Let’s be honest, most of us have probably had our inbox inundated with webinar invitations at one point or another. Given the year we have all just had, it’s safe to say that we’ve probably seen all the different tactics that companies take to get audiences to participate in their webinars.
While some of us might be tired of the typical webinar format, there is something to say about the effectiveness of a webinar. Done properly, webinars can be highly effective for educating viewers about topics related to your brand, engaging your target audience, and generating leads.
But with literally hundreds of webinars taking place each day, how can you position yours to stand out?
The HITMC team has hosted many webinars with both small and large health IT brands, which means we’ve learned a lot about what to do – and what not to do. Over the years, we have learned how to creatively entice audiences to register for a webinar and keep people
engaged.
So, we’ve put together some key tips on how you can make your webinar stand out from the crowd.
Choose the Best Platform
A visually appealing and engaging platform can make a big difference when it comes to webinars. There are many different platforms out there like GoToWebinar, WebEx, Zoom, Demio that all do a great job, but you’ll want to make sure whatever you pick gives off a feeling of professionalism and polish. The last thing you want is to give your audience a poor first impression.
These are just a few of the capabilities that you will want to look for:
- Simple and intuitive navigate for both audience and presenters
- Engagement tools to enable connection with the audience
- Automatic and easy-to-use invitations and reminders
- Data on attendees and performance
And last but not least, no matter which platform you choose, make sure you take the time to get to know how to use it. Not knowing how to use your own technology can lead to a poor experience for attendees which in turn hurts your reputation. Be sure to do a few test runs with your team and your speakers before each webinar to nail down any kinks.
Determine the Right Webinar Format
Long gone are the days where people will sign up for your webinar to hear one person talk at them for an hour. Before you do too much planning, you need to decide which webinar format is right for you based on your chosen topic.
We recommend that if you can stay clear of having your webinar hosted by a single presenter, than do it!
Webinars that are structured as an interview or fire side chat, panel discussion with a number of guests, rapid-fire Q&A, or simply adding a moderator or host makes it much more interesting and engaging than listening to a single person talk for the hour. Obviously, the complexity of your topic and the availability of suitably qualified speakers will inform your choice of format, but including more presenters and different elements into your presentation style will significantly increase the excitement of your next webinar.
Pick the Best Talent
Keeping it on the honesty train, we are here to tell you that your experts may not always be your best presenters.
Now, this is not to say that you don’t need skilled, knowledgeable experts in your field to present your webinars, but it’s important to choose your subject matter experts wisely. Ensure that your presenters are comfortable on camera, can speak dynamically about your topic to the audience, and can field questions from the audience. Subject matter expertise is especially important for those unexpected questions, which will certainly happen.
If you feel as though the experts you do have lack of few of the presentation skills, you may want to opt to equip them with some training or guidance on how to engage a virtual audience or match them with an energetic host or moderator who can pick up the extra slack.
Consider Different Visuals Formats
Clicking through an hour worth of slides is kind of like watching paint dry. Incorporating different visual formats into your webinar will help to keep your audience engaged and allow for a stronger overall webinar.
Don’t be afraid to mix it up. Even if it’s using just one or two different visual format, it allows you to break up the presentation. Using a mix of short video clips, live video of your experts/presenters, and easy to follow presentations slides allows you to create a fresh and engaging webinar approach and will keep your audience on their toes.
And don’t worry about not providing enough information via slides in your webinar, it’s easy and sometimes better to provide a helpful handout that provides the audience with information as a follow up after the webinar.
Capitalize on Audience Engagement Strategies
Remember that no one wants to watch a dull presentation. Use the audience engagement tools that are available in your webinar platform to keep your audience connected and engaged. Tools such as polls, surveys, interactive chats, and social media creates an even more interactive experience.
These tools aren’t just an engagement trick. The responses you get from your audience can be used to create future content. So, be sure build out some polls, Q&A, or surveys and encourage viewers to participate as it will likely lead to some unexpected content gold!
Keep the Momentum Going
Don’t fall into the one-hit wonder category with your webinar. Take some time to do a little bit of planning to build out a proactive webinar follow-up and content distribution schedule to capitalize on the webinar momentum.
Engagement doesn’t need to end once the webinar is done. Here are a few ways to ride the wave of your webinar:
- Promote a well-edited recording of your webinar (see our Tips for the Casual Video Editor here) via email, social or other engaging channels
- Use your webinar content to build out several new pieces of content like multiple blog posts, social posts, a checklist, or a slide share
- Break it your webinar into different video clips that you can use and promote on social media.
Looking to learn more about how we help brands draw in a bigger audience, keep viewers engaged, and extend the reach of your webinar? Connect with us today to learn more about our highly effective Webinar Promotion Packages.
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