One of the most used buzzword in 2020 apart from “pandemic” has been “Webinars”. Companies, brands, professionals have started following this medium to communicate with their customers directly through a virtual presence. Experts in various fields have realized that Webinars are the future model to scale up their businesses and gain success.
Note: I first wrote and published this Article on July 8th, 2020 on my blog – ITS MY LIFE but I posted it up here for many of you who want to rock the Webinar game.
(Do check out my Blog! I post lot of creative stuff-poems, stories, blog series for creatives)
So , How many of you have attended Webinars in the past few months ? Or Are you yourself a Webinar Host? According to you, what makes it actually click. (Think for a moment and answer in the comments).
After attending a lot of different types of webinars myself and researching on the same, sharing my useful insights with you.
Here’s how you can start a successful webinar of Your Own :
1. Choosing a topic/ niche
Following the trend is good, but don’t follow the herd without your own homework. Whether you are already conducting webinars or a beginner, the crucial aspect of a hosting a Webinar is choice of topic you have knowledge about and can communicate to the audience.
Your content should be really specific , informative and well researched
Eg: Entrepreneurship is a broad concept. Choose topics like – “Guide for Solopreneurs to scale up their brand”.
Success Tip– Research about a SEO friendly topic, communicate with the people in your network about the challenges they are facing and choose the most viable option. Prepare notes for sub topics.
2. Prepare to handle any situation
One of the common issues faced in case you are hosting Webinars are external factors like technological glitches, attendees not yet present for the sessions, disinterested audiences or first time users in a webinar platform .
It is advisable for you to have a moderator who can take charge of the situation without the flow of the session being disrupted.
Success Tip– Remember it is okay, don’t get overworked by the situation. Respond by quick interaction with audiences .Keep catchy phrases handy. Send a text to the concerned person incase an expert intervention is needed.
3. A confident Speaker
A speaker is the one who can engage even a disengaged audience to listen. The whole point of having a Webinar is conduct a meaningful session and built a relationship with your audience.
Having confident speakers who have fair knowledge in the subject is more helpful to make it a success. He/ She will be able to add their own experiences, learnings to the topics making it more relatable.
Success Tip– Modulate your voice to pause at an important word/ phrase or even repeat the sentence to get the point across. Do so in moderations.
4. Listening to your target audience
Webinars are different from hosting a conference or meetings. They are meant to be a two- way communication process. Recently, I came across a webinar having more of product promotion actually meant for education. So, you need to differentiate your sessions accordingly and inform the audience.
Eg: “How can this specific Self Help e-book make your life easier”. Then, audiences are aware that the entire session will include the benefits of the e- book and even want to buy it.
Success Tip– Suppose you may have planned for a topic, but there is no response. Keep that session later in your schedule. Don’t push content for namesake.
5. Time factor
Defining the exact schedule of the webinar,the exact time, date and availability is necessary to make a Webinar effective and successful. Conduct a rehersal with the moderator and the speakers before going Live.
Jot down the time each speaker can have and try to stick to it. This will also help to keep a Time slots free for audiences to interact which usually takes longer. Mark your calendars and also factor in different time zones.
Success Tip–Scheduling your whole session can help you keep short breaks incase it is an indepth topic discussion to be held for long hours so that audiences aren’t bored or leave.
6.Use of Correct Resources
Conducting a Webinar on an online platform makes us steer back from the whole process. Many of us find it more easier to speak to a live audience rather than online platform where we are looking at the camera and the screen. So using the right resources can solve our fears.
Invest in a good mic,headphones(optional),recording software.
Keep your environment noise free.Keep your notes,water bottle,snacks handy and put your phone on silent mode. The speakers while conducting the sessions need to be prompt and specific with topics relevant in that niche that could be possibly asked.
Using of visuals will make the participants grasp the concepts faster.Eg: Path to go a website and visit specific tabs for reference can be shown in either Diagrams or Snapshot of the Screen.
There is a positive impression that each session is been given top priority and all the efforts will show in those few hours.
Success Tip– Incase you have slides in your session, highlight and spend more time on the important keyword chapters/topics so that the participants can learn those concepts better.
7. Answering the audiences
As participants, we all look forward to be a part of the session where we want to voice our queries and get solutions from the speakers. So, how can we have an effective audience interaction as the host.Choose to answer being asked by the moderator on behalf of the audiences.
Simple and easy process. Collate all the questions rather than peering on the screen making it more awkward.If you have few group of participants,call them by name and invite them to speak.
Success Tip– If you are a beginner, request members to raise their hands or type in their queries in the chat box to answer them systematically.
8.Promotional and Marketing strategies
Our whole focus here is not just conducting a webinar, but conducting it successfully. Proper planning, scheduling of events and promotions play a very important role.
As you have already begun by taking opinions of your network for choosing topic at the start, conducting Q and A, polls, send invites to see how many are interested to attend the session makes it more engaging.
Strategize your content, built surprises, write captions and promote on various social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram to create a buzz and invite more participants.
Let your audiences know “Why your webinar should not be missed, what could be the possible takeaways”.
Success Tip– Promote “ Free” webinars to attract audiences. Suppose your session is a paid version- promote the USP of the session- a prominent guest speaker, Exclusive content etc.
Evergreen Content
Focusing on the latter aspect of our Title, an Evergreen content holds more prominence of making your webinar earn accolades and revenue.
But, you may wonder, once the session is over, how can we still utilize it to the optimum?
The trick is keep track of your certain important segments and repackage it on your social media platforms to let newcomers know about your achievements. You could also use your webinar as perfect model to pitch clients for leads and build brand collaborations.
Evergreen Webinar Content can be used as your USP in future projects, company website and blog posts. Follow up with your team and participants for growth, sustainability and uniqueness of your brand.
Success Tip– Create a research database specifically to studies, prepare reports to analyze your previous sessions performance, member’s feedback and reach you generated on regular basis to help you improve your next webinar more fruitfully.
So friends, I got you all the resources that leads you ahead in your journey of being a LEADER, Now it’s Your Time for Action. Feel Free to share your webinar experiences and if you are host, share your work here for us to get connected with you!
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Copyright©2020-11th Dec by Elvira Lobo Pinto (All rights reserved; unauthorized use prohibited) Disclaimer: The image(s) in the post are taken from Pexels. I don’t claim any of its rights.
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