The Benefits Of Creating Immersive Webinars
Immersive webinars are a perfect way to present your brand to audiences and show proof of expertise in your preferred subject matter. You build trust with people by letting them participate actively in your event instead of being just viewers. The most crucial benefit of interactivity, though, is to increase retention, as attendees don't only watch your webinar until the end but also remember most of the information presented. They are engaged, feel like integral parts of the event, and are compelled to ask questions regarding the material. By incorporating polls, surveys, Q&As, and quizzes, you build genuinely strong relationships with your participants and can cater your events to their needs and requirements. Growing your network is vital, but you also need to make every interaction feel personalized to instill a sense of importance for each individual.
7 Steps That Make Your Webinar Immersive
1. Pre-Webinar Activities
Engaging your audience does not start at the beginning of the event, but from the moment someone registers. You may ask everyone to do some preparation, like watching certain videos, reading articles, or filling out surveys. Therefore, everyone will be more prepared for your session and will be able to participate more actively. Also, surveys help you organize your material more efficiently since you're getting a glimpse at the participants' preferences. If you decide to make slight changes to your event, let your attendees know how their opinions and needs pushed you to reconsider. Lastly, don't forget about engaging your registrants on social media and encouraging them to share the link to your landing page.
2. Gamification
Games are one of the most fun ways to make your webinar immersive and skyrocket everyone's engagement. You may include mini-competitions, award points for every right answer, create leaderboards, and award badges to winners. However, you must ensure that these gamified elements don't feel like a win-or-lose situation where gaining points is the most important goal. Focus on making your presentations more interactive without the need to crown a winner. For example, you can give badges to everyone who reaches the middle of your webinar or every time they pass a survey or quiz.
3. Multimedia
Imagine listening to someone speak for 45 minutes and staring at their faces and a few slides with texts. Most people would lose focus, and many of them would exit the platform. However, inserting multimedia guarantees a highly engaging and interesting flow. You may ask your speakers to create a presentation with slides, including photos, infographics, animations, and videos. Instead of describing a complex matter, an animated or real-life video helps people comprehend it effectively and remember it efficiently. Text-heavy slides become more interesting the moment a picture or graph is inserted. You can also add simulations and product demonstrations.
4. Asking Questions And Offering Feedback
At the beginning of your webinar, you may ask a question to break the ice and get a sense of what your audience's needs are. For example, you can ask them which skills they want to master in the next two years. Ask everyone to use the private chat to send their answers so you can reply to them individually at the end of the event. Additionally, you should add a Q&A function where everyone adds their questions during the webinar without disrupting the flow. Dedicate around 15 minutes at the end of the event to answering the most common questions. Lastly, you may offer feedback to people regarding their work-related projects. Ask them to share their problems beforehand, review their work, and provide thoughtfully crafted comments that help them progress.
5. Testing And Challenging Audiences
At the beginning of your immersive webinar, inform attendees that there will be a test waiting for them at the end. Most people enjoy being tested, and this is extra motivation for them to keep watching and participating. Also, you may add polls and surveys before, during, and at the end of your event to get a sense of what participants found interesting, what they'd like to hear more about, and what corrections they have. Quizzes can be added at different points throughout the webinar to check everyone's knowledge. If you plan on creating a series of webinars, you should challenge attendees by offering them homework. It should be something small and achievable that they'll need to present at the next event.
6. Leveraging Storytelling
Storytelling isn't simply about communicating your points but, most importantly, about instilling positive emotions in webinar attendees. Immersive events include empowering and motivational stories that show the real-world applications of what you are talking about. Therefore, you present proof of validity and create strong bonds with participants. Your speakers may include an anecdote or story of their own to further prove their points. As a result, complex and seemingly unreachable matters become tangible.
7. Promising A Surprise At The End
You can build anticipation and excitement by teasing a surprise at the end of your webinar. You should mention it from the very beginning and keep throwing hints during the event. Your promises must be real, of course, and provide something truly useful and interesting to attendees. For example, you may offer discounts on all your services or a free consultation.
Conclusion
One of the most important tips to make your webinar immersive is to encourage attendees to participate in the live chats. Keep asking questions throughout the event, let the audience give their opinions, and engage in conversation with each other. You need to promote continuous discussions so nobody leaves your webinar early or without feeling like an integral part of it. Highlight the comments and questions that have gathered a lot of attention and push the conversation further during your Q&A.
Check out our webinar marketing solutions if you're interested in capturing high-quality leads by hosting a webinar with eLI. Pre-recorded webinars, demo presentations, or bespoke premium eLI webinars can help you expand your customer base.
