Webinars

Hey, I'm Kevin Davidson, and I’m here to share a few cool lessons and tricks from my experience running webinars in the B2B space.

Now, you don’t have to call me the Webinar Whisperer, but I will admit it sounds really cool!

Anyway, let’s dive right in - here are 5 of my personal learnings that helped me find success with webinars.

1. Cut the noise: ensuring a distraction-free experience

Remember, the smallest distractions can derail your webinar's impact. I've been in webinars where background typing sounded like a hailstorm on a tin roof. It's not just annoying; it's a surefire way to lose your audience's attention. Invest in quality microphones and encourage your speakers to find quiet, controlled environments. This might seem like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how often it's overlooked. A clear, distraction-free audio experience keeps your audience focused on your message, not guessing the background noise.

2. Branding is your best friend

In the sea of webinars out there, your brand's identity is your lighthouse. Early in my career, I underestimated the power of consistent branding. Now, I ensure our logo and brand theme are not just visible but also integrated seamlessly into the presentation. It's not just about recognition; it's about creating a professional and trustworthy atmosphere that resonates with your B2B audience. 

It also helps to identify interesting branding opportunities. For instance, let’s say your speaker doesn't have a camera or their microphone is poor quality. Consider sending him/her a Blue Jeti microphone or a pair of AirPods - they will not only appreciate your gift, but be extra motivated in helping achieve your event goals. It will also create a solid long-term relationship!

3. Privacy concerns and registration rates

The digital age has made privacy a hot topic, and rightly so. I've noticed a direct correlation between simplified registration processes and higher attendance rates. The lesson? Respect your audience's privacy concerns. Minimize the data you request upon registration and be transparent about how you'll use it. This approach not only boosts registrations but also builds trust with your audience from the get-go.

PS: You can use other "creepy" technology to find out more about the registrant instead of asking them to share everything ;) 

4. Engage like never before

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that engagement is everything. The moment you treat your webinar like a one-way street is the moment you lose. Use polls, Q&A sessions, and interactive tools to create a two-way dialogue. And here's a pro tip: leverage these interactive elements to gather real-time feedback and insights, which can be gold for tailoring your content and offerings. Remember, engagement doesn't end when the webinar does. Follow up with attendees, share additional resources, and continue the conversation.

5. Promotion: Beyond the basics

Promoting your webinar can feel like shouting into the void, especially in the crowded B2B space. Early on, I relied too heavily on traditional channels like email blasts. While they're essential, diversifying your promotional strategy is key. Social media, especially LinkedIn for B2B, can be a goldmine for reaching your target audience. Don't overlook the power of employee advocacy; your team's networks can amplify your reach exponentially. And always, always measure the effectiveness of your channels to refine your strategy over time.

And there you have it…

Remember, the goal is not just to host a webinar but to create an engaging, memorable experience that drives real business results. 

Here's to your success in the webinar world!

Usually, marketing teams work like Lego. 

Sub-functions within the marketing team - designers, content writers, webflow developers, email marketers, etc. - come together like the fitting of different Lego pieces in order to build a website, publish ebooks and articles, run webinars, and so on. It's a smooth assembly line.

But sometimes, when the interdependency within a marketing team becomes too rigid, it can act as a blocker, hindering agility, causing project deadlines or go-live dates to be delayed or even canceled, and just causing all-around frustration and stress.

This is clear in the production of a webinar, for instance. Setting up and running a webinar is reliant on the involvement of different team members and requires a lot of orchestration as is clear in the diagram below.

Who are the key stakeholders involved in producing a webinar?

To set up and run a webinar requires the effort of at least 3-4 people in the marketing team.

All in all, for the webinar showrunner, dependencies can make running webinar programs extremely stressful as any delays or absences could significantly derail the efficiency of the event. 

How Zuddl Webinars makes it simple for 1-person to set up and run a webinar

Zuddl Webinars simplifies the setup and execution of webinars, making it easier for a single individual to manage the entire process. Here’s how the platform enables self-sufficiency:

(1) Easy-to-use templates make setup of ALL webinar activities as easy as 1-2-3

Using Zuddl Webinars, the webinar showrunner can ‘own’ all the activities that occur within the webinar production process by themselves, thanks to the platform’s ‘clicks not code’ ethos. This means that all webinar assets such as the landing page, webinar ‘stage’ and email promotions can be created and customized by just one person. ‍

This entire process is made easy through visual cues of every step in the process, and simple drop-down and toggle options,  reducing reliance on dedicated technical support or IT personnel.

• ‍Landing/registration page
  
  Zuddl Webinars comes with a set of templates that you can pick from for your webinar. You easily customize the banner, and speaker information. And importantly, the registration field as per your needs. 

