Reaching Your Audience Faster Final

© Copyright 2003-2009 – The Webinar Mentor - All Rights Reserved
Reaching Your
Audience Faster:
A Survey of
Webinar Best
Practices
Presented by TheWebinarMentor.com

Your Webinar Mentors …
Mike Zabinski
Judith Briles

Thanks to These Sponsors:
Colorado Nonprofit Association
Rocky Mountain Chapter – American
Society of Training and Development
Individuals within the publishing
community of Colorado
National Association of Directors of
Long Term Health Care facilities

Text into the Question Box:
What is the most important
thing you want to learn
from today’s webinar?

Agenda
Highlights and Surprises
• Overall Use: Motivations for Using Webinars
and Expected Benefits
• Promotional Methods: Crafting and
Communicating Messages to Potential
Attendees
• Content and Presentation Development
• Event Management: Managing the venue and
technology required for broadcasting.
• Communication and Contact after the Webinar
• Best Practices Summary
• Questions and Answers
• Demo Some Techniques

… a presentation delivered online
in real time. Presenters can be a
soloist or a group.
Webinars range anywhere from 15
minutes to several hours. Some
are free, many have a fee to attend.
Topic possibilities are unlimited.
A Webinar is …

Why Webinars?
Blocking your Message!

© Copyright 2003-2009 – The Webinar Mentor - All Rights Reserved© Copyright 2003-2009 – The Webinar Mentor - All Rights Reserved
Outbound Messages

Outbound Messages
Are Easily Blocked

“Inbound” Messages
Blogs
Search
Engines
Social
Media

Build Trust
→ People Act
Share Your:
 Knowledge
 Experience
 Capabilities
 Goals
 History
 Beliefs

How many Webinars have you
presented in the last year?
0
1 – 5
6 – 10
11- 20
Over 20
Poll

In What Sector do you work?
• Self-Employed
• Corporate
• Non-Profit
• Government
Poll

Who Participated?
Survey Participant
Characteristics

Position
• External Consultant– 45%
• Internal Professionals – 12%
• Management – 32%
• Authors – 10%
• Other – 1%
Who Participated?

Sector
• Self-Employed 56%
• Corporate 25%
• Non-Profit 17%
• Government 2%
Who Participated?

What Sector do you work?
• Self-Employed
• Corporate
• Non-Profit
• Government
Poll Results

Ever Presented a Webinar?
• Yes 41%
• No – but will 12%
• No 47%
Surprise! – 82% Presented in the past year!
Who Participated?
Webinar Experience

How many Webinars have you
presented at in the past year?
0
1 – 5
6 – 10
11 – 20
Over 20
Poll Results

In the Next 12 Months
 70% of Respondents will Present 1+
 Not using will drop from 47% to 30%
 52% of Presenters will Present 3+
 23% will Present 10+!
Who Participated?
Webinar Use - Future

Motivations for
Using Webinars
and Expected
Benefits

How Valuable are Webinars?
90% Find at Least “Some Value” - BUT
 54.5% Presenters Rated “Highly Valuable”
 17.6% Attendees Rated “Highly Valuable”
 Biggest Issue: Quality of Presentation and Content
Motivations for Using Webinars
Both: Webinars valuable for all employee levels

Expected Benefits from Webinars
Presenters and Attendees (>70%)
 Increase Access
 Minimize Costs
 Learn about a product or service
 Access to a recording
Presenters Only:
Build a Strong Brand 71% Demonstrate ROI 62%
NOT:
Lead Generation 42% Get to Market Faster 43%

Presenters Attendees
Communicate information Communication of information
Train in skills, knowledge or values Training in skills, knowledge or values
Differentiate from competitors Training in a product or service
Sell a product or service Get product or service information
What Outcomes Are Most Desired?
Dead Last

Promotional
Methods:
Crafting and
Communicating
Messages

Promotional Methods
for Webinars
Single eMail Website Notice
eMail Campaigns Banner Ads
Postal Mail Print Ads
Online Newsletters Telephone Calls
Blogs Social Networks
SEO Word of Mouth
Affiliate Programs

Promotional Methods
for Webinars
Why?
Most Effective … Presenter’s Attendee
• Word of mouth 73% 72%
• Email campaigns 65% 84%
• eNewsletter 61% 48%

Promotional Methods
for Webinars
Why?
Not Effective … Presenter’s Attendee
• Print ads 57% 69%
• Postal mail 56% 46%
• Online Ads 27% 59%
• Phone Calls 31% 53%

Attendees
Times/Dates 88%
Agenda 87%
Topic 80%
Cost 78%
Registration 68%
ID Audience 53%
Presenters 43%
Computer Registration 37%
Clarity of 1st
Promotion

Presenters Attendees
Describe Problem 100% 88%
Describe Solutions 100% 87%
Headlines 94% 88%
ID Audience 87% 79%
Agenda 75% 78%
Dates/Times 75% 91%
Objectives 62% 90%
Schedule 53% 91%
Computer Req. 47% 42%
Registration 31% 50%
What Methods Motivate Attendee
Register for a Webinar?

