Whether you’re an educator aiming to deliver virtual lectures, or an organization hoping to host thought-provoking discussions, the webinar platform offers an exciting way to achieve your goals. From conceptualizing engaging content to selecting the right technology, our webinar planning guide will equip you with the insights needed to create a great webinar experience.
Get clear on deliverables, outcomes and your audience
Planning of your webinar starts with getting clear on your deliverables, outcomes and your audience. Define the purpose of the webinar. If you are hosting a webinar to train employees, you might want to add a few experts who can present your webinar and use training material.
On the other hand, say you’re delivering a webinar to stakeholders. In that case, you would like your company members to speak in order to help with the company services or products. If your aim is to build brand exposure, you might want invite industry experts to showcase their expertise and insights on the topics that will serve target market.
Whatever the case is, it’s essential to define your deliverables, outcomes and audience. This will truly help leverage the benefits of webinars. By defining these areas, you can make sure that the content, presentation, and speakers aligns with the goals and marketing strategy of the webinar.
Identify the right webinar platform
When planning a webinar, it is essential that you choose the right platform. Therefore, make sure that the platform you choose has all the features and capabilities you need. Here are some questions you should ask yourself when choosing a platform:
How many people will be present?
Is this a private or public webinar?
Is it free or paid?
Do you want chat features?
Would you like to be able to use your own brand?
If a webinar is in progress, do you want recording or playback features?
Looking for analytical features?
Besides the platform on which you want to share your webinar, you should also consider whether you want to use event software. Event software can significantly streamline your presentation process.
With the right webinar platform, you can easily create shareable summaries and take advantage of automated timing. You can also broadcast your presentation on multiple platforms, communicate with your speakers, automatically provide reminders for them, and more.
Pick the webinar format
Before you start creating your slideshow (and I know how eager you are to get started), you need to decide on the right format for your chosen theme. Will your webinar be hosted by a single speaker? Will it be a Q&A style webinar with two speakers? A round table with multiple guests and a moderator? The complexity of your chosen topic and the availability of suitably qualified speakers will inform your format choice.
Plan your segments
When scheduling a webinar, another essential step is to structure your segments. Even if you have a single speaker, your webinar will likely have multiple segments.
For example, it could be an introduction, main presentation, conclusion, and Q&A. For more complex webinars with multiple speakers, you’ll likely have multiple segments.
Either way, it’s important that you plan the order and duration of your segments and the media to use.
Incorporate engaging media
When planning your webinar, you should also spend time researching compelling media and images. It can range from videos to images, infographics, charts, graphs, and more.
Make sure the medium you choose supports your message and content, and is clear and easy to understand. Avoid displaying a lot of small text on the slide as it can be difficult to read.
If you’re going to use text, make sure it’s large, bold, and preferably in a point style.
Consider content promotion
Just because you’ve picked a webinar with great content and knowledgeable speakers doesn’t mean everyone will be able to find it easily. Once you’ve decided on an idea, ask yourself if your topic has strong research potential. Also, think about promoting the content and how you market your webinar. Will you email existing customers with a link to the invitation? Do you advertise it through social media? What about co-marketing opportunities with trusted partners: what are they doing to promote them? These are all questions you need to ask before you start producing your webinar.
Test your equipment
Another essential part of planning a successful webinar is organizing and testing your equipment. Technical issues can completely ruin the best webinars, so make sure to address as many issues as possible in advance.
To set up a basic webinar, you’ll need a microphone, light, camera, and tripod. If you’re streaming, you’ll also need a stable internet connection with high download speeds.
If you want the remote speaker to join, you may also want to pre-check their connection and configuration. The last thing you want is to turn on an important speaker and no one can hear it or have connection problems.
Do dry runs
Speaking of testing, you should always do dry testing if possible. Test run is an industry term for “real-world testing” of a performance or presentation.
Dry running puts everyone at ease and eliminates any timing or technology issues. You don’t need to test-run the entire webinar, especially if you’re interviewing guest speakers, but it can be very helpful to test-run the overall sequence.
Market your webinar and send reminders
If the public can access your webinar, it is essential that you market it well. Even employee and private group webinars need to be “marketed” so that all attendees include time for them in their schedules.
If you’re hosting a private webinar, you’ll likely have your own way of notifying attendees. If you’re hosting a public webinar, you should leverage your social media and any other online platforms to get the message across.
You can also choose to promote your webinar, or partner with relevant sponsors or partners, who will in turn promote the webinar through their channels. One tip to keep in mind when marketing and planning webinars is to make it as easy as possible for attendees to register. Most of us don’t want to waste time filling out irrelevant personal information to sign up for something, so don’t make it difficult for your attendees to sign up.