• Email marketing
  
  You can create multiple event-related emails using our templates and send them to your attendees and speakers from a single dashboard. This streamlines your event communications and reduces dependency on your email marketer.

                 Building each email itself is as simple as using these drag-and-drop blocks.

By using ChatGPt to populate text for straightforward emails, you can also reduce dependency on your hardworking content team.

And by automating the sending of key emails - registration confirmations, reminders to attend, and post-event communication - you can make the attendee experience a smooth one. The bonus is that you won’t have to keep checking if messages are sent out on time.

The takeaway: With the availability of these user-friendly templates, webinar showrunners can now breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the days of painstakingly putting together landing pages, emails and webinar stages, and battling tech constraints and formatting mishaps are over.

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(2) Branding made as simple as drag-and-drop + a couple of clicks

In today's visually-driven world, the design and branding of your webinar is really important. Zuddl Webinars makes it simple for organizers to add branding directly to all your webinar assets. You can customize banners, backgrounds, buttons, forms, alignment, error messages etc. all by yourself. 

This means you can reduce revision rounds, and that you don’t need to badger team designers for around-the-clock assistance. (PS: This is not to take away from the importance of your team designer, without whom you wouldn’t have those essential hex codes, fonts, and logos to use in the first place).

The takeaway: Using these Canva-like editable tools, you can reduce dependency on your design team. You yourself can make your webinar look on-brand and aesthetically pleasing in a short amount of time.

‍(3) A smooth run-of-show as a default, freeing you up to focus on engagement‍

Webinar organizers usually have a lot to juggle during the live webinar. You need to keep your speakers on track as well as the host. Visual aids (if any) need to be shared on time. The Chat has to be moderated. Polls need to be launched. 

Normally, you’d need at least one more extra person from your team to help coordinate all of this and make sure that the webinar is on track. Zuddl Webinars can replace that person.

• Pre-setting your run of show with Scenes: Using the Studio tool, you can pre-upload intro videos, presentations, and transitions and compose them into scenes.  These are then pushed live during the webinar - you can move from one scene to the next just like you would from one Powerpoint slide to another: with a simple click. 

• Managing guest speakers: With Studio also being a virtual green room, you can communicate directly with your speaker(s), and coordinate webinar logistics. 

The takeaway: Studio capabilities give you better control over your run of show, leaving little room for error during your livestream. This means that you can fully concentrate on making your stream more engaging.

From dependency to efficiency

With Zuddl Webinars, gain more control over the entire setup and execution of your webinars than you’ve ever had before. 

The platform tools enable you to carry out many activities by yourself, without having to keep going back and forth between team members. This in turn allows you to have better control over timelines and output, thereby improving efficiency.

‍TLDR: Here’s a quick breakdown of how you will reduce team dependency with Zuddl Webinars:

• ‍Landing page builder
  All you need to do is drag-and-drop to build.
  This means your team developer can take that much needed power nap without worrying about getting a flurry of Slack messages from you.

• ‍Email marketing
  Ready-made templates + a scheduler for all emails
  The team email marketer can take time off to meditate 

• ‍Canva-like branding tools
  Upload + drag-and drop pre-set brand fonts, logos and colors
  Your team designers can breathe a huge sigh of relief.

• ‍Studio
  Scenes + Backstage means you’re the only showrunner you need
  All your marketing teammates can go peacefully about their day

So, go on. 

Make your life as a webinar organizer 100 times easier.

In the world of B2B companies, the power of webinars to generate leads is undeniable. 

Back in 2022, a whopping 57% of B2B event marketers declared webinars as their preferred format for lead generation. 

But hold on – there's a catch. 

These same marketers raised concerns about a growing trend: attendees are losing interest in traditional one-way monologue style webinars.

Is it really that surprising? Think about it – with attention spans dwindling, people now prefer bite-sized content. And in a sea of webinars, why would your target audience choose yours if it sounds like just another run-of-the-mill option?

So what’s the secret to running webinars that are relevant to today’s buyers?

Here are 3 killer tips shared by Aarthisri Srinivasan, Events Marketing at Sprinto HQ.

Tip 1: Keep webinars short, tactical and focused

When we asked Aarthisri what Sprinto has learnt from experimenting with webinars and finding success, one key takeaway that she shared was that an event marketer needs to think of a webinar as if it’s competing with a TV show.

Which means, its duration cannot be longer than a typical 30-minute show. Not just this, Aarthisri also suggests keeping the session super-focused. 

“We take one tactical problem - attack it properly - with four questions.” she says.

Tip 2: Plan your webinars a quarter in advance

Why? Because this is the sweet spot that ensures your planning is not too dated, yet it gives you enough lead time to get your ducks in a row.

