Tim, I LOVE the question.

Here’s my experience… some will no matter what you do, and some won’t…no matter what you do.

I recently got an email from an instructional designer from a major university in the U.S. who said, “Wow!  I couldn’t attend the live event so I just watched the recording..and you kept my attention all the way through!  That’s hard to do!”

As much as I’d like to pat my own back (I won’t – it’d give me arm cramps), the reality is that audiences are multitasking even in in-person presentations.  Blackberries, iPhones, web connections everywhere…you get the idea.

I think what we should do is assume we have partial attention and plan/design/deliver for it.

CAN it be done?  Yes.

Can it be done every time with every member of your audience?

Not likely.

Assume partial attention.

What a pleasure!  Michael’s a fellow old timer with a strong sense of what he wants to accomplish in a world increasingly crowded with remote communications solutions.  He has a clear idea of where he wants to differentiate for the market(s) they’re pursuing and how intends to, interestingly, avoid being a “me too” product developer.

That said, there are some familiar features peculiar to webcasting that are absent in Podium 2.  But don’t let that stop you from taking a peek.

On the cool list are some well-designed features that will challenge potential users to imagine new ways of connecting with and engaging their audiences.

Announcements

Perhaps the best way to describe this is by analogy… you know how CNN or a sports program on ESPN might have that scrolling tape at the bottom with additional news?  Imagine something like that in your webcast to reinforce your message, provide supplemental data, or the like.  The net of it?  In a multitasking culture that’s accustomed to both splitting their brain between what the newscaster is saying and the other stuff scrolling by, this could be a powerful tool to keep around many types of viewers.

Social Media Integration

Okay, this isn’t unique, but the product does it well.  I’m a SM fan and user, so the elegance of the solution caught my eye.  Webcast to a Facebook audience?  Not with your average conferencing solution.

(Shareable) User Notes

Event participants can take notes (which isn’t new), but the interface is well designed to have that note-taking experience be a good one.  Think, “my participants don’t have to go to Word or try typing in a box the size of a Twitter post.”

<Fanfare here>  User Video Responses

Now this is just dang cool.  Want to gather real time feedback or testimonials at the end of an event from participants who can record themselves from their own webcam?  They push a button, make a recording, and hit “submit.”

One of the things in the ‘to-be-determined’ category is whether such a tool can find widespread adoption within an organization, but of this I’m sure…it certainly will if Michael has anything to do with it.  If you’re looking for a fresh alternative in the world of webcasting, ConnectSolutions might just be worth making your short list to take a look at.

“We are thinking of running a webinar offering tips on effective weight management with an option to invest in product and webinar support ongoing.  Is this too salesy?”

Caroline,

In a study in early 2008 by Marketing Sherpa the number one reason why people leave webinars early is “content not as advertised.”

The lesson here is this:  it’s completely okay to do anything you want in a webinar.  The question is, I believe, are you transparent so potential attendees can make a value judgment for themselves?

Here’s what to do:

One, remember that web conferencing is a tool, not a format (like a telephone).  It’s not the “webinar” that’s at issue, it’s the content and context.

Two, consider telling invitees up front – previous to the webinar.  If you’re going to offer educational content, that’s great (and it’s a great hook if you’re really delivering value).

KEY (AND THIS IS SO BIG I PUT IT IN ALL CAPS):  You’ll earn more trust if you present the solution to a problem (in your case, weight management) than if you jump right to your solution.  People ‘get’ that you’ve got products or services.  Earn their trust by giving them something of value (a solution/knowledge/skills) that works whether or not they choose your service.  (And who do people buy from?  People and companies they trust.)

Three, consider also telling attendees, once they’ve shown up, again.  Don’t assume they remember what you said in an invitation.

What I’ve seen work quite well is to begin the webinar with a welcome script that notes something like, “At the end of the educational portion of our presentation today we will spend about 10 minutes sharing a few of the benefits of <our company/product/service>.  For those who would like to stay on, we’d be delighted to answer any questions you might have.”

AND…if you use the above opening, make sure your presentation is a little shorter so you can also get in your ‘about us’ stuff before the end of the allotted time.  For instance, if you’ve said it’ll be a one hour webinar (meaning that’s what they’ve planned for), make sure you keep to that time including your ‘about us’ piece.

Web conferencing/webinars are a tool.  “Salesy” is a function of communication, not the tool.  Communicate with integrity and webinars can be a great place to build interest and action for your business.

What is your best approach to overcoming questions that you can’t answer?

James, you didn’t indicate whether or not you have all audio lines open, so let me address this three ways.

If you have all audio lines open (such as in a smaller event), you’ll need to handle these much like you would in person.

