Have you considered organizing an online webinar but don’t know where to start? The good news is that you can get up and running and host your first online event in just a couple of steps.
We can’t promise that the process of creating and hosting a webinar doesn’t require effort, but just like any other marketing tool, you need to be nuanced and timely in the message you send to your audiences.
So, if you want to learn more about webinar hosting, stick around until the end.
The Key Elements for Hosting a Successful Online Webinar
Plan Your Topic
It’s easy to skip over some basic steps when it comes to the logistics of your webinar. But one of the most critical tasks in getting webinar hosting right is to decide on your topic.
The topic should be something that is dictated by your business. However, you will also need to explore your target audience’s interests and pain points. What type of problems are they looking to solve? What information is missing from their decision-making process?
Websites such as Answer the Public or social media platforms could provide valuable insights into what people are searching for. Make sure that your topic is not too broad and aligns with your sales strategy goals.
Find the Right Time
When you host your webinar, it’s crucial that you carefully choose the date and time of your webinar. There are several factors to consider, such as potential clashes with major events, your target audience’s regular working hours, or if you are trying to appeal to an interstate or global audience.
ON24’s report suggests that Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days of the week to get maximum participation out of your webinar.
You will also have to keep in mind your potential speaker(s) schedule and how long your sales and marketing team will need to prepare for your webinar. You must give enough time for your audience to sign up. A webinar that has been rushed together at the last minute will not bring value to your business.
Choose Your Format
Before you get lost in the endless options of webinar platforms, you must consider what format you will select for your event. Your ideal format will depend on several characteristics, including your topic, the size of your team, and the atmosphere you want to create.
Panel discussions usually work best for large audiences in specific topic areas. They provide your audience with multiple viewpoints and an opportunity to ask questions from experts. While this might not be the right choice for some companies, you can also consider single-speaker presentations or Q&As.
The length of your webinar is also an essential factor. If your webinar is too long or too short, you can lose interest or might not be able to answer pressing questions from the audience. Take into account that most of your audience might have busy schedules to navigate.
Practice Makes It Perfect
After all the hard work you poured into preparing for your webinar, don’t forget to practice ahead of your event. Make sure you find some time to rehearse and do a tech run, especially if you plan to share videos or demos. Having a timer at hand can also help keep yourself to your schedule on the day.
Learn From Your Past Online Events
Have you run webinars in the past, but you didn’t collect any valuable data that you could leverage to improve your future online presentations? Data is king, and Narware can help you take full advantage of it.
We believe that what gets measured gets improved, so we put in place an intelligent 50 data points solution that measures and analyzes everything inside your webinars, presenting it in an easy-to-read dashboard format. Tap into the webinar analytics and optimize your future events!
Book a Demo Right Now!
Final Thoughts
There is no secret recipe to hosting an online webinar. But if you stick to these good practices and get behind you the right webinar automation tools, you stand a solid chance of succeeding in your webinar marketing.