 | WEBINARS ARE ALL ABOUT CONTENT | | | | | Five top tips to making a great presentation ... | Posted by Kirsty Parris on 19/01/2012 @ 08:30 |
Webinars are a great way to engage your customers and clients. From a simple live streaming video of an event you're presenting at to a fully mixed round-table with matching slides, technology is moving forward at a rapid pace enabling even the smallest business to broadcast themselves ...
 from a single camera to a fully-mixed studio setup, it's the content that drives a webinar
But it certainly can be confusing - if not slightly nerve-racking - when you've got to get the timing perfect, not stumble across your words and control any multimedia so that your webinar is fluid, congruent and engages everyone who's watching. With certain platforms, you can even see who's watching and you certainly don't want your viewer figures to start tumbling if you get something wrong.
Here are five simple ways to make your webinar successful:
- The first rule of creating a memorable and engaging webinar is to ''be prepared''. Spend some time rehearsing your words and if you are using slides, prepare a great looking presentation. Your slides should really stand out with strong graphics which reinforce what you are saying.
- World class athletes make sports look easy, but in reality their performance is the result of focused, intense rehearsal. The same is true with webinars. You should have two or three rehearsals, the first beginning about two weeks ahead of the event. Ask trusted colleagues to give honest feedback to the presenter so that the presentation is up to scratch. The day before the event, do a front to back rehearsal, including the operator, announcer, speaker, annotation team, and any other role that was assigned. Make sure everyone is happy with the rehearsal. Again ask a few colleagues to sit in on the rehearsal to give feedback and any final tips before the actual presentation.
- Take care to avoid "death by PowerPoint" - keep the content level light with no more than 3 or 4 bullet points on each slide. If you put a vast amount of text on your slides your audience will read rather than listen to what you have to say, therefore defeating the entire purpose of a webinar - to engage with your target audience.
- As far as content is concerned, you have to walk the line between giving enough content so that your attendees will feel that it is worth their time and attention, whilst also ensuring that you leave them hungry for more. As such, you need to balance the need for sharing good information with creating a desire to know more about your topic. And that desire to know more should translate into potential sales leads, shouldn't it?
- Go out with a bang - your presentation should build up to a high note at the end. On finishing the session, drop your audience on a webpage where they can get more information, opt in for further contact or fill in a feedback form on the event. This "call to action" gives you the opportunity to screen potential leads for follow up calls by your sales team.
There are many different webinar platforms available that offer a wide range of services to businesses of any size - from simple, single camera streaming to multi-camera mixing with a synchronised slide window built-in. Whatever platform you choose, the points above will help you make a slick and professional presentation that will leave your audience wanting to know more.
If you'd like to know more about webinars, then do call me on +44 (0) 1908 219100.
Until next time ... 
KIRSTY PARRIS
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 | Kirsty is Partner of Ad Valorem Sales & Marketing LLP, a sister company of Chartered Certified Accountants, Ad Valorem.
Within Ad Valorem Sales & Marketing, Kirsty works very closely with clients on a consultancy basis, helping them grow and develop their business. By focusing on marketing, systems, people and processes Kirsty enables clients to achieve both their personal and business goals.
Anything you want to know about Ad Valorem Kirsty is the person to speak to its a case of dont ask Jeeves ask Kirsty! Kirsty is a good listener; with excellent communication skills. She prides herself on her swift response to all client queries, either offering clear, concise advice or ensuring that any issue is dealt with promptly.
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