Guide to Using Webinars

Find a provider

Sure, you could host your webinars yourself, but unless you’ve got a very Web-savvy staff with plenty of time on their hands, you’re probably better off outsourcing to a specialized company that can handle logistics, hosting, archiving and results tracking.

I recommend: On24 has been the company I’ve worked with extensively in doing webinars for my Web site, and I give them a thumbs up. WebEx is another popular solutions provider, which has a nice function in that you can show others what’s happening on your computer (you can jump between your own programs and Web sites – whatever you choose) as you all chat in a teleconference. Intercall is another of the larger providers of webinar solutions; they also handle video conferencing and other cutting-edge interactive meeting options. Bulldog Solutions is a B2B-focused webinar solutions provider, and is especially focused on sales lead generation.

Start creating your presentation

Webinars are usually patterned around delivering slide-type content. Fortunately there are common business programs for helping you put your content in that format. Webinar solutions providers usually convert your slide presentation into their own format, so you don’t have to create the presentation in one specific program.

I recommend: You probably already have a copy of Microsoft’s PowerPoint software on your computer if it’s running a Windows operating systems and has the Microsoft Office suite of software. If not, order a copy. For Apple Macintosh users, the slide creation program that gets rave reviews is Apple’s own Keynote program.

Liven it up

You’re asking for people to sit at their desks for a period of time to stare at a slide show and listen to the discussion either via their PC or by a call-in line. Don’t let them fall asleep. Make your presentation lively and design your slides well in addition to providing great content.

I recommend: PowerPlugs is a nice addition to PowerPoint to create dramatic slides and graphics, though it may or may not work with all webinar solutions providers, some of which do not support transitions within slides. PowerPoint Heaven is a funky site with tips to do some outrageous graphical animations to keep your attendees awake. Road Tools has a nice page that actually shows you what the effects of different font colors and sizes can have on legibility.

Get it archived

Most webinar solution providers will handle the archiving for you, and if not, you may want to look at a different solution provider. Typically the archive versions offer an audio recording that simultaneously updates images on the web page the viewer is on. It’s not a video or film as much as it is an audio file that is playing while graphics (the slides themselves) change at specific points in the audio program.

I recommend: Archived webcasts should be available via popular players like a Windows Media Player format or a Real Player format. You may also want to make the entire program available in a format like a Quicktime movie, a Rhapsody movie or a Windows Media Player movie if you involved real video like a live presenter on camera.