Expert tips on hosting webinars

Webex webinars

Before your webinar

On average, 30 to 45 minute sessions have the best audience retention rates.

Utilise time zone tools and record the webinar for those who were unable to attend.

Co-hosts help with production and support Q&A, consider speakers with relevant expertise and engaging speaking skills.

Start promoting at least a month before your event and send periodic email reminders.

Live webinars allow for direct contact between presenters and attendees, allowing concerns to be addressed right away.

Design an eye-catching landing page to drive interest to the webinar, use your brand colours and company logo.

Rehearse your planned webinar to smooth out transitions to other presenters, and time the presentation to ensure good pace. 

Encourage participation from your audience, use their answers to start relevant discussions and apply insights to future webinars.

Engage your audience from the moment they join, build excitement with upbeat music and pre-webinar polls in the chat.

During your webinar

A second display can allow you to continuously share what’s on the main monitor without any disruption.

Stay on topic by reading prepared bullet points to avoid the practice of reading slide content to your attendees. 

Ensure to record the webinar to use as an on-demand lead generation asset.

Use a stage orientation that best displays what you would like to feature most.

Ensure you have a professional background that is well lit and take advantage of virtual background capabilities.

Break your audience into smaller groups with pre-assigned leaders for focused discussions.

Use polls to engage with your audience and review results in real-time to spark further discussion. 

Use chat and Q&A capabilities to address thoughtful questions and concerns.

Give attendees more opportunities to participate with real-time closed captions and translation options.

Finish by directing attendees to a designated page, or provide clickable links to relevant resources.

After your webinar

Listen to your audience, their suggestions can help build and run better webinars.

Examine attendance, along with how long attendees stayed on the webinar.

Thank registrants for attending with a follow-up email and include resources mentioned during the presentation.