1.  Confess you don’t know it.  Don’t bluff.  I generally think people can tell if you’re bluffing, and you’ll miss a real opportunity to…
2.  Earn trust and goodwill by offering to help them get the answer.

Nobody knows everything, but people respect honesty and helpfulness.  Get their contact information if you’re not sure if you have it already (private chat works nicely!), and outshine the competition by showing a little love.

If you do not have all audio lines open (and the question came through the question manager), you’ve got a couple options.

1.  Address the person by first name and let them know you saw their question.  Make the same commitment as above.
2.  Skip it.  Generally people understand if you don’t get to all questions during an event.  Imagine an in-person seminar when thirty hands go up and you’ve only got time for four questions…same kind of thing here.

A thought on this second point:  if you have a larger event, be sure to let the audience know you won’t be able to get to all questions and that you’ll do your best.  Remember they may not be able to “look around the virtual room” to realize they’re in a large crowd.

Best:  tell them that you’ll make sure to get to all questions in a follow up.  Worst:  telling them you’ll follow up if you don’t.

Finally, repeat yourself.  Don’t assume people hear your instructions when you say them.  Example of a happy ending:  I recently had someone email me saying they’d asked a question during an event and I didn’t answer it (I got the sense that she was a little perturbed by that).  Never mind that there were 700 people on that event, and I DID mention more than once that it was a big event and I wouldn’t be able to get to everyone.  The good news is that she respond to my invitation to follow up after the fact with an email, and all’s well that ends well.

This webinar, I trust, will be a little different.  For instance, I’m not going to tell you to send a “thank you,” I’m going to use the thank you email (assumed as a no-brainer) and share how to optimize it beyond the completely obvious.

Join me Thursday?

Take the two question poll here

What if you work for a large organization like ours and use webinars to communicate messages and don’t have offers?

Paula, you don’t mention the type of audience or messages you’re speaking about, but let me make an educated guess that these are employees (versus the marketing audience we were generally speaking to for the DMA).

Let me be gentle with this next comment, but the truth is every one of us has “offers,” even if we don’t call it that.

Let me explain.

Unless 100% of your communication is compulsory (mandatory attendance), you have an audience who will engage more – or less – depending on how much they see relevance to their own wants and needs.  In the words I used in the webinar, “what’s in it for me?”

Here’s an example of a mundane scenario that could benefit by thinking this way:

Imagine you’re doing a training session rolling out a new medical benefits program.  What’s the typical presentation?  Data, data, data, data.  And what’s a common response.  Ho hum, and can I just know where to find the information when I need to find the information.

Now imagine delivering the communication in terms of benefits to the employee…not just the facts, but the “what’s in it for me?”

Rather than an invitation reading “medical benefits training” (the “what”), it might say something like “Learn three new ways to save time and money with the new benefits system” (the “why”).

And what about the content?  Might the employees give you more attention in you pointing out how much faster the new online reporting system or the places they can save money on (fill in the blank) with the new policy than a bunch of facts that might get lost in the busyness of life?

Let me be really clear…I’m NOT saying we abandon all facts, figures, and procedures.  What I AM saying is that people don’t need more noise in their lives, and what they pay attention to are things of self-interest.

So… what’s the offer?  Data?  Or a way to experience personal benefit?  (That’s a rhetorical question, BTW .  AND…if this is true for internal audiences (employees), how much more true is it true for external audiences?

An offer is others-centric.  What are you going to help them get?

Simply, webinarlistings.com is a place that organizations can get their webinars in front of more eyeballs, and those eyeballs, of course, are visitors to the site looking for content that’s relevant to them.

This is good news.  A common challenge for many organizations is where to get additional exposure for their webinar.  And the basic service is free.  Nada.  Zip.

As you’d expect, a business can’t give away everything for free and still be a business, and webinarlistings.com does, indeed, have premium services to increase the reach and frequency of your message getting out – especially to sources beyond the website.  There’s a long list of services from email to social media to premium positioning for you to choose from.  You can learn more about that here.

Given that most webinars could always benefit from more “butts in seats,” it’s likely that most webinar promoters could benefit from an extra place to get exposure, and webinarlistings.com might just be an opportunity for you to explore.

Whatever your stance, one thing is probably true for you…most meetings could be a lot more effective.

As I often say, web conferencing for meetings isn’t the answer to everything, but if you’re not using them as part of your communications mix, you’re likely missing out on a serious competitive advantage.

Join me for this interactive event to learn

• The single fastest way to improve productivity immediately
• How to capture – and keep – attention virtually
• Techniques for gathering data, generating ideas and accelerating action
• The three most common mistakes and how to eliminate them