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 I used to set up many GoToWebinar sessions while I worked for a private equity firm here in Calgary.
We used the medium as a convenience tool for live investor updates and as an alternative to in-person meetings when distance and schedules were barriers to communicating with clients.
We found that webinars worked best for qualifying our clients and when used to review subject matter. They were not so effective in creating first impressions or when running longer information and training sessions. In moving through a customer sales cycle I liked using the tool to dig deeper into subjects and to root out issues and objections through a series of audience questions.
Webinars are not effective at nurturing an emotional bond with the audience. The medium is too sterile and presenters appear too distant from their viewers and miss the mark when trying to make a true connection with the audience. Nothing beats face time for this, but if you are looking for a first time audience engagement tool online, video Net-casting or the emerging concept of “Social-casting” with “Social CRM” is a far better option.
A few tips about running webinars:
- Keep the content to within an hour including questions and answers. I’d even say 30-40 minutes if you are just talking over a power-point presentation. People lose interest quickly so make sure that the presentation fits into a lunch hour slot or between meetings.
- Avoid complex logins and setup routines. Although Goto-Webinar and Webex are stable reliable products, they require a download by the client to even run. This can appear complicated to some attendees. Therefore, I recommend using a Flash based presenter instead. Dim-dim is one example that uses web browser technology instead of software. No installation is required when running these on 90% of browsers.
- Set up an open chat area so your audience can converse collaboratively with each other. This gives attendees the feeling that they are not alone in the audience.
- Use your event to enrich your audience, not just sell them. Don’t just ‘pitch’ the product. Impact the audience more deeply by giving them some free advice. This will qualify you as a source of good content. Once they believe you offer value, they will begin trusting you and your opportunity to sell will open.
- Use webinars to pre-screen opportunities. Fifteen minutes of questions on a subject will help you understand whether a client is even interested in what you are about to sell them. Learn from them first, then connect solutions to their comments or questions…
- Never replay a pre-recorded presentation as a live webinar. You need to be respectful of your audiences time. How would you feel if someone invited you to their offices to watch their presentation and they sat you in front of a powerpoint presentation with a voice over, then handed you a question form to fill in at the door? Recorded presentations might be easy to deliver but please remember that these events are supposed to be live. Live means – keep the event spontaneous and interactive. That’s what the audience wants. If it’s a recording you need to deliver, just offer the slides as a download option anytime or use a service like slideshare.com. If you have to play a recording, at least mention during the live event that one portion of the broadcast is a pre-recorded presentation.
Net-casting, Web-Casting and Web Events
If you plan to use a web presentation as a first impression tool, consider Net-casting as an alternative.
Netcasts involve good quality live streaming video of the presenter, produced in a style that imitates live television, but includes interactive tools like question and answer chat shoutboxes, social comments, group collaboration, file sharing and powerpoint presentations. They can even include full integration with a niche market social networking environment.
A well run net-cast builds trust through a personal video connection with the audience. People see the presenters’, get a feel for who they are and how they communicate and, through open conversation in the form of a shoutbox or live questions session, the audience truly engages the presenters in two way dialogue to understand how they react live, on the spot. This builds trust.
New media integrations like niche market social networking platforms take live net casts to a new level, with built in due diligence tools like forums, groups, break out conversations and social interaction between attendees.
Here is an example http://netcastevent.com/
I totally see how powerful a medium this can be in business, education and for political campaigns. Just look at Obama's success and more recently, Nenchi's campaign for mayor of Calgary.
I now specialize in servicing the growing need for Net-Casting solutions.
Kersten
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