“We do it quarterly just so that our planning isn’t too dated to adapt any feedback, but just enough to get the right speakers and plan out the email campaigns.” states Aarthisri.

Tip 3: Pick topics your customers WANT to hear

When it comes to webinars, a unique topic of actionable value is critical to event success. In a sea of clutter, attendees will only notice your webinar if there’s something compelling enough for them to spend their time on.

Aarthi’s approach to finding topics that work is split into 3 tactics. 

“I look at like all of these industry, credible sources, communities, recognized communities which security leaders look at.

#2 -  Existing customers: Analyze the calls that they have with the CX team. See what exact problem that they are having.

#3 - Analyzing peer content - see competitors.”

Hope you found these 3 quick tips helpful! You can watch our whole conversation with Aarthisri in this link.

You’ve probably noticed that webinars are more popular than ever.

They’ve skyrocketed from a once-a-quarter marketing activity to once-a-month. 

And for good reason.

Today, everyone’s looking to better their work, their skills and knowledge.

But everyone’s also short on time and attention.

The solution? Webinars are unrivalled as quick, effective learning tools. 

In a short 30-40 minute webinar session, your target audience can get snackible lessons, digestible takeaways, new skills, and walkthroughs. That window of time is also a perfect opportunity to show them just how much they need your product or service.

In fact, the best webinars can generate conversion rate averages of 19%.

And this is precisely why you just can’t afford to mess up.

Eminem said it best: “You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime.”

Your best shot at not messing up: a dry run for your webinar.

Here's everything you need to know about conducting one.

In this blog post

• Why it’s important to not skip over a webinar dry run
• How far in advance should you schedule a webinar dry run?
• What to have in place before the dry run
• Who should attend the dry run?
• Webinar dry run agenda

Why it’s important to not skip over a webinar dry run 

A practice session ahead of your live webinar can expose cracks or gaps that are not noticeable during your planning process or on a Google Doc, such as malfunctioning audio settings on your speaker’s laptop or not having enough talking points for a 40-minute session. You can gauge timing, test audio and video equipment, refine slide transitions, and ensure smooth coordination with co-presenters.

It’s the difference between nudging registrants further down the customer journey, or losing them forever to competitors with better webinars.

How far in advance should you schedule a webinar dry run?

 At least 7 days prior to the go-live date.

This will give you enough space and time to make any required changes.

Any less and you might not have enough time to straighten out the kinks. 

For instance, if you identify that your webinar ‘script’ - by which we mean the storyboard of talking points used by a speaker and moderator - is too short, you and the speaker can work on adding more meat to it. This could take a couple of days, especially if you are both in different timezones.

What to have in place before the dry run

1. A storyboard of the talking points that will be discussed during the webinar (key to this is creating a targeted abstract - read more about this here)

2. Slides or a deck that will be presented during the webinar. These should be proofread before the dry run.

3. A webinar platform that makes your life as the organizer easier. You should have already set it up with your branding - overlays, logo, backgrounds etc.

‍Who should attend the dry run?‍

• You, the organizer
• The moderator
• Your speaker(s)
• An additional member of your team 

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Webinar dry run agenda + what to check at each stage

Let’s jump right in.

1.  Before the webinar starts

Ensure that your speakers are confident about using the webinar platform.

What to check:

• Test that your speakers logins to the webinar platform are working 
• Check their audio and video settings
• Ensure that speakers are comfortable using the platform. Either ways, walk them through how they can present their deck or share their screen, how to change slides, answer questions and participate in the chat.
• Show speakers how they can reach out to you for help during the webinar if they need to
• Double-check that you are able to record the webinar

2. Hit ‘record’ before you start with the presentation run-through

3. Run through the presentation

Use your storyboard to navigate through the different stages of the webinar as if it were live.

1. Welcome the audience + housekeeping announcements
2. Introduce yourself and the speakers
3. Hand it over to the speakers to share their presentation OR use the different talking points specified in your storyboard to move the discussion forward
4. Q/A time with the attendees
5. End the webinar and collect feedback

What to check:

• Timing: Ask the additional member of your team to time the session. If it’s severely under or over the allotted time, you’ll have to make adjustments.

• Branding: Sometimes the backgrounds or overlays you prepped ahead of time just don’t work when you see them live. Check if any need to be replaced.

• Flow of content
  
  ‍Visuals: Does the information on the slides sync with what the speaker is talking about? Do your visuals support what is being said? Is there too much text on screen?
  
  ‍Content: Are there any points during the presentation/discussion that are unclear? Your team member should flag areas that may need additional clarification or identify slides/visual content that needs more polish.

