Webinars are becoming increasingly popular, especially in the tech and marketing spaces. An extension of traditional seminars, these interactive online events deliver the same experience over the web. Webinars are incredibly versatile marketing tools at a business’s disposal and are seeing a rise in adoption, especially at the forefront of marketing and promotion.
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way we conduct business and connect with customers, driving the need for more informative and widely-accessible content. Webinars are the perfect solution to fill this gap, providing informative, engaging, and entertaining pieces of content that can act as pillars for business websites and social media pages alike.
Webinars allow businesses to create more long-term, branded content to better establish themselves as authorities in their respective field. Live streaming a webinar is an effective way to reach a target audience and generate new leads by creating hype or providing free, informative content.
What Is A Webinar?
A webinar is simply a seminar that’s hosted on the web. Webinars can be live-streamed via various platforms (including some social media outlets) but are usually streamed or recorded on conferencing or webinar software. This software allows for a more webinar-focused experience for both the host and the participants. These platforms also give the host more control over the content, the audience, and the direction the webinar takes.
How Does a Webinar Work?
A successful webinar depends on the technology, audience, and content. Even with the right audience and content, delivering a webinar successfully relies on using a robust hosting platform. Without the proper software, a webinar can quickly devolve into an uninformative nightmare.
Webinars bring people together to exchange ideas, educate the general public or a specific audience, build brand awareness, and much more. The presenter’s role is to have informative, engaging, and well-rehearsed content ready to go when the webinar begins.
Professionalism is a must when hosting a webinar. Dressing appropriately, speaking clearly and thoughtfully, and arriving on time are non-negotiable when it comes to good webinar etiquette. Most presenters will rehearse their content at least a few times before the webinar begins also, so as to avoid any hang-ups during the presentation.
What Features Can A Webinar Have?
When it comes to webinar platforms, the number of features often set competitors apart. Webinars can be as basic as a recording and storage platform with live streaming tools or can have diverse features like digital whiteboards, surveys and polls, branding and customization, and even white labeling the platform to embed with your own business offerings.
Something as simple as a chat function in webinar software can make a huge difference in the success of the presentation. Chatting with the audience helps keep the presentation engaging, and something like a digital whiteboard can make the content easier to digest with a visual medium.
Here are some features a webinar platform might offer.
Chat Functionality
Stay in touch with your audience by utilizing the chat function to send private or group messages during the presentation. This great tool allows for better communication and can help facilitate interaction with the audience, thus increasing engagement.
Cloud-Based Recording
Recording webinars allows the host to upload the content on another web platform. Many webinar services include cloud-based recording, which stores the webinar on the cloud for easy access and downloading later. Many webinars get uploaded to sites like Facebook, YouTube, or even on the company website as a landing page.
Screen Sharing
Sometimes it’s nearly impossible to get a point across or properly convey information without visuals. With screen sharing, a webinar can become that much more interactive. The host will be able to share their screen with the entire audience, which makes PowerPoint presentations, graphics, and other visual presentations easier for the audience.
Whiteboard
Using a physical whiteboard and recording it isn’t nearly as effective as today’s digital whiteboards. These efficient tools help reduce the eye-squinting that often occurs when trying to look at a physical whiteboard through the computer. Digital whiteboards function much the same but are integrated into the webinar software for a seamless presentation.
Surveys and Polls
Surveys and polls are a great way to gain the audience’s attention, gather information, and keep the presentation interactive. Interactive presentations are far more engaging, and a good poll can provide useful insights about the success of a presentation for the host. Every good webinar should at least have a post-presentation poll to ask what the audience thought of the content. This also allows the host to gather contact information, add to the sales funnel, and build a wider audience.
Tracking and Reporting
Even with the best webinar content, a host still needs to know how many people attended, how long they stayed, where they came from, and other behavioral metrics. Tracking the number of people in attendance tells the host how successful their marketing efforts were, gives a better idea of who’s interested in the content, and provides traffic information for the website.
Ways To Use A Webinar
Businesses use webinars for a variety of reasons—they’re not limited to just hosting classes online. The beauty of a webinar is in its versatility, accessibility, and ease of use. With so many business use cases for webinars, it’s easy to see why companies across industries are quickly adopting this content medium as a standard of their marketing platform. Webinar marketing has grown exponentially and can increase a brand’s reach in no time. Let’s take a look at some ways a business can benefit from using webinars.
Product Demonstrations
Basic – Offer simple, how-to, educational webinars to get new customers up-to-speed on the best way to use a product or service. Customers love the opportunity to learn and see examples from the company. This also allows the ability to show off customer service capabilities with a Q&A session at the end.
