How to create an engaging webinar: 7 ideas that you can implement today

This article was originally published in Polish by the magazine Marketer+ in June 2021.

Webinars – how can one not love them? Their relatively low production costs, flexibility of time and location, and easy access to data make them one of the favorite content marketing tools used nowadays. However, what to do in a situation in which participants’ interest in webinars decreases as a result of the overwhelming number of virtual events?

A screen, and on it a man with headphones and a microphone who is reading aloud a presentation in a toneless voice. Sounds familiar, right? While you might often end up attending a webinar conducted in this way, this doesn't mean that it's an example worth following. If you lack ideas on how to stand out, and at the same time you want your webinars to be an effective tool for increasing sales, forget about what you have seen so far and spend the next few minutes exploring seven ways to create webinars that will be a pleasant surprise and an engaging experience for your attendees. Let's get started!

Webinars were the video success story of 2020. In 2019, just 46% used webinars, but in 2020 this rose significantly to 62%. [1]

1. Webinar format

There are many formats that can help you make your webinar an entertaining experience – unlike a Zoom lecture at university. A discussion panel, an interview, a Q&A session, a case study of a satisfied customer, a product presentation, a how-to workshop, a loose discussion between experts over coffee – the possibilities are almost endless, and a properly selected webinar format will certainly be a nice springboard from less dynamic online meetings that mainly consist of recited presentations.

Remember: When choosing the event format, it is worth bearing in mind that webinars conducted in the form of, for example, a discussion panel often turn out to be more engaging than other formats. They dynamically provide information that is a combination of different opinions and presentation methods related to the topic of the meeting.

Tip: The basis of a good discussion panel is a moderator who will set the tone for the conversation and lead it in the right direction.
        

2. An (un)expected guest

A great element of surprise may be making your webinar more attractive by the appearance of a person whose identity is kept secret from the participants until the last moment. Such a surprise guest may be a leading expert in a specific field or a person generally known in a given community – the most important thing is that this is a person whose presence will be meaningful to the audience and who will add value to the webinar. The information about the confirmed attendance of a secret speaker can be used to promote an event to attract the audience well ahead of its date – without, of course, revealing who that person will be.

Another option is to keep the guest speaker completely secret. An unannounced visitor who appears during an ongoing webinar will surely increase the engagement level of the participants – even if they only stay for a few minutes to comment on the key issues of a given meeting.

Tip: If, for example, a different time zone is an obstacle to the appearance of an influential speaker, or their participation unexpectedly turns out to be impossible despite your promises, you can ask them to record a short video which will then be played live during the webinar.        

3. Video content

86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.

93% of marketers who use video say that it’s an important part of their marketing strategy. [1]

Are you wondering how else you can make your attendees focus on your webinar instead of scrolling through Outlook or making another cup of tea? An excellent solution may be to add variety to the event with appropriately selected video content. The video format conveys content in a way which is pleasant to the eye and the brain, thus enriching or complementing the rest of the meeting agenda. It can be used as an introduction to a discussion, as a visualization of presented information, or as an exercise, e.g., by displaying material for a case study for later discussion.

79% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy or download a piece of software or app by watching a video.

85% of people would like to see more videos from brands in 2021. [1]

4. Group exercises and more

Dividing participants into subgroups allows them to exchange their observations in a cozy atmosphere. It is worth remembering that exercises in groups not only support networking but also facilitate the assimilation of information by activating the brain and increasing its perceptiveness.?

Tip: If you use videos in your webinars, encourage your attendees to watch them carefully, draw conclusions, and share their observations with other participants. This type of interaction can be enabled, for example, thanks to breakout rooms, which are one of the best-known ways of conducting an engaging online event.        

However, if you feel that working in breakout rooms is not the right approach for your event, consider introducing tasks to be completed by participants individually during the webinar. These can be any exercise that will encourage recipients to become more active, e.g., an analysis of the company's own situation based on the discussed criteria.

5. Poll questions

The survey function is probably known to every person who has hosted a webinar. Conducting an audience vote is one of the best ways to convince participants that their opinion matters, and the most common surveys aim to address questions or problems that are directly related to the topic of the event.

