For all the advances in the way we share information digitally, people still love talking with people. It’s in our nature. Webinars are a great way to meet that need for human connection and form a bond with your prospects or customers.
If you’re new to producing and presenting webinars, here are some tips to keep in mind.
- Research and Select the Best Webinar Service for Your Needs — There are just about as many webinar service providers as there are webinar topics! Each has its own feature set and strengths/weaknesses. Be sure you find the right one for your needs and your budget.
- Have a Well-defined Topic — Webinar attendees love a session that has a clearly defined subject and supports/explains it with equally clear and concise facts, figures, and statements. Don’t let your session wander. Studies show that today, more than ever, users are looking for the facts.
- Invite Panelists (and a Copilot) to Join You — The best webinars have multiple speakers. These can include others from within your organization, your business partners, and even your customers. And while you’re assembling your team, ask one of your peers to be your “copilot.” This person’s job will be to help you deal with questions, technical issues, etc. so you can focus on your presentation.
- Do a Thorough Test Run — Nothing’s worse than having a group of people eager to learn about your product or service and then the technology not cooperating. Be sure to test every aspect of your presentation—from your slide deck to the audio capabilities to any interactive elements like quizzes, polls, etc.
- Have a Backup Plan — Despite all your preparation and testing, sometimes things go south just before (or worse yet, during) your presentation. Because rescheduling isn’t [often] an option for busy prospects, you should have a backup plan ready. Maybe it’s as simple as emailing attendees your slide deck and just talking them through it in a conference call. Whatever your Plan B is, be ready to make a smooth and unfazed transition if necessary. Panic is not pretty!
- Promote Your Session, Before and After — Too often, people go to all the trouble of preparing for and delivering their webinar without milking it for all its value. Advertise the session in advance. Tweet and post about it with pre-scheduled updates during the event and additional posts after the fact. Offer access to the recorded version (see below). Send out a series of emails with tidbits from the session as a drip campaign.
- Optimize Your Computer for Presenting — Be sure to shut down any bandwidth-hogging applications on your computer before you start your session. This includes anything that may produce an annoying or embarrassing notification that is visible to attendees.
- Record the Webinar — A well-executed webinar can serve as a marketing asset for many months to come if you record it.
- Be In Control, and Aware of the Clock — Nobody likes to see a presentation hijacked by a persistent questioner—especially since that can push a session over its time limit. Have strategies in mind for keeping things moving. One useful tactic that is gaining acceptance is to use only text messaging for attendees to submit questions/answers (through the webinar application) rather than enabling voice for attendees. Then you can have your copilot pick the best questions to respond to.
- Continue the Conversation — Be sure to maintain contact with attendees after your session. This can include answering lingering questions, sending them your slide deck, providing some additional info in the form of a white paper or case study, etc.
The personal connections you make in a webinar can go a long way toward turning prospects into customers. We’re happy to help you create, polish, and promote the perfect session!
