You’ve picked your presentation topic, chosen your webinar platform, picked a date and time, and marketed your webinar to your mailing list and social media.
And you now have over 150 people who’ve registered to attend.
Congrats!
Whether you’re planning a webinar for lead generation or to educate users, webinars are a great way to share your knowledge and expertise.
But what can you do to ensure webinar attendees have a great time at your webinar?
I’ve been attending webinars at least twice a week for almost 10 years, and I’ve noticed how some webinars are more successful than others.
In May, I attended a webinar that had me thinking about how presenters can improve the webinar experience for attendees, so I tweeted out my tips.
Here they are, with a bit more explanation than 140 characters in Twitter allowed when I first published this post.
13 Tips to Improve Your Next Webinar
- Provide time at the beginning of the webinar to discuss logistics.
With dozens of webinar platform applications out there, the webinar platform you’re using may be new to your attendees.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731169445951995904
Include a short review of the webinar platform at the beginning of the webinar, to discuss how the webinar presentation screen works, customization options, including volume control and how slides display.If your attendees aren’t able to get their system set up correctly to watch/listen to your webinar, they may leave the webinar early. You’ll only learn why after the webinar has ended.
- Test your screenshots on different screen sizes.
Better yet, ask your webinar platform customer support if they have any recommendations for sizing screenshots.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731170709913915392
Your attendees may be viewing the webinar on a smartphone, tablet, small laptop, desktop, or on a 42 inch display. - Give instructions for different operating systems.
It’s rare, but I’ve attended webinars where the speaker discussed a web application, but only provided instructions for the Mac.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731173977440288769
Unless your topic is for a Mac-only or Windows-only tool, ensure you give instructions for multiple operating systems. - Use a unique hashtag and share it before the webinar begins.
Use the power of social media to broaden the reach of your webinar by choosing a unique hashtag.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731176598741893122You want a hashtag that’s:
- Easy to remember
- Makes sense to your webinar attendees
- Makes sense to people who aren’t already following you
Do your homework and check Twitter or the hashtag dictionary to see if the hashtag is already in use.
And proofread your hashtag to ensure it couldn’t be misunderstood for something else.
- Make your hashtag short.
I once attended a webinar where the hashtag was 20 characters long, not the best choice, since Twitter was limited to 140 characters (in June 2016).
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731176759316647937
Keeping the hashtag short means people can use more characters to talk about your webinar. - Hire a moderator.
If you use only one tip in my list, this is the tip I hope you use in your next webinar.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731179379284447233
Having a moderator frees you up from wearing too many hats: presenting, answering questions in chat, and monitoring social media.Your one job is presenter; you want to do it well.
Focus on your presentation and hire a moderator to:
- Interact with attendees during the webinar
- Manage comments during the webinar (unfortunately, sometimes conversation in webinar chats go off-topic or becomes offensive)
- Keep track of time
- Have moderator manage questions, share resources and monitor Twitter.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731179631370469376Attendees often have questions about something you’ve said or recommended during your presentation.
While you may be able to handle one or two questions, answering over a dozen questions can quickly derail your presentation plans.
And may frustrate other attendees who want to hear the rest of your presentation.
A moderator can clarify your comments, follow up with additional information, and provide a helpful resource (perhaps a post on your blog) to attendees.
In addition, your moderator can share resources in chat, reply to tweets, and retweet tweets from attendees.
- Take a break during the webinar.
My colleague Joe Casabona takes a short break in the middle of his webinars, answering key questions that have come up.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731180619884040193
It’s a nice way to interact with and answer questions from attendees, without waiting til the end of the webinar.Who hasn’t attended a webinar, had a question, and wished they could get an answer without waiting til the end?
Sometimes an attendee will miss the main points of the webinar, because they didn’t understand a phrase or misunderstood something the presenter said.
Plus, a break in the middle gives attendees a chance to catch up on their notes.
Quick tip: if your moderator notices the same question being asked by multiple attendees, that’s a question you want to address first!
- Notify attendees whether the webinar is recorded, and when it will be available.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731181215420690432
I think this is the most asked question at every webinar I attend. Will the webinar be recorded?If you decide to provide a recording, tell attendees when they can expect it.Two quick tips: provide a recording as soon as you can; include captions and transcripts. People have short memories; there’s a lot of content and video vying for attention on the web.
Captions and transcripts make your video accessible to more people; transcripts have the added bonus of being indexed by search engines, making it easier for people to find your webinar recording.
- Thank attendees for attending through a follow up email message.
Here’s your chance to thank attendees for attending your webinar.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731181739167633408
Highlight key points you made during the webinar, and include links to resources you referenced or attendees referenced.One nice way to stay connected with and recognize your webinar attendees: include their question (with your answer), post, or tweet in the follow up message.
- Focus on providing info, educating attendees.
While attendees know that webinars serve as lead generation for business products and services, keep your promotional efforts to a minimum.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731184111063334913
Rather than giving a marketing presentation inside your webinar:- Point attendees to a white paper
- Share a case study (briefly)
- Provide a special time-limited code for discounted services to attendees
I once attended a webinar when the last 15 minutes was spent promoting services.
There was no time at the end of the webinar for attendees to ask questions. I was disappointed.
- Set up your recording area in a professional way.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731185175418306562
If you’re presenting where attendees will see you, use a solid background, whiteboard, or invest in a backdrop behind you for a professional look.Keep distractions to a minimum so attendees can focus on you and your presentation. You don’t want attendees distracted by a glaring light bulb, artwork on the refrigerator, or a mass of boxes.
You’ll also want to invest in a good quality headset.
I have thoughts on that, but I’ll share them in another post.
- Explain how chat works at the beginning of the webinar.
I know, I should have put this tip at the beginning.
But I remembered it when another attendee commented at the end of the webinar they didn’t know how to ask a question in chat.
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/731185701384011776
Webinar platforms will usually have chat embedded in the application, with multiple options.Depending on the webinar platform, attendees can ask comment or ask questions for the:
- Presenter
- Moderator
- Everyone attending
- Specific person
One of the great features of webinars is the ability to chat with other attendees, or ask the presenter questions. Make it easy for your attendees; explain how chat works early on.
Summary
There are a lot of things to consider when you’re giving a webinar. But you want to do your best to keep your attendees engaged.
Hopefully these tips will get you started!
