By Guest Columnist Jean M. DiGiovanna, Founder, Workshop University
You have expert knowledge, great content to share, and valuable services to offer, but how do you package that expertise into high impact webinars that not only create immediate value for your attendees, but also leave them wanting more?
Think of the most memorable workshop or seminar you attended. What made it so successful? Whenever I poll audiences on this question, I consistently get these three answers:
- Presenter was engaging
- Information was relevant
- Session was highly interactive
So how can you design your webinars with this in mind? Although designing in-person seminars is different from designing a webinar, it's still critical to understand the foundation for creating a high impact learning experience. I'd like you to consider this equation:
High Impact = Experience + Value + Action (EVA)
When your webinar creates high impact, your attendees take action. But without a memorable experience and immediate value, your webinar will simply be a nice time (in other words, the attendees won't take action). You need all three ingredients (experience, value, and action) in order to have a high impact webinar.
Let's take a look at 7 critical success factors in achieving EVA:
1. Right Topic, Right Time, Right Price. When you think of your topic, what business problem or area of pain will it resolve? Your expertise must meet an immediate need in the marketplace. In addition, it must be at a price your target market will bear. You could have valuable expertise, but if there's no immediate need, you will not attract attendees. If it's overpriced, you'll have lost your market. A great way to gain exposure is to deliver an "introductory" webinar with a low cost or no cost barrier to entry. In that webinar, meet an immediate need, provide high value, and exceed expectations every time.
2. Set Direction before Diving into Design. I can't tell you how many businesses I work with who get excited about doing a webinar, but they immediately start developing it without getting a clear picture on what they want to achieve and why. Setting the direction serves as a compass before designing the roadmap. It includes clarifying the purpose of your webinar, the target audience, and areas of pain your webinar will address. In addition, you should also identify the:
- Knowledge, experience, and tangible takeaways you want attendees to leave with (these are called "Learning Objectives")
- Personal intentions you would like your business to achieve (just shared amongst yourselves internally)
- One to three key messages you want participants to leave with
- A title that is clear and compelling
3. Less is More. It's better to cover two areas deeply in a one-hour webinar than it is to cover ten items at a high level. Even if the purpose is to provide an overview, dive into at least one area so attendees can see the value and how it applies. They will remember more when they dive into an experience than when they just hear about it. Providing too much content dilutes the value of the webinar.
4. Information is Relevant and Immediately Applicable. Stay away from "theory." If you are introducing a model or framework, show examples of how it directly applies to their business. The more "real" it is for your attendees, the more engaged they'll be. The more your expertise can translate into their business, the greater the impact.
5. Content is Engaging and Interactive. Depending on the nature of your webinar and size of your audience, there are ways to keep your content engaging. One way is through visuals and multi-media. Instead of five bullets of text on your slide, include a large graphic. Show a video clip to back your content. If appropriate, ask open-ended questions at different times or dedicate time for Q&A. People retain a lot more of what THEY say and do than what you say or do.
6. Actionable and Results-driven. Leave your webinar with a call to action. I never leave my workshops and webinars without having each person identify one action he or she is willing to take on. Remind people to only choose an action they are willing to achieve; otherwise, it's a waste of their time and energy.
7. Provide an Offer for Continued Support. If you do not leave your attendees a way to get to the next level, you're doing a disservice to them. And you are missing a huge opportunity. This is not about "selling." It's about serving your attendees. Determine the next best step for them and offer a service/product/subscription that is of high value at the right price. When they have already received value out of the webinar, they are more likely to buy the next service.
Yes, designing for high impact does take time, but it's well worth the effort. After all, the true value of your webinar is reflected by the action your attendees take after the webinar, not by the smiley emoticons on your evaluation form.
Jean M. DiGiovanna, is a powerful facilitator, coach, and speaker with a unique gift for shifting people's perspective, enabling them to achieve beyond what they thought was possible. Visit http://www.workshopuniversity.com/.
So now you have the strategies for creating high impact. Let's put 'em to work with a BeaconLive webinar. Ready to learn more? Contact us today and let's set up a time to chat about your webinar needs.