Webinar which is short for "web-based seminar" is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is run over the web using video conferencing software.
Webinars are an effective communication channel especially in times when physical meetings are limited due to geographical distance or pandemics.
But what should you consider when hosting a webinar?
In this post, you will find some useful tips to take with you when planning your next webinar.
The only limit to the number of participants is your imagination and creativity.
The first step to launching a successful webinar is to decide what the purpose of the webinar will be.
Why do you want to hold the webinar and what knowledge do you want to pass on?
This way, it will be easier and more efficient for you to write a script and great great content. This is an essential part of achieving the goal of the webinar.
Plan a strategy for how you will promote the webinar.
What is the target audience for the webinar?
What marketing channels should you use?
What is the topic and main message of the webinar?
Ask these questions to communicate more easily with the right individuals.
According to a statistic from Medium, we can see that about 29% of participants register on the day of the event and about 17% register more than 2 weeks before.
It is also common that 2 thirds of the registered participants do not show up. Take this into account and think about how you can reduce the number of no-shows.
According to the same statistics, it is best to hold a webinar in the morning and on Tuesdays. A/B test and review what time and day of the week your contacts are likely to open their emails and use that in your marketing. This way you can lower the number of bounces. Take into account the competition and make sure your webinar is relevant, accessible and attractive.
Once you start putting together the content, make sure it is clear and engaging. Keep the script short as according to Medium, participants prefer webinars that are 30-45 minutes.
In order for the audience not to get bored or lose focus, the presentation is essential. Make sure that the presentation does not contain too much text and has the right amount of slides.
Introduce yourself to avoid anonymity and include engaging and fun content. Don't be afraid to use visual material such as images and videos. However, don't forget that the focus should be on the message and not the presentation.
Ask the person who will be hosting the webinar to prepare and also run a few practice rounds.
Test that everything works.
You may need different roles responsible for e.g. the technology, the sound, the recording, receiving and asking questions.
What technical capabilities do you need? Is it possible to mute the participants' mic? Can they ask questions? Can you limit the number of participants?
Choose the right webinar platform based on a functional analysis and don't forget that the platform must integrate with the Marketing Automation system to offer a seamless user experience.
Do a test run and ask a test group to click on the link to the webinar to make sure nothing goes wrong. This can also be a good opportunity to get feedback on the presentation and content.
If the webinar can be recorded, it opens up possibilities for using the content in the future and the webinar can also be used for lead generation purposes.
A clear agenda is important to meet the audience's expectation and keep their concentration. Include the start time, the important points to be covered, approximately what time they are covered and what time the webinar ends. It is important that everything does not "blend together".
Make sure you start strong and captivate the audience right away. The first few minutes can be crucial for audience engagement. It is important throughout the presentation that the presenter is passionate and active.
Use interactive content such as polls, Q&A sessions, surveys and exercises to keep participants active.
92% of webinar attendees want the option to ask live questions at the end of the presentation. Also look into the possibility of allowing participants to ask questions during the presentation, e.g. having a moderator ask the questions that come up.
An engaged audience is a satisfied audience.
Create a short evaluation for the participants. You can take it with you to your internal evaluation so you can create better webinars in the future. It is important to understand what was good and what can be improved. You can also take the opportunity to ask for other topics that participants would like to hear about to get ideas and suggestions for new webinars. Review the possibilities for when and how to send out the follow-up questions. Can it be done directly after your webinar? What is optimal to get as many responses as possible?
An internal evaluation is easily forgotten. Make sure you include participants' opinions and your own in an evaluation. Schedule the evaluation in time so that it is not forgotten. Evaluation is your path to even more successful webinars in the future!