• ‍Audio/video quality: Are there any glitches in the video? Any lags? Issues with audio like an echo?

• ‍Polls and engagement: Driving interactivity during your webinar is critical, and polls are a great tool for this. So during the dry run, identify which points during the session, would a poll be most useful for the audience? (Note: Don’t be afraid to begin launching polls right from the start of the webinar) What poll questions can help drive the discussion forward, or interject some energy? Who will launch them?

‍

• ‍Links/resources: Are you planning on sharing any supporting material during the webinar? If so, who will be sharing it? Will it be shared in the Chat? 

4. Don’t skip the Q/A portion

Run-through a couple of seed questions to help your speakers understand what that portion of the webinar is like. If during the live webinar your attendees are hesitant to ask questions of their own, ask your additional team member to ask the seed questions to get the ball rolling and encourage others to speak up.

What to check:

• Are there any questions that the speaker wants to discuss? If so, include them in the seed questions.

• Are there any questions or topics to avoid? Discuss what to do if these come up during the live webinar. For instance, if your webinar tool allows moderation of Q/A questions submitted by the audience, ask your team member to block these unwanted questions.

5. Post-mortem of the dry run + share the recording

After the dry run, talk through the issues that were flagged with the team so that everyone is on the same page about what needs to be done.

Action items:

• Share the video recording of the dry run with the speaker, so that they can review it later. 

• Talk through contingency plans in case of audio/video malfunction, loss of connection to the internet, what to do with hecklers, or any other scenarios that may arise while presenting. 

• Arrange for another dry run if the team and the speaker feels that it is necessary.

And that’s it! Keep in mind these steps when conducting your dry run to fine-tune it.

Free resource:

‍Here’s a simple checklist that you can use to keep your dry run on track and help identify malfunctions and issues.

Don’t leave anything to chance

By allocating time for a thorough dry run, you can iron out technical issues, fine-tune your content and flow, and deliver an exciting and interesting experience for your target audience.

But keep in mind that no matter how carefully a webinar is planned and rehearsed, something may still go wrong with it. We’re all human. So if you do make a mistake or a little mishap occurs, acknowledge it and keep going. Your audience is just as human as you are. And if the webinar turns out to be a complete disaster, reassure your audience that you will email them an improved recording as a follow-up.

With a primary focus on empowering their customers and fostering a strong community, Cloudsmith's webinars have become an integral part of their growth strategy.

Through their webinars, Cloudsmith brings together experts who share their knowledge on pertinent industry topics such as container optimization and software supply chain security, demonstrating the company’s commitment to staying at the forefront of industry advancements.

In this manner, Cloudsmith is able to serve as a trusted advisor as well as create opportunities for meaningful engagement that benefit both customers and the company’s sales efforts.

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Here are 3 things that have helped Cloudsmith run successful webinars:

1)They make webinars look and feel polished

Cloudsmith uses Zuddl Studio’s ready-to-use collection of backgrounds, banners, and lower-thirds, and an easy-to-use interface to customize their branding.

This result? — A visually stunning and cohesive experience that reflects the brand’s professionalism, and contributes to a high average time spent at each webinar.

2)They make data-based decisions to optimize strategy

With UTM-tracking, they are able to identify which marketing channels drive more registrations than others in real-time and lean into those top-performing promotions immediately. Routing marketing campaigns directly to Zuddl’s webinar landing pages helps them improve results too.

Additionally, by customizing the registration form on their webinar landing page, Cloudsmith captures important attendee details. Using analytics, they identify which timezones the majority of attendees are from, and make an informed decision on the best time to hold live webinars so as to attract maximum turnout.

3)They drive leads for sales + enable targeted, timely follow-up

Customizable registration forms that capture company and job titles help identify how many attendees are potential customers. This crucial information, combined with Zuddl’s Salesforce integration, enables their sales team reach out post-webinar with better context.

Also, by streaming directly to social from Zuddl and downloading the recordings and posting them on Cloudsmith’s YouTube channel, the company has been able to consistently generate thousands of additional views after the webinar is over.

Read the complete case study here

Webinars: where marketers splurge on everything but the most important element - the abstract.

You know this is true. 

In the rush to complete a laundry list of tasks involved in producing a webinar - landing page, speaker selection, social media promotion, email blasts, etc. - the abstract receives far less attention and care than its due. But this is a mistake that could be costing you.

A strong abstract can give your webinar the best chance of succeeding by attracting the right ICP and generating interest and curiosity, while a badly-written and poor-quality abstract will confuse or turn people off and reduce attendance. 

So we should be aiming to write really, really persuasive abstracts, instead of settling for mediocre ones.

