BigMarker is a category-leading webinar, video and virtual event platform hosting more than 1.5 million online events for a range of Fortune 500, Inc 1000, media and nonprofit organizations. In this interview, we talk to Justin Brown, COO and Head of Product, about the company’s product and commitment to customers, as well as the future of online events.
Can you please share with us a brief overview of your company?
BigMarker is a video and webinar platform that hosts webinars, virtual events and other online meetings and content. Our goal is to help companies grow by helping them host more meaningful conversations with their audiences—and we believe the best way to do that is through intuitive, beautiful, fully branded webinars and virtual events.
What are some of BigMarker’s most prominent features? What differentiates BigMarker from other webinar or virtual event platforms?
Our main goals are to help companies captivate their audiences–and to help them grow their businesses. Our biggest advantages all support those goals:
- Browser-based: BigMarker is 100-percent browser-based, so users don’t need to download a whole new software before entering their event. One login and you’re in.
- Landing pages and microsites: We build out complete landing pages and microsites for our events, which gives attendees an easier attendee experience while also creating a more professional, fully-branded look.
- Engagement features paired with analytics: Through live chats, Q&As, polls, handouts, screen sharing and whiteboards, our interactive features encourage guests to talk to each other and with presenters. All of those interactions are recorded in our analytics reports, so hosts can more easily identify promising leads.
- Branding capabilities: Hosts can add their company colors, logos and ads to their webinars and virtual event sessions, so their look translates to the digital experiences they’re providing.
- Built-in email service: We have an automated email suite built into the platform, so you can send event-related invitation, reminder and follow-up emails without needing to switch tabs or upload information to a new platform.
What industries do you serve and who are your current customers/personas? What are some good use cases for your product?
Our users are heads of marketing in tech services, financial services, health care, insurance, professional services but also product companies. Our past customers range from Fortune 500 companies like McDonald’s and Google, to startups like Waze, to Stanford University, so there’s a lot of variety, but the common denominator is that our customers tend to be innovative.
Our product also has a lot of use cases beyond webinars. Meetingspaces, our small meeting rooms, are good for team or sales meetings. We use automated, evergreen and on-demand webinars for employee onboarding and training. And virtual events, combined with our integrations and analytics suite, help companies generate demand and grow their sales pipelines.
You emphasized that your typical customers tend to be innovative. Do you have any examples of creative uses of your podcast?
In our virtual events, we’ve really rethought the exhibitor experience. Exhibitors can literally double an event’s budget, but exhibitor booths for virtual events are limited—usually just a static landing page with a banner and a video and maybe a lead form if they were feeling extra spicy.
We took a different approach—we built immersive, 3D experiences where attendees can walk around and interact with content in new ways. Exhibitors can show multiple videos and multimedia content, provide 3D and VR experiences. They can also interact through live video chat and breakout sessions, then trigger offers and giveaways to encourage attendees to follow up.
This offers attendees more flexibility in how they interact with exhibitors, which makes them more likely to engage and follow up. That in turn gives the exhibitors more ROI from participating in the virtual events—so they’ll be more likely to partner with you again.
What are some of the biggest challenges virtual event hosts face in keeping audiences engaged? And how is BigMarker addressing these, either through product updates or programming?
“All of our features—content delivery, immersive features, networking, sponsor and exhibitor booths—need to respond to one question: ‘Why do people actually make the decision to pay for a ticket and why do they take time from their day to attend?’”
“Sure, you go for the content, but also because of who you can connect with. Events curate an audience of like-minded people who are diverse enough to have a variety of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, so people can make connections that lead to new jobs or even new companies. Those chance happenings and connections are as, if not more, important than the content of an event. That’s the reference point that we have.
So while we have a lot of engagement features that encourage guests to interact with each other and with presenters during sessions—live chats, Q&A, polls, screen sharing and whiteboards—for us, that’s just step one.
We also need to add the overarching event experience. For us, that comes down to:
- Putting out compelling content, then using our interface to present it as cohesively and seamlessly as possible.
- Networking, both in public chats and one-on-one video calls.
- Providing access to exhibitors and to the offers and opportunities they present.
- Offering unique opportunities that can only be found at events, like product demonstrations, live roundtables and more.
Looking ahead, how will BigMarker approach virtual events in the future?
The companies that we serve want a virtual event platform that’s truly customizable, so that they can engage their audience in a way that’s on-brand for them and the experience that they want to create.
Flexibility is a huge part of that. We adopted this motto of ‘Let’s build your dream event’ and through customizations and white labeling, help customers bring their imagination to life. We don’t provide a one size fits all platform, so we can empower companies to create interactive experiences that impact their audiences and bottom line.
That emphasis on creativity manifests itself in the partnerships we take on with our customers. Our customers tend to be innovative—keen on creating new kinds of experiences in the digital interactive world. We partner with them to create new experiences that haven’t been done before. That’s the work we really love and where we specialize now and moving forward.
About BigMarker
BigMarker is the provider of the #1 webinar & video platform, helping organizations grow faster by hosting more meaningful conversations with their customers. Thousands of companies, organizations, and universities use BigMarker to host live, on-demand, and automated online presentations, training and events, creating stronger relationships with both internal and external customers. BigMarker also provides integrations, APIs, and white label services that enable companies to integrate powerful interactive video experiences into their marketing, sales, and learning stacks. For more information on BigMarker and how to harness video to create better customer experiences, visit www.bigmarker.com.
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