Webinars that WOW!WOW!How to engage an audience without eye contact

Presented by:

Delivered by: Allison Van Diest

Housekeeping!

• Please mute your phone while we set up. Only unmute when laughing at our jokes.

• Please do not put the call on hold – hang up and call back to eliminate hold music playing during the session.

Optimize Viewing the Event

• Hit the F5 key to put the window into full-screen mode

• Close all other applications

• Increase your computer’s screen resolution• Start Menu->Control Panel->Display• Settings Tab• Increase screen resolution by moving the slide all the

way to the ‘More’ side (right)• Click Apply and OK

Questions/Comments/Shoutouts:

How Much Do Webinar Skills Matter?

91%

People who have attended a webinar in the last year

Number of webinars a month firms planned to give

2009 2010

Source: 1080 Group, June 2009

Top Success Factors of the Overall Webinar Experience

• Ease of use when joining or participating

• Quality of presenter’s speaking voice or delivery

• Clarity of the message in the presentation

• Invitation that accurately describes the content of the webinar

Source: 1080 Group, June 2009

Top Challenge Cited by Presenters

Keeping the

audience engaged!

Source: 1080 Group, June 2009

Top Success Factors We’ll Cover

• Accurately marketing the Accurately marketing the webinarwebinar

• Clearly delivering the message Clearly delivering the message in the presentationin the presentation

• Delivering the presentation Delivering the presentation effectivelyeffectively

• Keeping the audience engagedKeeping the audience engaged

Step One: Be Prepared!

Preparing for Your Event

Deciding When, Where, and How

• Mondays are rotten for free events

• Be mindful of time zones

• Pick technology that works for your audience

Focusing on Why

• Teaching, training, or selling?

• What are the three key points your audience should remember?

• Don’t be afraid to leave them wanting more

Selecting the Who

• Top criteria = ENERGY!

• Two is better than one

• Any flaw is magnified when only one sense is engaged

Step Two: Be Informed

Designing the Event

• Decide your marketing strategy

• Determine your registration process

• Design your invitation and build your communication plan

Marketing Strategy

• Define target audience

• Select marketing channels

• Assemble lists

• Create your invitation

Registration Guidelines

• Prepopulate what you know

• Less is more – keep the form simple

• Build in a follow up that gets you more information

Invitation Best Practices

• Subject line should tell what is inside

• Headline should be attention grabbing and challenge the reader

• Who should come to this event?

• What will the audience learn?

• Embed the ability to register in several places

Communication Plan

• Digital marketing + digital registration = digital event

• Start three weeks out for paid events

• Start two weeks out for free events

• Social media is not effective for paid events

Step Three: Be Focused

Two of the Best Ways to Annoy the Audience

• Cover too much

• Deviate from the message

Designing Your Presentation

• Show vs. Tell

• Choose images that are easily grasped, persuasive, or even funny

• Include a picture of presenter

• Keep it short and focused

Picture of 1000 words

Prepare the Event

• Schedule speaker training

• Upload PowerPoint & polling questions

• Practice dry run with presenters

• Test Audio

• Send reminder to attendees

Excellent Audio is Critical

• Audiocast vs. teleconference

• Practice handoffs before the event

• Mute all lines until Q & A

• Record the webinar for replay• Send to non-attendees• Archive in a library for future prospects

Remind Attendees

• Date and time

• How to test their equipment

• Clarification on the topic

• Questions, Input, Areas of Interest

Step Four: Be Human

Artist: Namakox

More of the Best Ways to Annoy the Audience

• Read from a script

• Read the slides

• Don’t vary pitch and tempo

Kicking off the Event

• Presenters dial in to pre-conference 15 minutes before event

• Test interactive features

• Review flow; discuss how Q&A will be conducted

• Start on time!

• Make sure attendees are muted and speakers are not

Encouraging Audience Interaction

• Annotation tools

• Polling

• Chat

• Live Q & A

• Post webinar survey

Introducing the Speaker and Describing the Event

• Who is the speaker and why is he/she qualified to present?

• What does the speaker plan to share with the audience?

• How will feedback be collected?

• How will questions be addressed?

• Does the audience have access to handouts or recordings?

Allison

Event Follow-Up

Immediately after event:

• Send out post event survey

Within 24 hours:

• Email follow-up to attendees & non-attendees

• Post and distribute recording of event and handouts

1 week after event:

• Follow-up to evaluate interest or needs of attendees

Please feel free to type your question into the Q&A chat box:

Think of something later today you wish you’d asked?

If you have questions or would like more information, please feel free to email me!

Allison Van Diest, Internet Solutions Architect: allison.vandiest@blackbaud.com

Questions?