Presenter Attendee
How-To 68% 68%
How to Create a Great
Program
Topic 44% 67%
Creating Great Programs
Best Practices 69% 58%
Best Practices for Creating
a Great Program
Numbers 65% 56%
9 Methods to Create a Great Program
What Style of Title
Grabs Attendee Attention?

Partnering
w/ complimentary organization 61%
w/ complimentary profession/industry 56%
Social Network 50%
White Paper - Article 38%
Website 28%
Offer Newsletter 25%
Blog 19%
Paid Advertising 12%
Public Calendar 6%
Cold eMails with opt in 3%
Attendees Say … Willingness
to Supply eMail Address

Notifying
Potential Attendees
1st
Notice
5 weeks out 17%
4 weeks out 28%
3 weeks out 33%
2 weeks out 22%
1 week out 1%
Reminder
1 time 39%
2 times 44%
3 times 11%
4 times 0%
Unlimited 6%

Registration Patterns
Do You Monitor?
Yes 47%
No 29%
Not Sure 24%
% of Sign-ups
< 1% 17%
1% - 3% 11%
4% - 7% 11%
8% - 10% 6%
> 10% 39%
Don’t Know 17%

Gathering Info at Registration
Ask About Title, etc.
Yes 79%
No 21%
What Kind ?
Position Title 79%
Time in Position44%
Time in Industry36%
Organization Level 36%
Level of Influence 29%
Company Size, etc. 36%
# of Direct Reports 0%

Webinar
Content and
Presentation

Preference of Speaker
Presenter Attendee
As the only presenter 53% 65%
As part of a panel or a
co-presenter 37% 35%
As a Moderator of others 10%

Presenter Attendee
None 44%
1 - 2 40% 54%
3 16% 33%
4 or more 0% 13%
Poll Usage During a
45-Minute Webinar

Yes 53%
No 47%
Likeliness of Attendee to Send Text Question
Very 41% Somewhat 35% Not 24%
Ask the Audience to
Submit Text Questions

Presenter Attendee
During the Webinar 56% 57%
At the End 44% 43%
Preference When to
Answer/Ask Attendee Questions

Yes, the phone connection is
always open 63%
Yes, but only at specific times 26%
No 10%
Do Attendees VERBALLY Make
Comments or Ask Questions?

Polls 57%
Direct questions to attendees, than
publish results during the Webinar 57%
Interview experts 50%
Direct poll to a single attendee 29%
Play video clips 36%
Complete a form 21%
Methods to
Increase Interaction

Text chat 82%
Recording of presentation 79%
On-screen marking tools 63%
Screen sharing 59%
Passing presenter control 59%
Polls 40%
VOIP 35%
Tools That Are Used …

Speak with script as guide –
not read verbatim 50%
Speak with an outline 58%
Speak with proper pacing 58%
Speak with proper tone 68%
How Good Are You?

Never 83%
Once 6%
Two to Three times 6%
Four or more 5%
Do You Record
Practice Sessions?

Webinar
Event
Management

Registration Quick and Easy?
 64% Presenters said “Always”
 19% Attendees said “Always”
Webinar Event Management
Prior to the Webinar
Want to Communicate with Presenter Prior?
 56% Presenters said “Always”
 18% Attendees said “Always”
Surprise!

Length of Webinar
No Trend toward Longer or Shorter Webinars
 69% Presenters said “No Trend”
 76% Attendees said “No Trend”
Surprise!
Preferred Length?
 75% Presenters said “45 - 60 Minutes”
 20% Attendees said “45 - 60 Minutes”
Strong Preference - Narrow Subject, Deep Coverage
 77% Presenters
 73% Attendees

Did you notice the Stop Watch
was moving?
• Yes
• No
Be Honest?
Poll

Monitoring Audience Response
Answering Questions (On Topic)
 73% Presenters Handle All Questions
 96% Attendees: Presenter 1st
Choice to answer
 31% Attendees: 2nd
Expert Answering Not Acceptable
 38% Attendees: Waiting till End Not Acceptable
Surprise!
Audience Attention
 84% Attendees “Multi-task”. Poor Presentation #1 Reason
 33% Presenters Monitor Attentiveness

Recording
Editing Practices
 36% Presenters Edit/Clean Audio
 27% Presenters Edit/Clean Visuals
80% Attendees want Edit and Clean
Surprise!
Importance of Recording
 92% Presenters record regularly
 90% Attendees want access
Willing to Pay for Recording?
 81% Yes @ Minimum $15
 Average $28.64

