It seems that the webinars that technology companies once used to introduce their products are moving into more mainstream presentations, such as corporate announcements, executive forums and internal staff training sessions. Communications managers who are new to the use of webinars may question their effectiveness. Can they really lead to sales, for example?

Webinars can cover topics ranging from general discussions, such as how to prepare for public speaking engagements, to more specific ones such as introducing service enhancements to existing customers. The effectiveness of webinars would depend on your objective. Is it to simply raise awareness? Or is it to generate new prospect leads? Or perhaps to lead to repeat sales?

Few webinars generate high returns. They fail because;

• they try to target too many different audiences,
• lack true value, or
• are too broad in their topics to be of much appeal.

Most webinar service providers will be able to give you some tips on how to organize one to get the best results, so we won’t cover them here. Instead, below are some tips we wish the organizers were aware of beforehand.

1. Consider the ‘speaking voice’ of your presenters.

Some people have monotone voices, and no matter how interesting their presentations may be, the delivery may turn out poor. Some speakers also tend to sigh or say “hmm”; this is amplified online. Presenters need to remember to smile and inject some energy into their voices when they speak. This will go a long way in keeping your audience engaged.

2. Pace the presentation.

Give your audience time to understand your key points. Ensure that you create presentations that are clear, simple and concise. Talk through each slide for about one minute before moving on to the next one. Packing a slew of information into a webinar may result in your audience getting less out of it.

Make sure you conduct a dry-run with all your presenters at least a day before the webinar. This is to give you time to address any technical issues that may arise. If it helps, pre-record the presentation portion but keep your Q&A session live.

3. Remember to remind and follow up.

Most webinar organizers have automated pre-meeting reminder systems, which are useful in keeping up the attendance rates. We would argue that it is the follow-up that is just as critical, if not more.

Many people in the audience may not have the opportunity to ask questions or get them answered during the webinar (Asian audiences may be too shy). At the close of the session, take a minute or two to explain your follow-up or feedback mechanism – and make sure you do follow-up immediately afterwards.

4. Expand your delivery channels.

Check that your service provider also assists in reformatting your webinar to cater to different media such as PDAs, video-sharing sites or uploading to your website. Share your webinar with other online groups that will find it useful.

For more tips, read our post on some untapped opportunities in online marketing.

For more information, please contact Manifesto.