Webinars have become an increasingly popular marketing tool, allowing businesses to connect with audiences around the globe in real time. However, creating a successful webinar is easier said than done. With so much content competing for viewers’ attention, if you hope to convert prospective clients or customers via webinar, it’s essential to stand out and engage your audience from start to finish.
To do that, there are some “golden rules” for hosting webinars that will not only capture viewers’ attention, but also persuade them to convert. Below, members of Forbes Communications Council share their top rules for delivering compelling and effective webinars that resonate with your audience and drive real results for your business.
Members pictured from left to right.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Don’t Be Afraid To Be Super Niche
Make every episode easy to share and (this should go without saying) deliver high-quality, actionable content on a consistent schedule. With a few, viral exceptions, webinars aren’t a quick fix; they build momentum as your audience gains trust in your point of view. - Theresa Anderson, Agorapulse
2. Engage With Your Audience Outside Of The Webinar
Engage with your audience outside of the webinar, including before it happens! Remember that your audience is motivated to learn at the moment they sign up, so don’t hesitate to fuel their eagerness with other valuable content. Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in attendance rates that we miss the point: Someone is looking to solve a problem, and we can help them do it—even before the webinar. - Nani Shaffer, Channel99
3. Share Something Practical And Useful, Then Follow Up
Give your audience something useful that can be put into practice immediately. Make signing up and joining a nurturing cycle worth their while. Achieve this by understanding your audience’s values to delight them with takeaways that leave a lasting impression. And of course, follow up, but make sure it isn’t generic. Keep the goodwill going, and it will come back to you in positive engagement. - Ed Breault, Aprimo
4. Avoid Selling And Choose To Educate
Avoid blatant product pitches in favor of topics that attendees can learn from and share. Feature engaging speakers that your audience can relate to. Avoid text-heavy slides to communicate your message. Include a practice session as part of your webinar plan. Make sure you include a relevant call to action at the end. And lastly, record the webinar and promote it as an on-demand resource. - Michele Szabocsik, BlueConic
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5. Clarify Which Pain Point You Will Address
My golden rule is to make it very clear, from the promotion to registration to the webinar itself and post-webinar follow-up, which specific pain point we will address and what’s “in it” for the audience—for example, an expert sharing best practices and trends. Demonstrate what they will gain from their time and engagement. As long as this is clear, there will be a higher chance of people engaging and converting. - Gily Netzer, Perimeter81
6. Create Personalized Content And Offer A Resource
The golden rule for hosting webinars that engage viewers and persuade them to convert is to create valuable content that is personalized for your audience. The audience should feel that they have gained something valuable from the webinar. You might offer a downloadable resource, a case study or a discount on your product. - Gala Grigoreva, Adsterra
7. Teach Your Audience Something New
Don’t spend too much time on what the audience already knows. Educate them on what they need to know. Injecting FOMO (fear of missing out) via thought leadership will make the difference you are looking for. Accompanying handouts are beneficial, as is a well-thought-out, personalized follow-up strategy. - Jessica Gopalakrishnan, Cognigy
8. Adopt A Micro-Webinar Approach
Define who the webinar is for—which sector, which persona, the problem they are looking to solve and what point they’re at in the buying process. Then, be super clear on all these points in your targeting and invitation process. While numbers are not the goal, it is important to always check the likely number of attendees. The conversion is worth the prep time. - Sarah Whipp, Callsign
9. Use Engaging Tools To Enhance The Webinar
Clearly communicate value in order to attract and retain attendees. When people attend a webinar, they want practical information. Personalize the experience as much as possible using live chat, polls, resources and more to engage. This builds trust and demonstrates a commitment to meeting their needs. Tailoring follow-up increases the chance of connecting and moving them through the pipeline. - Dayle Hall, SnapLogic
10. Make Sure Attendees Learn Something Useful
To maximize conversions from a webinar, you shouldn’t outwardly promote your company or try to sell your products. Instead, you should focus on giving the attendees something of value. If attendees sign off feeling that they’ve learned something useful, they’ll be more inclined to continue a dialogue with your sales team and, eventually, convert. - Trish Nettleship, Brightree
11. Present Intellectually And Visually Engaging Content
Ensure that the content presented is engaging both intellectually and visually. Take advantage of today’s digital tools; do not just verbally relay information—show it with demos, slides and images. If presented effectively, webinars can be great resources to post to your website and share with new audiences long after the session is over. - Karen Parisi, CentralReach
12. Include Interactive Polls And Quizzes
If you’re hosting your webinar on Zoom, you can easily incorporate polls and quizzes. It’s a great way to engage anyone listening, gather audience feedback, address concerns and gauge the topics they are most interested in hearing about. If you successfully get people to engage with your webinar, they’ll likely remember it and come back to the new ones you host in the future. - Yael Klass, Similarweb Ltd.
13. Produce Unique Content And Demonstrate Expertise
Give your audience something they couldn’t get anywhere else! Too many webinars repeat the same best practices and trends that we have heard for years now. If you want to convert an attendee into a customer, you’ll need to go above and beyond to demonstrate your expertise and value. You’ve got to make the experience worth their time. - Mike Neumeier, Arketi Group
14. Hold The Audience's Attention With Effective Storytelling
The possibility of conversion only arises if viewers stay long enough in the webinar to hear what the seller offers. The host’s primary responsibility then is to hold the audience’s attention through effective storytelling. This is possible by opening up knowledge gaps up front, making a promise of a worthy reward in exchange for their time and addressing that gap with rationale and emotion. - Mahesh Bellie, Indium Software
15. Break Up The Presentation With Interactive Content
Break the habit of presenting for 90% of the webinar, then opening it up for Q&A for the last 10%. Digital distractions are too pervasive to expect anyone remote to sit and listen for 30 to 40 minutes straight. Break up the content you want to present with anything interactive that you can provide: polls, panels, surveys or even direct questions for subject matter experts. - Michael Cupps, ActiveOps