Advanced – Does a product have many versions or use cases? Break each topic out into its own webinar. This way, customers can find the topic most relevant to their needs, learn about it in a short chunk of time, and move to the next topic at their own pace.
Case Study Series
Partner with some of your most successful customers to share their stories. These sessions could be segmented by industry or usage type. Ideally, secure a live speaker from their team. Or, ask them to record a short video that can be included in your webinar presentation. Walk the audience through their problem and how your company helped resolve it. Take questions at the end.
New Product Announcements
Introducing a new product? Consider unveiling them through an exclusive webinar. Drum up interest by offering a special deal for those that attend the product announcement, and find a fun and surprising way to show off new goods. Host a Q&A session if appropriate.
Industry Round Tables
It’s never too far along in your career to learn something new. Bring together colleagues and industry thought leaders for a live discussion. This is a great opportunity to uncover other perspectives, share success stories, and ideate creative solutions for common issues. This is also a great way to cross-promote various businesses. It’s a learning and marketing solution all rolled into one.
Interviews
Interviewing an expert in the field can help solidify a product’s appeal or brand’s authority. Choose industry experts that understand the brand’s products, how they work, and that can advocate for their use.
Entertainment
Webinars don’t always have to be about product launches and other business-only topics. An entertainment-based webinar can engage an audience and provide them with a new perspective about your business. Entertainment has a way of bringing people together.
Thought Leadership and Coaching
Many thought leaders, coaches, and gurus use webinars as a means to effectively reach a wider audience. Motivational speakers, industry experts, qualified professionals, and more are great additions to webinars that also help solidify brand authority. Partnering with a thought leader or coach can bring more attention to the brand itself.
Lead Generation With Webinars
Webinars are amazing lead generation tools, and the way they work is surprisingly simple. Webinars can help bridge that ever-important gap between a brand and potential customers by creating long-term, valuable content.
A webinar allows a brand to establish authority in its industry, and webinars can be uploaded to platforms like YouTube to be viewed thousands or millions of times by new people. The power of video content can’t be overstated. In fact, about 55% of people watch video content online on a daily basis. Not to mention, YouTube itself hosts the largest number of videos anywhere on the web, with billions of hours of content for both entertainment and education. A modern business simply can’t ignore such a huge marketing and outreach opportunity.
A webinar also allows the host to collect information on who’s watching. Most webinars include an RSVP form, which at minimum asks for a name and email. This gives the brand an opportunity to reach out with promotional emails and connect with those leads, turning them into paying customers.
Engaging An Audience With A Webinar
Keeping the audience engaged is the key to a successful webinar. An audience that’s watching but isn’t engaged is more likely to tune out before the presentation is over, and engaging the audience is the best way to ensure a lasting relationship is formed. People remember engaging content and are more eager to share it with others.
The right tools can make all the difference in an engaging webinar. Even if the content is top-notch, having technical difficulties or a faulty platform can be more than a little distracting. Imagine joining a webinar that’s been advertised for weeks across social media, only to find it’s being hosted via someone’s iPhone on Facebook Live.
It’s crucial to gather the right tools for the job when hosting a webinar. Investing in a good camera, microphone, and platform can pay dividends in the end when producing high-quality, informative webinars people actually want to see.
Let’s not forget that keeping the audience involved can mean the difference between a successful webinar and an unsuccessful one. In order to stay engaged, it’s a good idea to give the audience a stake in what’s being discussed. Covering marketing? Ask the audience about their own marketing methods. Use a Q&A, online poll, or some other interactive tool to keep the audience talking.
Most importantly, practice the content being presented beforehand! An audience can tell when a presenter is just winging it. And, let’s be honest—being unprepared is unprofessional. If the audience is expecting information from an expert, the presenter needs to look, sound, and act like one. That means diligently practicing the content so when it’s time to present, the content is delivered with confidence.
How To Create And Host A Webinar
Hosting a webinar is actually quite simple with the right webinar platform. These are some things to look for in a webinar platform to maximize the audience’s experience:
Quality webinar provider. Always be sure that the webinar platform you choose has features that are needed. Additionally, talk to the webinar service if you need a particular function or feature – they should be open to working with you to customize the offering to your needs.
Controls. The host should be able to control the webinar from an interface. This means having the ability to mute, add or remove participants, chat, share screens, and more. Some webinar platforms even include features like digital whiteboards, and built-in survey and polling tools.
Sharing. Being able to easily share webinar information across social media and other platforms is crucial to spreading the word and attracting an audience.
Once a viable webinar platform is chosen, the next step is to plan the webinar.