What exactly constitutes a strong abstract?

In today’s world of information overload, people are making snap decisions about what to pay attention to and what to ignore. So think about the abstract as a big billboard advertisement: if it’s done well, it will get your ICP’s attention. 

 To “sell” your webinar to prospective attendees, a powerful abstract must:

• Communicate why this webinar topic is important and distinctive clearly; don’t write a mystery story that leaves it to them to figure out.

• Highlight why the speaker or their perspective matters - why should your ICP take it and take you seriously?

• Spell out the value that attendees will receive by attending the webinar. This sets up expectations so when people do attend, they get what they were hoping for.

Easier said than done. 

Writing this requires both creativity and strategic thinking. There’s a lot of information to pack in about the speaker and the topic, whilst playing on your ICP’s challenges, motivations and goals. But here’s a framework that can help:‍

A blueprint for crafting a powerful abstract

Step 1. The headline 

• Ask an interesting question
• Address a specific problem or goal - the more focused, the better
• Use ‘How to’ or ‘Steps’ to show the value the attendee will get
• Add personality when possible
• Convey it in 12 words or less‍

Templates:

• Is your [function/issue of concern] strategy really working?
• How to [achieve a goal] in [timeframe] without [a pain point]
• The do’s and don’t of [an issue of concern]
• How to [achieve a goal] in [number] of steps
• [Number] ways/strategies/tips/secrets to [achieve a goal] in [current year]
• [Topic] trends changing the way we [something you take for granted]‍

Examples:

• The do's and don'ts of webinar landing pages
• How to double attendee turnout at your webinars in just 5 steps
• 10 new strategies to help you easily build a pipeline for webinar guest speakers
• On-demand vs. live webinars: Which is better for MQL generation and why
• 5 ways webinars will change in 2024 

Step 2. The introduction

• Get straight to the point - no fluff or generalizations. Don’t tell the reader what they already know.
• Set the context by establishing the pain points. Your reader is looking for someone who understands their challenge or problem.
• Or prompt curiosity by asking a question that asks readers to a) re-examine the status quo b) ask themselves a question that they should be asking
• Convey this in 1- 3 sentences

Examples:

• Here’s a great example by Cloudsmith: “Containers and Microservices architectures are no longer the new kid on the block, and it may be time to take a fresh look at your ecosystem.”

• Or this by Mindtickle: “It’s time for sales leaders, enablement, and ops to align on one common purpose: increasing revenue productivity. But how do you go about doing it?”

• And this by Common Room: Building one-on-one relationships with community members is one of the most rewarding and impactful parts of leading a community program—but how do you scale to meet member needs when one turns into one hundred thousand? And how do you manage an ever-growing pack of internal stakeholders to ensure they understand (and contribute to) the value of your user community?

Step 3. The rest of the body

• Having established a pain point or prompted curiosity, use the rest of the abstract to build trust and interest

• Use bullet points to give the audience an idea of the talking points that will be discussed in the webinar. Keep it short and crisp to make it skimmable.

• Always keep in mind your intended audience - do they prefer stories or facts? Would they want demonstrations or just recommendations? 

• Use industry-specific terminology to set the expectation that you’re already attuned to your target audience.

• Highlight your speaker’s domain expertise and industry experience to substantiate credibility. If you can quote any details pertinent to the pain point/goal discussed in the webinar, even better.

Examples:

• Another one from Cloudsmith:
  
  In this session SLSA experts from across the industry gather to discuss the practical uses of the framework and address topics such as: 
  What controls are included in the specification and why 
  Real world developer approaches to software supply chain security 
  What's working and what's not working in software supply chain security 
  ‍
  Featuring: Isaac Hepworth, Group Product Manager, Software Supply Chain, Google

• And here’s a description about a webinar titled ‘Is the MQL dead? by Drift that provides background for the talk and highlights the specifics that will be covered:

• Here’s one more example that gets everything right

‍Drive better impact from a well-written abstract

We hope that if you take away anything from this piece, it’s an understanding of why your webinar abstract deserves as much time and care - or more - than the other activities in your webinar production laundry list. 

Stick to this 3 step blueprint and you’ll be able to set the stage for a compelling and engaging webinar experience that drives positive results, such as increased attendance, participant engagement, and post-webinar actions.

Let’s face it. Organizing webinars is just not as easy as the thousands of ‘How to host a webinar and drive lots of revenue’ articles make it out to be. There’s so many steps involved, from sourcing the speaker to planning the dry run, making the landing page to sending out emails, etc.

But even if you have a solid plan in place, you may be overlooking simple steps or activities that can completely derail your efforts, leaving you like this:

‍

So in this article, we’ll cover the top 5 ways you could inadvertently shoot yourself in the foot - and tips on how to prevent this. 

