We’ve all attended that typical corporate webinar. It seems to be formulaic. First, the host introduces him or herself. Then s/he reads a short bio about the speaker. Then the speaker reads his or her presentation. And all you, the viewers, see are a series of PowerPoint slides. Then there are a few minutes remaining for Q&A at the end of the webinar if there are even any questions posted on the chat. Finally, the webinar closes without any call to action. Are you bored yet? I believe there is a way to create better webinars by combining entertainment with educational material. Would you like to know more about edutainment?
Edutainment mostly refers to television programs, movies, books or other media that are both educational and entertaining and are mostly intended for children. But what if you used this concept to educate your customers using a webinar platform? I think you would get better results and have your customers coming back for your next webinar. Here are a few tips that I think will help you develop your own edutainment webinars.
Tip #1: Get Acquainted With Your Audience
Open the webinar a few minutes early to get acquainted with your audience. I always like to come on camera and announce that the webinar will be starting shortly. I also introduce the webinar the viewers are attending. You’d be surprised but some people aren’t sure they are in the right place. So reassure them that they are attending the right webinar. Also ask everyone to put in the chat where they are from such as city, state or country. Then acknowledge people and say hello to some of the individuals who responded. This starts the webinar on a good note and they’ll know that there is a “live” “real” person who is hosting the webinar. Even if you pre-record the speaker portion of the webinar, with some of the newest webinar platforms, you can easily toggle from “live” to “recorded” in a matter of seconds to make the transition seamless.
Tip #2: Keep Your Audience Engaged During the Webinar
Many of the webinar platforms allow you to take polls or survey the audience on a question. You can pre-arrange these polls and then insert them at the appropriate time during the webinar. It’s also good to read some of the comments people are making in the chat. Or even, have the speaker answer a question or two during the webinar, if that makes sense. Sometimes it is better to answer a question right then and there rather than waiting to answer at the end of the webinar.
Tip #3: Have a Call to Action at the End of the Webinar
I can’t stress this enough. In all of your marketing efforts, you should have a call to action. I see it time and time again, that the marketer does a great job of disseminating the information and then there is no call to action. What do you want the attendees to do next? Most likely you want them to call you, attend another webinar, or buy your product or service. So, why just close out the webinar without some sort of offer or call to action? You could invite them to attend your trade show. Or download a resource. Or any number of other CTA’s that are appropriate for your industry.
Tip #4: Have Bonus Items and Resources Ready
People like to get things for free. So, why not offer for download off of the webinar platform checklists, templates, or other resources you may have available that relate to the subject matter you are presenting. I also like to have a Workbook as a downloadable fillable PDF so that the audience can take notes during the presentation. If you don’t know this already, people learn differently. Some are visual learners, some are auditory learners and some are tactile learners. With a workbook, you get to combine the visual and tactile aspects along with the webinar speakers for the auditory portion. People can get distracted while viewing a webinar, so having a workbook helps them to follow along and stay focused on your topic.
If you would like more information about creating successful webinars, download my FREE resource, A Guide to Better Webinars. Click the image below for immediate access.
To your marketing success,
Sheila
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