Tag: Webinars

Webinars Suck – Is That Right? – Part 2

Posted on by MarleneMB

Cachorro-01

Get Organized

Yay! You are back today for part deux. Let’s go back to the nightmarish call at the beginning of this series (See part one). All the chimes binging, banging and clanging as folks got on the call. This is often perceived as lack of organization on the part of the presenter. Perhaps the presenter did not take the time to learn how to use the mute function available on the platform. If you want to conduct a successful Webinar, get organized prior to the session. Address as many potential issues you may encounter as the moderator/presenter prior to the call.

Learn how to use the different features and functionality of the Webinar platform. Here are some popular features/functionality you should master:

  1. Instructions for the participants to connect and utilize participant features
  2. Mute all callers
  3. Make the call private or public
  4. Share your desktop or Screen
  5. Start and Stop Recording
  6. Chat Sessions
  7. Take a poll during Webinar
  8. Hand control to another presenter

Set Up in the Right Environment:

Perhaps you work from home or in a nosy office space. It is best to ensure that you minimize any background noise when moderating/presenting a Webinar.

  1. Nosy kids, adults and pets – It is strongly suggested that you make the arrangement to have the kids, adults and pets away from the area that you will be conducting the Webinar. Let all know that you need to have a quite environment in order to make the best impression on your audience.
  2. Turn of the phone – ringing telephone in the background is also a distraction to you and your participants. Make it a habit to silence all your devices near your presentation area, especially if you are recording the call.
  3. The guy/gal with the lawnmower – if you know the day and time of the lawn service provider, schedule your Webinars when he/she  will not be working in the yard. The mowers and leaf blowers often generate a lot of noise, especially when lawn person  decides to go right by the window that you are next to while presenting.

Not knowing how to utilize the platform features and background noise may contribute to the appearance that your Webinar is disorganized and unprofessional.

Now you have done yourself and your audience a favor by honing your Webinar skills and creating the right atmosphere. Next it is time for the Webinar. In the third post of this four-part series, I will share a few ways to make your Webinars Interactive.

Find out how I learned these tips and more from my Diamond Cutters, My Mentors and Coaches, pick up a copy of Live a Diamond Life, A Life of Purpose: Diamond Cutters today.

Live a Diamond Life, A Life of Purpose: Diamond Cutters

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading my post. Please hit the “follow” button at the top of the page. This will allow me continue to write and share with you on a variety of topics.

Webinars Suck – Is That Right? – Part 1 of 4

Posted on by MarleneMB
Webinars Suck - Is That Right?
Webinars Suck – Is That Right?

Come on. Admit it. You joined a Webinar that you really wanted to learn something new to advance your business practices, implement new ideas or utilizing new tools. You finally get added into the session after five or ten minutes of downloading software or multiple retries…only to be greeted by hundreds of beeps, bings, and bangs  as other folks join. It is so annoying that you want to yell to the moderator: “Mute the “Beeping” call chimes!!!

Okay, maybe it’s only me. But I would guess that a lot of folks have encountered this experience. Some may have even walked away with a bad impression of a Webinar session; if this was their first experience.

Speaking with a friend the other day, I asked him if he thinks Webinars work. He said most of his clients believe they don’t. In fact, some of them think Webinars suck! Wow! This should make a lot of Webinar providers and presenters happy. Not.

In my humble opinion, Webinars can and do work; if done in the right fashion. Over the years of conducting Webinars as a Sales Engineer Manager, a Product Manager, Marketing Director, a trainer and now as a small business owner, I have learned that to present a successful Webinar I was must include or do the following:

  1. Great Content
  2. Organize It
  3. Make Interactive
  4. Select the Right Webinar Provider

There is quite a lot of information to share with you. I don’t want you to ask: “Where’s the beef?” Therefore, I will share these tips in each part,  spread out over four posts especially for you “multitaskers” (you know who you are)!  Today, we will examine how having the right content will contribute to your next Webinar’s success.

Content! Content! Content!

Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic here (I’ve been accused of worse), but in planning your Webinar session you need to take into consideration how the content meets the need of our audience. Too often, I have participated in Webinars in which the presenters spent most of the time pushing the products and services. While they spend very little time discuss how these products and services will benefit the participant’s business or individual’s requirement.

Or they conduct the bait and switch approach. They promised one type of experience, but when you get in the session it has nothing to do with what was promised. In fact, the content was not relevant to your needs.

Here are a few ideas for great content:

  1. Make it informational (Tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em) – Address a problem that the audience may have. Share ideas with the audience how to address this problem. Example: “Not sure how to maximize your LinkedIn connections to get new business leads? The Five Tips on Maximizing LinkedIn Connections for Business Growth Webinar will give your the methods to Convert Connections to Clients.” or “Learn How to Convert LinkedIn Connections to Clients”
  2. Show them – Give step by step instruction is a great way for people to remember and learn a subject. We love lists. We were conditioned to remember lists. We make a list when we go shopping. We make To-Do lists to get tasks done. We take lists of questions to our doctors for health issues we may be experiencing (if you don’t, you should).
  3. Give them proof that it works – Providing your audience with a strong case study of how you or your company helped solve the problem for someone just like your audience. Back the case study up with a testimonial from that person or persons.
  4. Summarize (Tell ‘em what you told ‘em) – It is a good idea to summarize the problem and solution again at the end of your Webinar. Remind them of the key benefits and value they will get.
  5. Give a Call to Action – Include a call to action in the content of your presentation. You may softly mention the call to action a few times in the Webinar session, then state it stronger at the end.

Throughout your content be clear, get to the point and concise your message as much as you can without losing valuable information. Don’t make it too long. One hour or less is best. Use this quick mantra: “Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Show them. Give them proofs and examples. Finally, tell them what you’ve told them.” By incorporating some of these tips into creating content for your Webinar, you should be able to make it more attractive to your target audience. In the next post, we will move onto getting organized in part two of this four part series.

Find out how I learned these tips and more from my Diamond Cutters, My Mentors and Coaches, pick up a copy of Live a Diamond Life, A Life of Purpose: Diamond Cutters today.

Live a Diamond Life, A Life of Purpose: Diamond Cutters

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading my post. Please hit the “follow” button at the top of the page. This will allow me continue to write and share with you on a variety of topics.