Many things can be taken online. Communicating with different people across countries and continents has been made much easier because of the internet. While many people from different countries can still travel to meet up in a certain location, many are now switching to webinars or web seminars.
A webinar is a live, online meeting between multiple parties. The webinar could be a class, a presentation, or just a simple discussion. Documents and other materials can be viewed and browsed between parties through their devices, usually their computers. And a webinar session can last as little as 30 minutes and up to several hours. That said however, the key to setting up a successful webinar is a lot easier than many might think.
Below are some tips on setting up a webinar.
1. Plan Ahead
Meetings and conferences will fall apart if there’s no planning involved. The more a person plans ahead, the smoother the webinar will be. Some questions that a person needs to answer are how many people will be attending the webinar, what time it will be (if they live in different countries, what is the time conversion from where they live), and what kind of webinar program that will be used.
One of the best webinar programs out on the market is Webinar Jam Studio, created by 2 professional online marketers, Mike Filesaime and Andy Jenkins.
Youtube WebinarJam Studio review
Webinar Jam Studio is a paid application with numerous features. Some of these include unlimited spaces for members (which means that there is no member limit on who can join the webinar), automatic webinar recording (other applications do not have this and the one running the program needs to remember to hit record), and actually have the conference room in a web browser as opposed to having the group download or have a copy of any software. One Webinar Jam Studio review stated that out of all the other webinar applications tested, Webinar Jam Studio was the one that performed the best.
2. Set the date and have speakers ready
If a person needs to have multiple speakers and has a rather large group, the date needs to be agreed upon and set. People who plan to attend the webinar need to be free on that day, as will any number of speakers that the person needs on the day itself. If any concerns pop up, talk to it over the group to smooth it out early. Prepare any material that will be needed in the webinar, such as documents to be shared, notes for the speaker, and so on.
3. Pick out topics and stick to them
Having an outline of topics to be discussed is very helpful and will keep the group focused. Use images instead of wordy slides, as you will want to keep the audience interested in you (the speaker) and what is being discussed. It helps to practice the presentation a few times to get more comfortable and to get used to the topic flow. Have a person sit down and listen to the practice session to give criticism and feedback. That way, anything that needs to be changed in the flow can be changed immediately to prevent any awkward presentations during that actual webinar.
4. Promote and remind the registered attendees of the webinar event
If the webinar is open to all, social media promotion is a good tool of getting participants. A person can try to promote his webinar in as many social media platforms as he can, but should make sure that he will be able to handle the number of attendees.
A week before the webinar, send an email, SMS, or private message to the registered attendees to remind them of the webinar. A person should not assume that everyone will remember the date and time of the webinar. He should also remind them to make sure they will be in a quiet room in order to hear everything without being disturbed. A day before the webinar, send them the reminder again.
By following the above recommended tips will improve the success of your webinar.