If you are one of the (many) people who has used the popular video conferencing platform Zoom to stay connected during this time of COVID-19 and social distancing, you are not alone. And with the surge of live events, conferences, and seminars being moved online, many are also flocking to Zoom for all of their webinar needs.
Hosting a webinar on Zoom is no small feat, but with the right preparation, tools, and a Zoom license, it has never been easier. If this is your first time hosting a Zoom webinar, here is our handcrafted How-to Guide on hosting Zoom webinars with all the tips and tricks you’ll need to pull off a successful virtual event on the video conferencing platform.
For all of you new to virtual events, read on for tips from the experts on how to host a Zoom webinar that your attendees will remember for years to come. When hosting a webinar on Zoom, make sure to:
- Consider your audience
- Be the host with the most
- Engage, engage, engage
- Create networking opportunities
Consider Your Audience
No one hosts a webinar on a whim. Instead, webinars are designed to communicate a very specific set of information. Your job as the webinar host is to figure out how to best convey this information to your audience.
How well do you understand who your audience is and what their expectations are for your webinar? When you have a holistic understanding of your audience, you can create an event that’s as engaging as it is informative.
Matt Abrahams, professor of virtual communications at Stanford University and co-founder of Bold Echo, believes that an audience-first approach is the key to hosting a successful webinar, “Do reconnaissance on your audience so you know who they are and what they care about. As you build the content, include topics that are meaningful to them and work on building engagement triggers into the content.”
Become the Host With the Most
As the webinar host, it is your responsibility to lead the webinar with ample preparation and a winning attitude. You will be the first introduction to audience members and fellow speakers, so you’ll set the tone for your event with your opening remarks and to carry that tone throughout the webinar. To become the host with the most, stay in-tuned with your audience’s perspective and prepare for anything.
Kristen Klein, Manager of Customer Marketing at Zoom, and is quick to remind that the success of the host is wholly dependent on how well they prepared for the event, “The event host sets the tone for the event. Practice and preparation beforehand will ensure your audience has the very best experience.”
Engage, Engage, Engage
An engaged audience is the backbone of any successful webinar. Although many Zoom webinars are built around one or a series of speakers with little audience verbal participation, the Zoom chat box is a great tool for call and response with the audience to keep them engaged before, during, and after the main events of your webinar. This is a great way to communicate with large groups at scale and field lots of questions while your speaker or panelists focus on presenting content.
Jessie Slocum, VP of Program and Network at Kauffman Fellows, emphasizes that engaging your audience from the very beginning is a surefire way to host a webinar that your audience members will remember, “When kicking off the day in a webinar, you are setting the tone and bringing *all the energy* since you’re the only person on screen. Begin engaging the group as soon as they log in by asking questions, checking in, and encouraging participants to reply in the chat. Before beginning the first session, orient the participants to the experience they’re about to have and the tools at their disposal.”
Create Opportunities for Networking
One of the biggest draws of attending live events and conferences is the promise of networking opportunities, and today that means virtual networking. In the lobby beforehand, during breaks, and at a cocktail hour after the event are all bonus networking opportunities provided naturally by in-person events. With webinars, these same networking opportunities run the risk of being lost.
Neil Patel, marketing expert and SEO guru , doesn’t think that networking has to fall by the wayside just because our events are virtual. All it takes is an extra dose of creativity and embracing the virtual atmosphere of the event. Patel suggests that you throw a “Twitter party” throughout your event with a public hashtag that encourages webinar attendees to meet and network with one another during and after the event.
“It’s a little different from saying, ‘Here’s our hashtag for the event, please tweet with it’ because it’s much more organized and structured. There’s usually some kind of moderator monitoring the ‘Twitter party’ by asking questions, replying to people, and keeping the engagement going. It’s also different in that there are numerous tools you can use to make your ‘Twitter party’ more formal and effective outside of Twitter.”
Are you ready to put these expert tips to good use? Before diving into your next virtual event, here is Everything You Need To Know About Hosting Zoom Webinars.
