If you’re like most people, you don’t know how to deliver a successful webinar. In fact, you may feel pretty nervous about preparing for it and running it in front of a live audience.
But webinars aren’t as mysterious as they seem. Anyone can host one successfully if they know the right techniques to use. Below are 12 webinar tips that will help you handle it like a pro. Use them in conjunction with our Webinar Tipsheet.
1. Get in the Minds of Your Attendees
Like all great marketing endeavors, a successful webinar starts with knowing your audience. Who are you hoping to attract? What are their priorities? What would wow them?
The key is to provide something they’ve never heard before. Your topic should also be easily summarized in just a few short words.
For example, at 11outof11 we recently hosted the Smash the Funnel Marketing Workshop. Now that’s a 5-word title with some oomph! “The funnel” resonates with anyone who’s familiar with the concept of the sales/marketing funnel, and “smash” indicates we’re ready to crush traditional thinking.
2. Provide High Value
A webinar is a great piece of gated content, which is content that sits behind a registration page. It pulls people deeper into your brand. You’re offering something of high value - your knowledge and expertise - so they feel comfortable sharing their contact information with your company.
Make sure you deliver on the promise of a high-value experience. Decide on several key takeaways and hammer on these points throughout the presentation. After the webinar, any audience member should be able to easily say, “I learned X, Y, and Z.”
3. Highlight the Date and Time
This might sound like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to overlook: When promoting your webinar, put the date and time front-and-center on all materials. Research shows that about two-thirds of the people who show interest in your webinar won’t actually end up attending.
“I forgot” is one of the top reasons people don’t attend, so help keep it fresh in their minds. Send at least one reminder in the days leading up to the webinar, and blast out one last reminder about 60 to 15 minutes before air time.
4. Develop Some On-Air Personality
Here’s some good news: Webinar viewing durations are on the rise - meaning people are sticking with webinars for longer periods than ever before. The main reason? Webinars are simply getting better.
The best webinars have fun, engaging hosts who understand how to keep the audience’s attention. Make sure yours has hosts who can keep things rolling and prevent rookie mistakes like dead air, technical glitches, and uncomfortable moments.
5. Don’t Wing It
Most marketers have never hosted a webinar and are simply inexperienced at it. But while only about 44% of marketers have ever attempted a webinar, 87% of them felt afterward that it was worth doing.
So give your webinar the attention it deserves. Do at least one full practice run before going live in front of your audience. Follow a script, but try not to make it sound too scripted. With some practice, you’ll feel much more comfortable with the big moment comes.
6. Use Multiple Media Formats
The best webinars combine multiple formats to keep things interesting. Include photos, video clips, interactive surveys, and live demonstrations. Today’s tech-savvy webinar attendees are used to seeing mixed-format presentations and will appreciate experiencing something dynamic.
7. Make Sure Your Branding Is On Point
Don’t let your branding get lost in the shuffle. The entire webinar, from beginning to end, should be carefully and tastefully covered in your brand. Incorporate your company’s logo, colors, fonts, tagline, and other details that make everything look cohesive.
8. Don’t Ignore Your Mobile Audience
Welcome your mobile webinar attendees. Although we tend to think of webinar attendees attending from a desktop computer or laptop, about 25% of attendees are probably watching from a mobile device.
Make sure your format isn’t unintentionally excluding these people. Charts and graphs should be big and bold enough to be easily read on a mobile device. The visual field shouldn’t be cluttered with too much stuff. Mobile users want a simple, clear rectangle of information.
9. Cross-Promote It
In the promotional time leading up to your webinar, make sure you’re advertising it on every possible channel: social media, email, website, customer materials, and so forth. It may even be worth placing some paid search ads that will help draw a larger crowd.
10. Roll With the Mistakes
Almost every webinar has mistakes and glitches, but your audience doesn’t have to notice them. When an error happens, just roll with it and keep moving. Your audience will appreciate your ability to stay professional.
11. Encourage Interactivity
Don’t forget to include an interactive element that encourages audience participation. Take a quick poll or tell people to send their questions for a Q&A at the end. Make them feel like it’s a two-way conversation.
12. Offer Additional Resources
Finally, keep the give-and-take going after the webinar ends. Offer additional resources like a one-page summary of the webinar, helpful blog posts on related topics, educational videos, and more.
And remember: About 35% of people prefer to watch prerecorded webinars on their own time or to read a transcript instead of watching live. So follow up with everyone after the webinar, not just the live audience.
Whew! That was a big list of terrific webinar tips! Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed? 11outof11 can help. Connect with us today for a call about your needs so we can work together to make sure your next webinar is killer.