How to Create and Manage an Effective Webinar

by Cornell Jones | May 13, 2022 | Virtual

As we move towards a more virtual world, new and dynamic tools are emerging – tools that allow us to reach new audiences and communicate in boundless and instantaneous ways. One tool that has grown in popularity is the use of webinars. Webinars are live or pre-recorded video presentations conducted via the internet; and they’ve become an extremely effective tool for delivering concise and topic-specific content.

Webinars are versatile in nature, as they can be packaged and delivered in various formats. These formats include:

Q&A Sessions
Panel Discussions
Case Studies
Product or Service Pitches
How-to Guides

What are the Elements of Webinar?

Whether it’s building connections, promoting a specific message, or engaging an audience in the hopes of converting them into clients or customers, it’s important to understand your overall objective. But what exactly are the elements that constitute a webinar? We’ve narrowed it down to five, and they each serve a specific purpose:

The Organizers

This includes all parties involved: from the presenters to the moderators, to the behind-the-scenes tech support. Each person should have a clearly defined role as it relates to the execution of the webinar.

The Presentation

The more prepared we are with our presentation, the more blunders we’ll avoid when it’s time to present. Are your slides accurate? Are you using interactive tools? Do you have external links? Have you tested them? All this should be considered beforehand.

The Hardware

In most cases using a computer or laptop will suffice. But that puts a limit on quality. Sometimes it’s necessary to utilize an external camera, or external lighting, or professional microphones. It’s important to test this equipment out and confirm whether or not it’s compatible with the webinar software you end up using.

The Software

There’s a plethora of webinar software at our disposal. Some are free, some are paid, some have basic features, and some have sophisticated add-ons. The one we end up choosing should be the one that satisfies our objectives the most. Do we need something simple? Perhaps a free version will suffice. Will your webinar be viewed by several different parties? Perhaps a paid platform that can guarantee a polished product is the way to go. Here are a few options:

The Audience

Finally, we have our audience. Who are we marketing this webinar to? What’s the demographic? What do we want from them? Are we hoping to convert them into clients or customers? Do we simply want them to gain understanding? The answer to these questions should influence all the elements mentioned above.

What Makes an Effective Webinar?

Pick the right topic and speaker – The decisions we make should all come down to us knowing our audience. Who and what would be relevant to them? What would keep them engaged?

Practise your webinar before recording or going live – You want the execution of your webinar to be as smooth and seamless as possible. Everything from slide transitions, to the testing of your links, should be rehearsed and calculated. Your aim is to have a polished product, and nothing helps achieve this more than practise, practise, and more practise.

Make the webinar engaging, interactive, or both – This can mean different things to different people, but again, it all comes down to knowing your target market. Understand your demographic, then reverse engineer the experience based on what you know about them. However, there are certain aspects that are universally effective. Your guest speakers, for example, should always speak clearly and with passion and enthusiasm. And your presentation should incorporate as many visuals as possible. Don’t just rely on the content. How you deliver that content matters too.

Promote your webinar – It’s important to market your webinar as early as possible. Creating a landing page where people can register in advance is invaluable, because it allows you to send reminders and communicate with your growing audience before the actual webinar starts. Leveraging your social media platforms, and co-marketing your webinar with associated guest speakers, sponsors and partners are also effective strategies.

Conclusion

Webinars are versatile. They’re a powerful tool for educating an audience, interacting with potential customers and clients, or bringing a team together. As we move into a virtual world, it’s important we explore and leverage these tools to the best of our abilities. Whether it’s pre-recorded or live, FCCF can help bring your webinar goals to life. You can focus on the content, and we’ll handle everything else.