the essentials of webinars by george buckbee, expertune

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The Essentials of Webinars

George Buckbee, P.E.

ExperTune, Inc.

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Presenter

George Buckbee is V.P. of Product Development at ExperTune. George holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara. His 25 years of industry experience have been focused in the field of process control. George is the author of several books, and dozens of articles. In 2011, George was selected as an ISA Fellow.

The Essentials of Webinars

• Would you like to  meet face-to-face with 100 of your best prospects for an hour?  With Webinars you can efficiently have positive, in-depth, targeted interactions with hundreds of clients, from all over the world, without ever leaving your office. This session focuses on the basics of webinars: Uncover the motivations for webinars.  Learn how to choose topics, venues, format, structure, and content of your webinar.  Learn when to charge for webinars and when to do them for free. Find out how to choose a host service. Discover how to market your webinars for maximum effect, and how to stretch the value of every webinar.

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Introduction

• What is a Webinar?– Meeting– Event– Workshop– Presentation– Lecture (WebCast)

• May include:– Live Screen– Video– Audio– One-Way or Two-Way

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Motivations – What Can You Do?

• Pure Marketing• Education• Market Positioning• Pre-Sales Meetings• Product Demonstrations• Work Sessions• Customer Support• Troubleshooting

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Motivations

• Why Use Webinars?

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Choosing Topics

• Define Your Audience– Internal– External– Previous Knowledge

• Define Your Purpose– Sales– Marketing– Education– Support

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Choosing Topics

• What Makes a Good Topic?

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Choosing Topics

• Marketing / Sales– Demonstration of ….– Case Study …– Justifications for …– Secrets of …

• Educational– Best Practices for …– Latest Tools and Techniques …– Common Errors in …

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Choosing Topics

• Support– What’s New in Version X….– Troubleshooting …– Private Meeting …– Project Planning …

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Choosing Topics

• Make the Expectations Clear!

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Choosing Venues

• Who to Invite?– Prospects– Customers– Specialists– Management– Broad Audience– Narrow Audience

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Choosing Venues

• Timing– Time Zones

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Choosing Venues

• Setting– Moderator?– Host?– Panel?– Open Forum?

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Choosing Venues

• Style– Powerpoint– Live Demonstration– Live Video– Back-and-Forth

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Equipment

• A Good Headset• Computer

– Dual Monitor is Helpful

• Fast Internet Connection• A Quiet Room• Silence Any Distractions

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Formatting a Webinar

• Overall– Screen Sizes (1024 x 768)

• Multiple Apps– Keep Window Sizes the Same– Powerpoint + Another App

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Formatting a Webinar

• Audio Connections– Phone– International– VoIP

• Audio Options– Open Lines– Presenter Only– Allow Un-Mute

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Other Useful Elements

• Polls• Quizzes

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Choosing a Host Service

• Cost Models– Annual or Monthly Fee

– Up to XX Participants

– Pay Per Host– Need License for each Conference Host

– Pay Per Attendee Minute– $0.xx per attendee, per minute

– Audio– Bundled or Separate

– US and/or International

– VoIP

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The Top 10Web Conference Services

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Company Company Web Site Key Features

GoToMeeting Citrixonline.com Simple, 1000 attendees

Cisco Webex Webex.com Market Leader

ReadyTalk ReadyTalk.com Embedded media players

Adobe Connect Adobe.com Flash. Flexible Licensing

iLinc iLinc.com Customizable

Saba Saba.com E-Learning

LiveMeeting Microsoft.com All the good and bad of MS

Infinite Infiniteconferencing.com Good support, customizable

Lotus SameTime Ibm.com Domino integration

NetViewer Netviewer.com Good for support applications

Source: Top 10 Web Conferencing Software Vendors Revealed, 2011

Business-Software.com/WebConferencing

Comparing Services

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_conferencing_software

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Gotchas!

• Customer IT Restrictions, Firewalls, Other Headaches• No Audio on Participant Computer• Customer did not show up• Host did not show up!• Time Zones

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An Ounce of Prevention

• Are they going to be there?– Instructions– Reminders– Phone Calls

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An Ounce of Prevention

• Materials

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An Ounce of Prevention:Time Zones

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html

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Structure of Webinars

• It’s a Meeting!– Introduction– Agenda– Objectives– Recap– Follow-Up Items

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When to Charge for Webinars

Why Charge?

• Make Money• Defray Expenses• Pre-Qualify Participants• Perceived Value• Educational

Why Not Charge?

• Reduced Attendance• Marketing• Sales Events• Perception

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Marketing Your Webinar

• What to Market:– Title / Topic– Abstract / Teaser– Speaker(s)– Date/Time– Benefits of Attending

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Marketing Your Webinar

• Where to Market:– Web Site– Newsletter– Special Mailing– Press Release– Third-Party Support

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Marketing Your Webinar

• When to Market– Web Site: Months before– Newsletters: Every Time (synergy)– Mailings: 1-2 weeks before– Press Releases: 2-4 weeks before– Third-Party: 1-2 weeks before

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Stretching the Value

• Record it !– Play On-Demand– User Registration

• Follow-Up Mailings– Link to recording

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Stretching the Value

• Create a White Paper• Press Release • Training Class• Magazine Article

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Conclusions

1. Webinars are a powerful tool.1. Bring Value

2. Establish Better Repoir

2. There are many factors to consider.

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35Thank You!