A webinar can be a great way to share content with your fans. To ensure the webinar runs smoothly and reaches your audience, try following a set of webinar best practices.
What is a webinar?
The name “webinar” combines the words “web” and “seminar,” so simply put, it’s an online seminar. Webinars give you an opportunity to interact directly with your customers and followers.
Webinars are also a great way to repurpose existing content. Some folks prefer to consume content auditorily or visually rather than in writing, so turning a popular blog post into a webinar can present that information to new people.
Once you’ve decided you want to host a webinar, here are some webinar best practices to help it succeed.
Plan it
Just as with a regular seminar, planning is crucial. Make sure your talk has a thesis. Create a slide presentation that highlights the key elements of the webinar. Your attendees can then review the webinar by viewing the slides later. It’s a good idea to run through the webinar a few times on your own, perhaps even recording it to review its contents. Time yourself so you know how long each part of the talk should be.
Pick a platform
A successful webinar will require a robust video streaming platform equipped with the tools you need. Providers like Google Hangouts, Livestorm, GoToWebinar, and Zoom offer a variety of different features. Perhaps you want your attendees to be able to ask questions in real time or chat with each other. Maybe some folks will be attending from areas with poor internet connections. Do you want to record it? Do some research and read reviews to pick the right provider.
Promote it
Don’t forget to promote your webinar on your social media platforms, including your newsletter. Write a blog post introducing the webinar, with a form or link that allows folks to sign up easily and share their plans to attend. Plan your webinar approximately two to three weeks in advance, and then promote it a few times per week across all your social channels.
Pace yourself
On the day of the webinar, you might feel nervous. Unlike in-person seminars, webinars don’t have the physical feedback of the audience nodding or smiling when you talk, so try to stay calm and speak slowly. According to Livestorm‘s webinar stats, the recommended length of a webinar is 30 minutes to one hour, so make it count. This is where the slide presentation and earlier practice really become useful.
Post-webinar tips
Referring back to the Livestorm stats, an average of 30 percent of people who sign up for a webinar are actually able to attend. If you can, record the webinar to send out afterwards. You could share it in your newsletter via email, post it to your blog, or both. Then send all your attendees a “thank you” email and invite them to contact you with any questions they may have after the webinar. If they agreed to attend, you already have a connection with them, and this is a great way to strengthen that connection.
Webinars may sound scary, but if you prepare properly, they can be an effective tool in your lead generation toolbox.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Go WordPress 