1. You send out basic follow-up emails after someone registers

The mistake: It can be tempting to schedule ‘1 week to go’,  ‘1 day to go’ and ‘1 hour to go’ emails, emphasizing ONLY the date and time of your webinar, and call it a day. But you need something beyond just this to keep interest in your webinar piqued.

The solution: This is why it's important to keep reminding registrants the value of turning up on the day-of. This means that in every follow-up email you send, you need to reiterate why your webinar is unmissable. And you can do this through some simple ways:

• Share a screenshot of your previous webinar, highlighting the interactivity of the Chat for instance, or a learning moment that an attendee had.

• Share social proof of positive tweets or comments from attendees at your previous webinars.

• Play up the FOMO by highlighting what the registrant will lose out on if they skip the webinar, for instance ‘Learn how to double your leads from a webinar by the end of the hour.’

• Offer an exclusive perk for those that do attend live.

2.You pick the entirely wrong date and the wrong time for the webinar

The mistake: If you’re not factoring in the day of the week, holidays, other industry events, and timezones, you’re making it difficult for people to want to attend your webinar. If it conflicts with anything else they have going on, you can bet this is how they’ll react:

The solution: Center your scheduling around your target audience’s availability. 

• Marketing wisdom states that Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best dates for a webinar. (On Mondays, people are in the thick of planning their work for the week while on Fridays, it’s likely that most people are already in a weekend mood and unlikely to tune in. ) But take this with a grain of salt, and use your analytics to determine which day attracted the most turnout.

• Avoid the run up to holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas and conflicting major events, whether that’s an industry conference or the Superbowl.

• Time differences can cause scheduling conflicts - it’s very difficult to accommodate everyone, so shoot for the majority instead. At Zuddl we usually schedule webinars at around 10:30 AM PT as it corresponds to accessible time zones across most geographies.

3.You take a hands-off approach with your webinar speakers

The mistake: Your speakers are busy, busy people, so while they may confirm their availability on a specific date and time for your webinar, this can quickly change. It’s just life. 

But if the only communication with your speaker is weeks after the initial call, then you’re only going to hear about a change in their availability later rather than sooner. This may mean having to cancel your webinar altogether - and quite abruptly.

The solution: Check-in with your speaker at regular intervals. Not only does this help build the organizer-speaker relationship, but enables you to spot red flags early on - like if a speaker requests a time or date change more than once, or doesn’t respond to your follow-up emails.

4.You decide not to make a basic conversation flow for your speaker and host

The mistake: We’re not telling you to make your speaker and host read directly from a script  - that’ll only make them sound either like a robot or a news presenter. But not providing them with a conversation guide either is a mistake. 

It leaves too much room for interpretation, by which we mean that the speaker and host could go wildly off topic, or not quite know how to navigate moving from one sub-topic to another leading to lots of awkwardness during the webinar, and causing attendees to drop-off the call.

The solution: A conversational flow can help guide your host and speaker through all the topics they need to cover, whilst letting them sound natural and conversational. This isn’t as complicated as you think. Even something as simple as this will work:

Introduction

• The host introduces the webinar/webinar series and goal
  ‍E.g. “Welcome to Event Heroes - a show where we engage with industry professionals to offer you practical guidance on crafting a successful event strategy and executing it with excellence, all to maximize your returns.”

• The host introduces the guest speaker and their career story
  E.g. for our webinar with Alex Temple - “Our guest today is Alex Temple, Senior Corporate Relations Manager at Explori. Now, Explori is an attendee feedback platform for events, expos and event venues.”

• The host asks the guest to introduce themselves
  E.g. “Hi, thanks for having me on as a guest today. I’m a B2B event marketer with 15 years of experience., etc. etc.’

Educational content

• Questions that touch upon the pain point or goals that your audience signed up for
  E.g. Solutions to challenges in the industry, a new perspective on an age-old practice, commentary on new trends, insights and best practices from their day-to-day. Protip: Use customized questions on registration forms to gauge what attendees are really interested in learning at the webinar

Q/A

• The host reads out questions shared by the attendees in the Chat or using a Q/A tool and prompts the speaker to answer each in turn

Fun rapid fire 

• End the session on a high note with fun questions for the speaker
  E.g. ‘What are you proud of, but never have an excuse to talk about?’ or ‘If you were a pizza topping what would you be and why?

Closing and next steps

• The host thanks the speaker for their time and the attendees for theirs. Then, the host shares next steps.
  E.g. “Thank you for joining us to learn about <X topic> and hope you learned a lot. We’ll be sharing a link to a video recording of this webinar with you in an email so you can go back and watch it at a time of your convenience.’