Choose A Topic
The topic of discussion will ultimately be what attracts the audience to the webinar. An interview with an industry expert will attract a different audience than a product launch webinar. It’s important to know who the webinar is directed at, and how to reach them. Clearly display the topic known in the webinar title, if possible.
Plan, Plan, Plan!
Unplanned and unorganized webinars usually just descend into chaos. If it’s a paid webinar, the audience can feel as though their money was wasted. There should always be a plan for the content being discussed. What are we discussing? What steps will be followed to create an informative session? Are the people involved in presenting the content booked to participate?
Troubleshoot Software Beforehand
It’s always better to be prepared before the webinar begins. Test software and hardware to ensure everything is working correctly. If a webinar stops in the middle of a presentation because of technical errors, it’s likely the audience will disengage.
Include Engaging Visuals
Consider combining different media such as audio or video recordings, live streams, animations, or interactive elements such as polling. These visuals can help capture audience attention and keep it.
Tips For Successful Webinars
Hosting a webinar is a great first step toward better marketing, but what makes a successful webinar? Let’s take a look at a few tips for hosting successful webinars every time.
1. Have The Right Tools and Troubleshoot Beforehand
Hosting a webinar on Facebook Live or some other social media platform isn’t professional, and can often come off as cheap or shady. Use a professional webinar platform to create high-end, informative webinars that customers will enjoy. The right webinar platform provides all the tools needed to retain control over the content, audience, and marketing efforts.
2. Practice and Rehearse The Content
Hosting a webinar without practicing the content can undermine the host’s authority as an expert in the field. Rehearse content several times before the webinar begins to ensure it’s cohesive, interactive, and understandable.
3. Market and Hype The Webinar
Don’t forget to spread the word! There won’t be much of an audience without a bit of marketing on the part of the host. Post links on social media, send out email reminders, and be sure to include an RSVP form to track how many people are attending.
4. Networking and Attending Other Webinars
Attending other webinars can provide valuable lessons on how good webinars are run, what the content looks like, and how a host keeps the audience engaged. Networking with other professionals can expand both your skills and the talent pool your brand has at its disposal. Watch and learn!
5. Encourage Questions From The Audience
Encourage the audience to ask questions by providing an opportunity for Q&A, share a poll, or simply ask questions to the audience directly. Keeping the audience engaged means helping them feel like they have a stake in the presentation.
6. Use Chat, Whiteboard, and Screen Sharing Features To Maximize The Presentation
Modern webinar platforms are efficient and powerful, with tools like virtual whiteboards, screen sharing, and more. Use these tools to create interactive webinar experiences for the audience.
7. Don’t Get Frustrated With Setbacks, Especially If It’s Your First Webinar
Everyone has had to surge through their first webinar with nerves on edge and only some idea of what they’re doing. Don’t panic if your first webinar doesn’t go flawlessly. Setbacks are opportunities to learn.
Analytics And Measuring A Webinar’s Success
Measuring the ROI of a webinar extends beyond generating income. Many webinar platforms offer analytics services, which allow the host to gather behavioral data on the people who are attending. Knowing who’s attending, where they’re attending from, age, watch time, and more can prove valuable in better understanding a target audience. This can better inform what future webinars to plan so customers are continuously provided with valuable information they retain, share, and associate with your brand.
It may also be helpful to ask the audience. A short survey at the end of a webinar can tell the host a lot about the audience’s thoughts on their content. Was it engaging? Did the audience find the information useful? Would they attend another webinar? These questions are simple but generate powerful results.
Measuring conversion rates can give the host a better idea of how many people saw the webinar and went from leads to paying customers. How many people signed up for the email newsletter, bought a product, or paid for a service after the webinar? These big picture data points give the host a better idea of the webinar’s efficacy.
The Future Of Webinars
Webinars are all about connecting personally with potential customers and transforming leads into paying, loyal customers. The beauty of webinars is that the content is entirely customized, can be streamed easily, and leverages the increasing popularity of video content. With powerful, informative, and well-curated video content, brands have been able to simultaneously increase their audience and brand authority in just a few short months.
The modern business simply needs webinars in order to thrive. Customers want to see visual demonstrations of products, interviews with experts, and be able to reach out for Q&As. In today’s world, customer trust is earned by showing value, not plugging a product. Connect with customers on a personal level, earn their trust, and show them that your product offers greater value than the competitors.
Remember the tips for hosting an effective webinar. Getting frustrated at setbacks only serves to anchor us to the past. Look at the mistakes in the first webinar, correct them, and move forward. Upgrade to a webinar hosting platform for better technical results, and always measure those analytics.
