If you’re like me, you belong to numerous newsletters and associations hoping to some day find the time to read everything they send you and take advantage of the resources they provide. Good luck. As my inbox fills up, I’m noticing more invites to webinars and I’m left pondering the question: where do webinars fit into my marketing strategy? The truth is that webinars are quickly becoming a must have in any marketing plan. I recently sat through a webinar that was part of a virtual conference. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed not having to spend the travel dollars and take time away from my family, but do I feel that I was impacted the same as if I was sitting in a conference hall? The truthful answer is no. Therein lies the challenge! How do we ensure that we can be a part of the growing demand of webinar adoption while making certain we are impacting our audience? The answer is in the content we share and the preparation we put behind what we create.

I’ve heard many a marketer say that they hate creating slide presentations (the backbone of a webinar) and that they would rather engage their audience in other ways, often relying on in-person charm. In today’s online world, this isn’t always possible. We’ve decided to lay out some simple rules to follow to help improve your webinar success.

1. Consider for fit. We can’t go into the dos and don’ts without pointing out that webinars are not for everyone or for every company. They should be used as a tool to inform your customers or audience and in turn generate leads for sales and build your brand. Can you see your customers taking part in a webinar? When pondering whether to host a webinar, keep this simple statement in mind: just because something is on YouTube doesn’t mean people will watch it.
2. Make it easy. Will the webinar technology you’ve chosen take away from your message? Do your homework – there are hundreds of platforms for webinar hosting. Be sure to choose an easy to use option that will work for participants of all technology levels. If it is too difficult to log in or navigate through, your attendees will simply log out.
3.  Choose your topic and title carefully. Stay away from new offering topics or soap-box titles. Really evaluate what would be a benefit to your audience and run with it.
4.  Don’t be stingy about punctuality. Sure, you have to set a schedule for your webinar, but one of the reasons why webinars can be so successful is the convenience factor. Not every potential attendee will be able to attend your exact time. Allow for your viewers to access and share your webinar easily and at their convenience.
5.  Present like a pro. With LoopLogic, you can pre-record your webinar before you share it live. This ensures a smooth, professional presentation and allows you to edit and tweak as you see fit. The best part is that the audience will not know it is pre-recorded. You will be online at the right time, ready to address the Q&A session but not having to do the entire webinar live.
6.  Obtain and learn from your results. The success of a webinar goes well beyond the number of attendees registered. Choosing a platform that can track your webinar’s analytics is key to evaluating how your webinar was received. For example, if you find that a large percentage of viewers have logged off after a certain number of slides, you know that you may need to adjust the length of the webinar and re-evaluate the content leading up to the drop off point. Adding engagement tools like polls and interactive questions within a webinar is another good way to boost engagement.