5. And you opt not to do a practice run

The mistake: Without a practice run, you may not realize issues with the software or your speakers presentation or your showflow (ie. it might be too short or too long). As a result, you may appear unprofessional, confuse or bore your audience, and self-sabotage the opportunity to make a positive impact.

The solution: Do a dry run. Not only can you check that everything is in working order - webinar platform, presentation flow, speaking points etc. - but it helps your speaker feel more comfortable and confident too. 

Prevent mistakes instead of trying to firefight them

No one is immune to making mistakes, but knowing what obstacles are ahead makes it that much easier to overcome them.

For event marketers, seeing a low registration-to-attendee ratio is as heartbreaking as being stood up on a dinner date.

Think about it: you have a great topic, a solid marketing plan that is driving registrations, and a popular guest speaker as well - yet getting registrants to actually show up can be a challenge. 

But fear not – the 4 tips in this article are certainly worth your time if you’re looking to jazz up that attendee-to-registration ratio.

Send Automated Reminders and Calendar Blocks:

It’s fair to assume that all your potential attendees have busy work schedules. 

Hence, it’s a bit of a stretch to expect them to remember which event or webinar they registered for. This is where event marketers can leverage technology to send automated reminders, including calendar blocks. 

Additionally, set up run-up emails that will be sent out a few days before, the day before, and a few hours before the event. Include details like the date, time, and how to join the webinar platform to ensure attendees know what to expect. (Protip: Get a ready-to-use event promotional timeline and free email copy from our brand new ebook: 'A Guide To Before-Event Marketing: Basics, Best Practices, Blunders' as well as insights and hacks on all before-event challenges such as sourcing event speakers quickly to building a truly value-add event agenda).

Here’s an example of how you can plan out your email reminders, for instance:

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Select a time slot (and day) that suits your audience

From an attendee’s perspective, nothing can be a bigger buzzkill than them registering for an event and then learning that it’s happening at an unearthly hour. With the digital realm, event marketers have to be mindful of time zones. So pick a webinar slot that is neither going to clash with prime-time Netflix viewing nor is going to be an unearthly hour for your attendees. 

If your attendee time zones are spread out, pick a common time that is great for a majority of them.

‍This article by datadrivenmarketing.co indicates that the 10 AM - 12 PM PST slot could be ideal (with 11 AM being am the most popular start time). This timing is convenient because it corresponds to 2 PM EST and 8 PM in Europe, making it accessible for viewers across different time zones. 

Similarly, you are not going to want to host a webinar on a day when your attendees are observing a particular holiday etc, for obvious reasons. 

Since your target attendees are largely B2B professionals, the article recommends that you optimize attendance by scheduling webinars on weekdays, with Thursday being the top pick, followed by Wednesday and Tuesday. 

Make attending your event as simple as possible for the attendee

Let’s face it; nobody likes a tedious login process, especially when it comes to events.

This is where you as an event marketer can introduce some magic into the experience, quite literally. Yes, we’re talking about Magic Links. 

Why use magic links?

When these are enabled, your attendees will be provided with a distinct URL that enables instant access to your event or webinar with a simple click. This means no need for authentication, no usernames to remember; and most importantly - no passwords to forget!

Scarcity and FOMO go a long way

The psychological phenomenon of “people want what they can’t have” is the basis of scarcity marketing. 

With social media showcasing a world of experiences, around 69% of millennials feel the FOMO bug, spurring them to attend, participate, and share.

So how do you weave this into your marketing campaign effectively?

According to this article by Forbes, the right formula to create a ‘must-attend’ mindset is to make sure your campaign makes your target audience curious while giving them a compelling promise.

Here’s how you can build scarcity and FOMO in your webinar promotions:

• Experiment with limited registration slots or cut-off time for registrations
• Offer sessions that truly feel exclusive. For example: “The 1 event marketing mantra that the top 5% of CMOs use - and how you can use it too” is way more compelling than a run-of-the-mill title like “5 event marketing mantras to use”.
• Get video testimonials from attendees who attended previous sessions - social proof of positive experiences always help justify the quality of your sessions.

So to quickly wrap up, creating an irresistible hook, crafting a seamless post-registration experience, stoking the fires of FOMO and tapping into the power of social proof all have the potential to spruce up attendee turnout and repair the wounds of a passionate event marketer’s broken heart!

Over the past few years, the events industry has seen a rise in the prevalence of virtual events and webinars. In the association space, meeting online means that association members can still connect and share valuable resources and knowledge even when geographically separated. The success of virtual events in facilitating communication, engaging attendees, and fostering connection has solidified their use. 

