Have you ever wanted to present an idea or a program to a group of people all at once without having to travel to a different location? If the answer is yes, then read on. This blog post is all about showing small businesses how to develop an effective webinar (or web conference).
A webinar allows a person or group of people to make a presentation over the Internet, rather than in person. The presenter and attendees meet virtually over the Internet via a web conference provider such as Microsoft Live Meeting, GoToMeeting or Webex. The person or company hosting the webinar can either offer the presentation for free or charge a fee. It’s also a great way to interact and answer questions from your audience. Here is one example of a webinar from Google.
Keep in mind that a webinar is a highly effective tool to add in your mix of marketing and PR resources. It’s a great way for you to brand yourself as an expert, which coincides with your public relations goals. When done correctly, you will have lots of demand of your webinars and can even start charging a fee for them (which is added revenue for you).
Here are a few benefits of doing a webinar:
–You can show PowerPoint slides as well as other applications
–You can conduct surveys and show immediate results of polls
–Audio is provided via a telephone conference line
–Webinars can be highly interactive where audience members may ask questions or chat privately with the presenter or other attendees
–Most programs allow you to record the webinar and playback at a later time (this enables further revenue if you want to sell the webinar after the fact)
Make sure that you practice your webinar ahead of time. Most webinars are held anywhere from 20 minutes to one hour, which means you’ll want to make sure time doesn’t get away from you. Don’t be late, stick to your agenda and end on time to respect the busy schedules of your attendees (and any special guests you have in helping you present).
Try to keep your webinar as lively, entertaining and enthusiastic as possible. Don’t go overboard with the excitement level, but make sure your webinar doesn’t put anyone to sleep (or worse, cause them to leave). If you will have more than 10 people you should consider using a third-party person as your moderator to keep things moving.
Make sure you build your slides very carefully. Although there is an audio component to webinars, the visual aspect can be much more effective. So make sure your slides are impactful and convey exactly what you’re trying to present. also make sure you use a large enough font size so that everyone can read what you have on the screen.
As an extra tip, before you start, have a welcome slide that creates excitement and interest. Some people like to show up a few minutes early and you’ll want to capture their attention from the very start while they’re waiting.
Last but definitely not least, do some serious testing. Do one or two trial runs ahead of time so that you know everything works and can listen to your presentation (as well as judge the timing). Don’t ever let your actual webinar be the first time you present on that subject.
Here is a more detailed checklist that will help you develop a great webinar:
1. Know your audience and make sure your webinar is catered to their needs.
2. Know your primary goals and what you want to accomplish (including call to action at the end).
3. Craft a good title along with some good marketing information to go along with it.
4. Find a quiet room where you can lead your webinar.
5. Enlist a friend or colleague to serve as your moderator.
6. Have a registration method in place for people to sign up (most likely through your web site).
7. Use lots of different ways to promote your webinar (email marketing and social networking are great).
8. Send confirmation emails with webinar details once people start signing up.
9. Practice your webinar and go through one or two trial runs. Also test the phone number for audio.
10. Have all your slides and visuals uploaded and formatted.
11. Send out reminders to all your registered participants and ask that they test for compatibility.
12. Prepare a survey for the end of the webinar when you want to ask for feedback.
13. Right before the webinar print out a detailed list of all the registered attendees. This will come in handy for any troubleshooting.
14. Join the webinar 15 minutes prior and be ready to schmooze with people as they sign on.
After the webinar is complete, be sure to continue to promote it so people can download and purchase for additional revenue.
Special Note: Log on to the #smbiz chat, hosted on Twitter on Tuesday, May 5 from 8-9 pm EDT to learn more about doing a webinar for your small business. Webinar experts will be answering your questions. Click here to learn how to participate in the #smbiz chat.
