Now more than ever, we are in a digital-centric world. Businesses across all industries have been competing to deliver the most engaging content for a while now, but this has only increased since the rise of COVID-19. There is more pressure than ever for businesses to step up their digital game if they want to stay connected with their audience during this time.
One of the most effective ways our has been able to accomplish this for businesses in the area is by facilitating and promoting their webinars.
While webinars may seem like an old game, the key to success has changed significantly since the beginning of quarantine. Now, audiences expect much more than just a typical PowerPoint presentation.
In a time when people are craving more authenticity and human connection than ever before, it’s imperative to consciously adapt to what people need and what will incentivize them to stay engaged during your presentation.
Here are 4 tips to help accomplish this.
Catch Their Eye
Get rid of the black and white slides! When it comes to lead generation and reaching a new audience, you get one first impression, and your webinar slides are no exception. The visuals are your chance to show your audience who you are/who your brand is, so bring personality.
Deliver an Experience
Your webinars are NOT presentations anymore — they are experiences. Build them as such! When you create the experience, you want your audience to participate. Include multiple touchpoints throughout the webinar (a video to watch together, words or phrases to look out for, a survey to fill out, a PDF to download, etc) and explain to them clearly how they can do what you’re asking. Engagement should be the goal!
Show Yourself!
We know it’s tempting to stay in your sweatpants and t-shirts as you work from home, but during your webinar, video is NOT optional! This is how people connect in the COVID world — they want to see you because they want a better connection. If you’re not visible during your presentation, it’s safe to assume the majority of your audience is either zoning out, multitasking, or losing interest by the minute.
Create a Pipeline
In every piece of you deliver, if your audience can only read or watch the one item and do nothing else, you’re in trouble. Your audience needs to be integrated in a larger experience where there are multiple actions they can take! To put it simply, the goal of your webinar isn’t just to host a good presentation, it’s to get your audience to take ACTION. A good rule of thumb is that every experience should lead to 1-3 other experiences, webinars included. Lead your audience to your previous webinars, link to your list of resources, guide them to your blog, have them download something or complete a survey, etc.
By following these tips, your live audience is not only more likely to stay engaged throughout the entirety of your presentation, but now you also have a new experience and piece of content to leverage on any platform you see fit — embedded in blogs, uploaded to YouTube, added to your website, included in your monthly newsletter… the opportunities are endless!
Did you know that the average viewing time for a 60-minute webinar is now 58 minutes? The key is having engaging content and actions for your audience.
to learn more about creating the results you’re looking for by adding a webinar to your content marketing strategy.
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