What are the best practices and tips for hosting live vs. recorded webinars?

1 Live webinars

Live webinars are interactive events that allow you to present your content in real time, answer questions, and get feedback from your attendees. They can create a sense of urgency, excitement, and trust among your audience, and help you establish a personal connection with them. However, live webinars require more preparation, coordination, and technical skills, and can be affected by unforeseen issues, such as internet connection problems, technical glitches, or low attendance. To ensure a successful webinar, it is important to choose a reliable webinar platform that suits your needs and budget, plan your content and structure carefully, and rehearse your presentation and transitions. Additionally, you should promote your webinar well in advance, engage your audience with polls, quizzes, chat, and Q&A sessions, and encourage them to take action. Finally, record your live webinar and repurpose it for future use.

2 Recorded webinars

Recorded webinars are pre-recorded videos that you can host on your website, landing page, or webinar platform, and make available for your audience to watch on demand. They can save you time, money, and stress, and allow you to reach a wider and more diverse audience, as they can access your content at their convenience. However, recorded webinars also lack the interactivity, spontaneity, and engagement of live webinars, and they can be less persuasive and memorable for your audience. To ensure a successful recorded webinar, it is important to use a high-quality camera, microphone, and editing software, script your content, add elements of interactivity, optimize your landing page and video for SEO, and track and measure your webinar performance. Doing so will help you keep your audience interested and involved, as well as improve your content and strategy.

3 Hybrid webinars

Hybrid webinars are a combination of live and recorded webinars, where you use pre-recorded content for some parts of your presentation, and go live for others. They can offer you the best of both worlds, as you can leverage the benefits of both formats, and minimize the drawbacks. It is important to choose the right balance between live and recorded content, making sure that they are relevant, consistent, and complementary. Additionally, inform your audience about the format and expectations of your webinar, and let them know when you are switching between live and recorded segments. To ensure a seamless transition, avoid any delays, interruptions, or technical issues. Furthermore, maintain a high level of engagement and interaction with your audience, and acknowledge their comments, questions, and feedback. Finally, test and review your hybrid webinar before going live, and make sure that everything works as planned.