the essentials of webinars by george buckbee, expertune
DESCRIPTION
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.George Buckbee is V.P. of Marketing for ExperTune, and has personally hosted hundreds of webinars. Come to this session to learn how you can apply webinars to prospect for new sales, to establish better customer relationships, and to reach your sales and marketing goals.TRANSCRIPT
Standards
Certification
Education & Training
Publishing
Conferences & Exhibits
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!