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Did you know that the webinar market is expected to reach 800 million dollars by the end of 2023? With the ever-growing use of the internet and digitalization across the globe, businesses are no longer restricting their promotional efforts to the local level. They are using different ways to reach out to more people and generate leads.
Having said that, statistics show that, on average B2B marketers generate 500 to 1000 leads in a single webinar. Furthermore, 58% of marketers use this promotional strategy. Perhaps, you might have an idea about the benefits of hosting a webinar; that’s why you are here. However, you might not know where to begin.
Fortunately, you are at the right place. This article will help you host a successful webinar without any hindrance.
Let’s begin with the basics!
What is a webinar?
First of all, it is essential that you understand the meaning of webinar. It’s like a business seminar but hosted over the internet. It is live, and you can also record the whole webinar and later use it for promotional purposes.
Generally, it is focused on providing information on any trending topic or connecting with the customers. Besides that, it can also be used for promoting new products or services. Furthermore, just like seminars, you can invite industry experts to share their valuable knowledge.
Why host a webinar?
For the success of a business, you must interact with the target audience. A webinar is a great way to do that. Here you can provide information, listen to the customer’s inquiries/feedback, and learn more about the market.
In addition to this, as compared to in-person events, it is a lot more affordable. You need not search for a venue, its decoration, or make catering arrangements. It is because every person will be attending the event from the comfort of their home.
Moreover, you can use webinars to expand the horizons of your target audience. As it is hosted over the internet, anybody who is interested in the subject matter can join and gain knowledge from it. That means it is an easy way to earn the trust of your audience.
Now that you know what webinar is and why you must avail its benefits, let’s learn how to host one.
Webinar Hosting Checklist:
Before webinar:
- Decide the objective: First things first, you need to decide the purpose of the webinar. What is it that you want to achieve with this webinar? For instance, Do you want to provide new information to the audience? Do you want to discuss the trending topic to answer the audience query? Or, do you want to promote your new product?
- Decide the platform: After finalizing your webinar’s objective, you need to select the platform to use. There are several online platforms such as Google Hangout, WebEx, Zoom, or Skype. You can select the one that suits your needs. You may also wish to explore specialized on-demand webinar platforms.
Nonetheless, you need to ensure that the platform selected can be used easily on the computer as well as on the smartphone.
- Select the date and duration: Just like the usual corporate events, you need to decide the date and time. While selecting the date, avoid using weekends as most people are busy spending time with their families and friends. Thus they won’t be able to attend the webinar.
Also, select the duration. Generally, a webinar lasts from 39 to 60 minutes. However, the duration can change depending on the objective. Even so, try not to make it a lot longer as it might bore the audience at some point, which you surely don’t want.
- Identify your audience and invite them: Another thing that you need to do is to identify your target audience. Do you want customers to be part of the webinar? Or do you want the industry experts and your competitors to be the primary audience? It is essential that you know who your audience is before you begin other preparations.
After finalizing the audience, create a guest list. Just like in-person events, it is essential that you invite your guests properly. If you have a good budget and want to make a good impression, you can use nice postcards with all the details written over them and send them to the guests. Or, you can simply mail all the information to the respective guests.
Nonetheless, make sure that the information written is correct.
- Create your presentation and practice: After sending the invites, you need to prepare the presentation. Keep the presentation to the minimal content and focus mainly on the skills of presenting. However, make sure that the presentation covers all the key pointers about your topic. After the presentation draft is created, revise it for any mistakes and practice it.
On the day of the webinar:
- Check the tools: Before you start the event, make sure that all the tools are working properly. The tools will include your webcam and microphone. Also, keep a spare microphone in case the one you are using stops working. Not to forget, check your internet connection.
- Start with introducing yourself: Do not start with your topic instantly; ensure every guest has joined. Also, start the webinar by introducing yourself, your company, and the objective of the event. After that, you can continue with the main topic.
- Let your audience speak: After you are done with the presentation, ask for the questions from the audience. It will help in creating more interactive webinars and help deliver more information. Moreover, if your target audience includes your customers, ask for their feedback and answer all their queries. It’ll help in evaluating the success of your webinar.
- Record and reuse: Last but not least, you must record the webinar and use it for promotions on social media. It will help in gathering more audiences for the next event. Besides that, it’ll help in building more trust in the market.
The bottom line
A webinar is a great way to help your business grow and build credibility. Moreover, it is cost-effective and doesn’t require a lot of effort. So, you must give it a try!
You may also like: Role of Video Conferencing in 2021
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