5 Tips to run a Truly Engaging Webinar

[shyla]

Marketers often think speakers are the only owners of audience engagement. I'm afraid that's not right.

Here are 5 tips for you as a host to increase audience engagement in a webinar. Remember, an engaged audience is likelier to buy from you than an unengaged one.

Tip 1: Energize the waiting time

Login 2-3 minutes before the start and run some icebreaker polls. You can do this with or without your expert speaker.

Tip 2: Include the audience in your tech checks

Maybe tell a joke and check for laughter or cry-laugh emojis on chat?

Tip 3: Have a change of dynamics

Break the monotony by design, when you are conceptualizing the webinar on your drawing board. For example, you could have more than one speaker.

Tip 4: Run a Q&A Session

Gather questions with a promise to get back by Email or a short video with answers. This can be done with the lingering audience after the speaker leaves

Tip 5: Collect feedback

This does not need a special mention. You can use creative means to collect feedback, either during the session or after that. In any case, demonstrate continuous improvement.

That's it! Do you have any tips as a host to increase audience engagement in a webinar?

 

[mahogany41]

@shyla Thanks for sharing. Three additional pointers from seeing and being part of 100s of webinars are:

1. Be aware of the dip 15 min into the webinar, where many looses focus.

2. Acknowledge questions coming in - even if you don't answer them right away - otherwise people feel discouraged to be active

3. Use a tool that supports polls and use them frequently, both breaking the ice at the start, activating during, and for takeaways at the end

Vary the level of complexity of answers you expect. Remember it's a give-and-take! And you want to be mostly on the giving side.

 

[shyla]

@mahogany41 The focus threshold is a great thing to remember. This is why panel discussions generate better engagement than single person rambling in long form webinars.