So, how do you use polls to keep your audience engaged? Be regular and plan one question for, e.g., every 15 minutes of your webinar. Also consider how and when to present the voting results and keep a close eye on the number of responses and the engagement level of participants. If you notice it falling, surprise the audience with a fallback poll, e.g., an unusual question such as "Which came first: the chicken or the egg?". The surprise effect will certainly have a positive effect on attendees’ focus. Don't forget to present and discuss the results!

How can questionnaires help you increase the engagement level of your attendees?

1. Remember to run a poll regularly, e.g., every 10–15 minutes
2. Think of the best time to present survey results; as an example, you can do this at the end of your webinar to introduce an element of tension that keeps your audience interested and encourages them to be attentive.?
3. When discussing the results of the survey, be sure to use proper intonation.?
4. In the case of low interest, have an emergency survey that is designed to be highly engaging for your audience.        

6. Challenges and gamification

Few activities are as exciting and motivating as healthy competition! So, consider how to use it to enliven webinar participants when their level of concentration decreases. You don't have to look for complicated tools to introduce the element of competition: all you need is your presentation, a Q&A function, and a bit of creativity. A quiz, a question, or a puzzle? The choice is yours!

Mark Bornstein, the Vice President of ON24: “In a recent webinar, I asked the audience a Game of Thrones-themed question (“If Jon Snow were the lead singer in a current rock band, which band would it be?”), and holy cow, the webinar exploded with engagement. We literally had hundreds of people send in submissions within five minutes of my announcing the question. Behind the scenes, I had co-workers select the best of the answers and then I picked a winner at the end of the webinar (you really want to know, don’t you? The winner was “Imagine Dragons”). People really loved this and were tweeting about it for hours afterwards. We sent out a t-shirt to the proud winner, and many of the viewers from that webinar have attended future webinars to have another crack at the trivia”. [2]        

7. Giveaways

What if you surprise your webinar attendees with a giveaway at the very beginning of the event and announce another one to be conducted at the end? Branded items such as power banks can be a great but inexpensive way of attracting attention. You can also consider slightly more desirable gifts, such as a book written by one of the speakers or a ticket to your company’s next event – something that will be attractive from the point of view of the webinar participants.

Such a giveaway, concluded with the selection of the winner and the announcement of the prize, will arouse the interest of participants and encourage them to actively participate and interact with the event hosts. Sounds banal, right? But it works!

7 ideas for an engaging webinar in a nutshell:

1. Choose the right webinar format.
2. Surprise your attendees with the appearance of a guest speaker.
3. Use video format.
4. Think about individual and group exercises.
5. Use the potential of questionnaires.
6. Introduce gamification.
7. Offer a giveaway to encourage active listening.        

Summary

Although the market is slowly becoming saturated with more and more webinars that are similar to each other, this does not mean that they should be abandoned. Webinars are one of the most effective content marketing tools used to acquire customers by delivering valuable content and building trust, so I hope this article has convinced you that there are many ways to add variety to them and stand out from the competition. The keys to success are creative thinking, the element of surprise, and presenting relevant content in such a way that it is appreciated by the audience, who will remember it for a long time after the event is over. Good luck!

Bonus: How to choose a webinar topic relevant to your target group?

1. Explore the potential of your best-performing blog post.

Do you have a company blog? Great! Dive into your analytics tool and check your blog posts for the number of views, comments and shares to determine which pieces aroused the greatest interest and audience engagement. The best-performing articles, e-books and white papers may turn out to be outstanding ideas for webinar topics!

2. Talk to your audience.

Consider conducting a short survey, e.g., on social media, to find out what your target group’s current challenges are. What are their goals, needs and pain points? Ask them anything!

3. Engage your work colleagues.

Liaise with your sales and customer success colleagues to get the latest customer insights that will help you come up with a webinar topic that’s perfectly tailored to the needs and interests of your target group.

4. Review questions asked by the audience during your previous webinars.

Don’t underestimate the potential of Q&A tools. Questions asked by attendees can be a goldmine of valuable insights, especially those related to specific topics.

5. Discover new ideas with social listening.

Use your social listening tool to stay up to date with industry trends. This will allow you to identify the unmet needs of your target group at an early stage.        

Sources:

• [1] wyzowl, "The State of Video Marketing 2021"
• [2] ON24, “Let's play: Gamification in webinars”