After Webinar Follow Up
Surveys
Follow Up Questions Presenters Ask
 100% “Was Presentation Good?”
 71% “Meet Expectations? – Yes/No”
 28% “Call to Action”
Surprise!
Use of Follow Up Surveys
 79% Presenters Conduct Survey
 57% Attendees Respond to Surveys
 Only 44% Attendees want follow-up communication

Surveys
Surprise!
Attendee Acceptance of Call to Action:
 82% Visit a website
 82% Download something
 75% Request more information
 64% Send more questions
 64% Allow a follow-up contact
 61% Receive Presenter contact information
 54% Complete an opt-in

Missed Opportunities!
Receptiveness to Special Offers
 Published Article
 Newsletter
 Recording of webinar
 White Paper
 Free Trial
 Blog
 Free Consultation or Meeting
Special Offers
Attendees
92%
85%
85%
81%
63%
63%
59%
Presenters
50%
73%
67%
57%
20%
20%
40%

Yes 27%
No 33%
Some of the Time 40%
Follow-up Communication
to Remind Attendees
About "Calls to Action"
or Offerings Made

Within 5 minutes 0%
Within 1 to 2 hours 0%
Same day 43%
Next several days 29%
Next week 28%
Post Webinar, How Soon Do
You Contact Attendee?

Yes, I Do Yes, Outside No
ID Leads 15% 23% 54%
Rank Leads 8% 16% 62%
Communicate via
phone/email 23% 46% 23%
Send thank you 23% 38% 31%
Complete fulfillment
w/ wh papers, offers 31% 15% 39%
More announcements 23 % 23% 31%
Send results/ contests 8% 17% 50%
Send results of survey 8% 25% 42%
Who Performs
Follow-Up Tasks

Yes 38%
No 50%
Some of the time 12%
Follow-Up with Anyone
Who Missed the Webinar

Yes 17%
No 67%
Some of the time 16%
Measure Effectiveness of
Promotional Methods to
Increase Attendance

Likely Not Likely
Email campaigns 82% 7%
Word of mouth 72% 6%
Social networks 53% 25%
Online Newsletters 48% 16%
Phone calls 31% 53%
Website notice 23% 37%
Banner ads on website 18% 56%
Print ads 13% 59%
Postal mail 10% 46%
Online ads 9% 59%
What Attracts Attendees

Summing Up …
Best Practices …

Best Practices
Motivations And Benefits
Best Reasons to use Webinars
• Build Trust and Brand
• Build “On-Demand” access
• Reduce Costs and ROI
• Increase Training Effectiveness
• “Lead” Generation

• Use eMail Campaigns
• Word of Mouth
• Clarity for Topic, Time, Date, Agenda, Cost
• Use “How-To” and “Topic” for Style Hook
• Headlines, Obectives, Date & Time Critical
• Start eCampaign 3 weeks out, repeat 3 x
Best Practices
Promotional Methods

For the Attendee’s Participation …
• Be the Solo Speaker.
• Use Polls, no more than 3 per 45 minutes.
• Invite Attendees to submit Questions
during Webinar via text or phone #.
• Be interactive—Polls, ask Questions,
interview Experts and use streaming
video if appropriate.
Best Practices
Content & Presentation

For You, the Presenter…
• Learn the online Tools.
• Use Polls, no more than 3 per 45 minutes.
• Learn your presentation so that you can present,
not read it. Energy is critical.
• Rehearse from 2 to 3 times.
• Record presentation.
• Publish all Polls and Questions that info has
been responded to DURING the Webinar.
• Offer something; Action Plan.
Best Practices
Content & Presentation

Best Practices
•Registration: Make it easy, get only what needed.
•Schedule: Know your audience. Ask them.
Mid-week, 30-60 minutes
•Narrow the Subject, Deepen the info
•Monitor and Engage – or they will multi-task
•The Perceived Expert answers the questions
•Record and Edit Every Event

• Sum up your Presentation.
• Create a Call to Action.
• Offer SOMETHING to Attendees to Act On.
• Offer a recording of your Presentation for a
limited time, them sell it after it expires.
• Offer Articles, White Papers, Downloads.
• Direct them to your Website for specific items.
• Send a Thank You within the day—if you have
another Webinar planned, give a discount,
remind of your “offers” and/or Action Plan.
• Follow up with MIAs.
Best Practices
Post Webinar Follow-Up

THANK YOU!
Your Webinar Mentors …
Mike Zabinski
303-680-6944
Mike@TheWebinarMentor.com
Judith Briles
303-627-9179
Judith@TheWebinarMentor.com

For Your Attendance
Today
Your Webinar Mentor’s Offer to you…
15% off a single webinar consult/broadcast.
View a copy of this webinar on our website.
Mike Zabinski
303-680-6944
Mike@TheWebinarMentor.com
Judith Briles
303-627-9179
Judith@TheWebinarMentor.com

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