are part of MSPmentor’s Cloud-based File Syncing and Sharing Infocenter.