A webinar is a combination of 2 words, Web and Seminar. If you are in a business that needs to convert online leads to purchases, then a webinar could well be one of your tools. You want targeted traffic, sales funnels, website conversions and with all the tools available, which one would most likely be your choice?
Having an effective Webinar
When you are on social media or any digital platform, hosting an event is very different from what you do offline. The first thing you need to consider is really where is your audience going to come from? While you can sell tickets for seminars and events, it is a lot harder to do so if it is online.
Attendees of your Webinar are potential Leads
If you do this right, you are connecting to a (potentially large) group of people who could be very good leads. You get to connect with them and keep them informed about what is coming up and, in the future, even close the deal with them. So, what should you do to get this right?
The Facts
In a recent study, it was found that more than 50% of marketers of B2B businesses use webinars in their digital marketing campaigns. Webinars are very effective tools that can be very engaging and what more, they not expensive. What you get is a community of people who are actually interested in what you have to offer.
Let’s get started
To build an effective webinar, you need to get your objective right. Are you out there to spread brand awareness? Or are you promoting a product or service? Once you know what you are after, you now can get on to the next step.
1. Get the right members
Basically, you need the right people to help you with this. They are:
- Platform – This could be yourself or a third-party content provider. This is the platform that will get the event going in terms of registration and promotion
- Speaker – No doubt a popular face will do you wonders but if you cannot engage someone popular, then there must be enough credibility from the person who will be speaking. It is up to the marketing team to promote this speaker in terms of their expertise.
- Facilitators – During the event, have people on standby who are ready to answer any questions or queries the participants might have. The speaker might not have the time to answer all the questions.
- Format – Several formats are available like single or multiple speakers, interview or dialogue, Q&A, moderated session, or anything else you might think is effective for your campaign.
- Presentation tools – Cameras, rooms, visual aids, videos and all that would make a huge difference to the session in terms of engagement.
- Online tools – There are many platforms available for this like Zoom, Slido.com, ClickMeeting, WebEx, Minnit. chat which is all possible to hold a webinar.
Hosting a successful webinar
Now that you know how to go about creating your webinar ,let’s get down to hosting a successful one. Take note that this transcends just connecting with your audience as it can mean a lot more for your business. When you have audiences who are engaged during your webinar sessions, it makes a lot of difference (positive ones) to your brand image. It creates more communication and in the long-run ensures better businesses and outcomes too. Below are some important pointers that you must consider:
- Location – This is very crucial and can affect the mood and settings of your webinar. Where possible, use a sound-proof room with a suitable backdrop. Most tools provide you with virtual backdrops but if you have a physical one, it gives the impression that you are not merely ‘virtual’.
- Internet Connection – What you want is to have a session that does not get disrupted with technical problems. No doubt it might occur at times, but you surely can minimize that risk. Try to avoid using wireless internet connections and used a cabled one instead.
- Audio – This could well be the most important factor in your webinar. Test your microphone and speakers to ensure they are working. Always have spares in case something happens. External microphones will be much better. If you are going to run a proper webinar, invest in a good microphone brand.
- Technical support – You can never be too careful with this. Get someone who can be your technical support when the need arises. During the webinar, you want to focus on your delivery and not worry about anything else. If something technical goes wrong, make sure there is someone on standby.
Grabbing the attention of your audience
The first 10 minutes is extremely crucial for your webinar. If you don’t keep them captivating during that time, you risk losing them for the rest of your session. Always start with a story and AVOID reading your bio from a slide at all costs!! What you want to do during the first 5 minutes is to establish an emotional connection with your audience. But do not be too long-winded. Leave some of the highlights for the conclusion (like suspense) where your audience might want to find out. That way, they will sit through your entire presentation.
Your tone must be friendly and conversational. Always ask questions or end your sentences with a query. Use Q&A in between your session. When doing this, address your audience with ‘you’ instead of ‘anyone’. Bear in mind that your audience are actual people and hence, you should be speaking to them in the most informal way possible. This could be awkward in the beginning but once you break the ice, you should get your flow in your presentation.