Webinars allow your members to reach each other no matter where they are. Additionally, your association can seek out speakers from around the world, helping members make connections with and learn from people they may not otherwise have the opportunity to meet. In addition to providing a space for live connection, you can also record your webinars and upload the videos to your website or association management system to create a comprehensive collection of professional resources.

Your organization can take advantage of these benefits by following the necessary steps to prepare for the webinar, develop engaging content, and promote the event to your members. In this guide, we’ll walk through three strategies you can use to plan and execute a webinar your members won’t want to miss.

Prepare for the webinar

Taking the time to plan and prepare for your webinar is key to ensuring it runs smoothly and your members have a positive experience. But, it can be difficult to know where to start and how to navigate the basics of planning a webinar. Here are a few tips you can use to complete some of these first steps:

• Selecting topics. Choosing engaging topics is what will capture and keep members’ attention during your webinar. Access to resources and the opportunity to deepen their industry knowledge is a primary reason people why join associations. Offering webinars on relevant educational topics is essential to member recruitment and retention. A good way to get started is to research recent trends, technological developments, or major breakthroughs in your field and select a topic focused on one of those subjects. You could also use your association management software to research past events and determine which topics garner the most attendees.
  
  
• Sourcing speakers. Once you choose a topic, you’ll need to find an expert in your field who can bring their perspective and expertise to the webinar. While there are endless ways to source speakers, you can get started by asking members of your association to speak, requesting that members contact those in their professional network, messaging prospective speakers on platforms like LinkedIn, or using online speaker directories.
  
  
• Planning the agenda. Be sure to plan a detailed schedule that your webinar will follow and share it with everyone involved in the presentation. Estimate how long each section will take and assign times to keep everyone on track, ensuring you start and end on time. It can also be helpful to pad your schedule with a little extra time if you think there’s a chance certain speakers or sections might go over their allotted time or use this time for a Q&A between the speaker and attendees.

Once you create a detailed agenda for the event, organize at least one practice session for everyone who will speak during the webinar. Speakers will have a chance to try out their presentations without any members present, giving them an opportunity to make adjustments ahead of time. Plus, a practice run can help your association iron out any technical issues and other errors ahead of time and create smooth transitions between speakers and topics.

Ask attendees to get involved

A unique challenge associated with virtual events is keeping attendees engaged for the entire webinar to prevent members from dropping from the call early. To engage attendees during virtual webinars, give them the space to add their input and get involved during the webinar. A few ideas to try might include:

• Using pre-event surveys. Before the event kicks off, upload surveys to your social media pages, your next email newsletter, or through your association management software. Include questions like “which topics would you like to see in future webinars?” or “who are some professionals from the field you would like to hear from?” Then, use these responses to shape the content for the webinar. 
  
  
• Encouraging co-creation. In a business context, co-creation involves collaborating with customers to create a service or product. You can use the principles of co-creation in your next virtual event to turn passive viewers into active, engaged participants. For example, using and engaging with the chat feature allows you and your speaker to gauge members’ responses and field questions throughout the webinar.
  
  
• Adding polls or Q&As. You can use polls or Q&A features, considered to be a part of co-creation, in your webinars to gather important information from members that could shape the direction your webinar will take. For example, you might ask what the top challenge members face in their careers and have the speaker present on the subject that earns the most votes. You can also hold a designated Q&A section of the webinar during which the speaker calls on specific attendees and answers their questions, making them feel recognized and connected with the event.

In addition to these strategies that keep viewers engaged for the entire webinar, consider pushing the most anticipated, exciting part of the virtual event to the very end. In this case, your keynote speaker or the opportunity to ask an industry celebrity a question should be the last thing on the docket.

Leverage social media

Ensuring your webinar is engaging and runs smoothly is essential to providing your members with an enriching, positive experience. To spread the word about your next event to more current and prospective members and to learn what you can improve for future events, make sure to leverage your association’s social media accounts.

Social media is an accessible, affordable, yet highly effective means of promoting conferences, events, and webinars. Announce the event ahead of time on all of your social media pages—generally, you should announce events at least one month in advance to ensure members can fit them into their schedules. As the event draws closer, post additional graphics to remind members to attend along with any other online marketing strategies your association uses.

Once the event wraps up, you can continue to use social media to your advantage. Encourage attendees to post about the event and engage with those posts through your association’s accounts. You can also post impactful clips from the keynote speech or resources from the event to show those who didn’t attend what they’re missing and encourage them to join future events. 

Webinars are an effective tool your association can use to create additional value for its members, especially those who aren’t able to gather in person. With the right virtual event platform and association management tools, you can create a seamless, enriching experience and resource that members can reference again and again.

Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

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