The webinar services that you use to host your webinars play a pivotal role in their success. They determine how many attendees you can accommodate and to what degree you can customize your presentation. How much of an immersive webinar experience you can create also depends on the platform you choose.
Different webinar platforms are unique in the kind of webinar services they offer. There is a standard feature set that most of them have in common. However, each platform has distinct advantages and disadvantages that will influence the outcome significantly.
The wrong webinar services can lead to a subpar session and make conversion rates plummet. When picking a webinar service, therefore, look for a platform that will meet the goals of your webinar.
It is easy to get carried away with the bells and whistles of webinar features. Ask yourself whether a specific feature would be instrumental for the purposes of your webinar. Here are six tips to guide you to choose the right webinar services for your needs.
1) Choose a Platform that Can Accommodate All Your Attendees
When conducting a webinar, it is crucial to have a clear idea of the number of participants you expect. Once you do, look for platforms that would be able to accommodate your expected turnout rate. If your webinar is a free-for-all event, ensure some wiggle room to expand your audience size.
Different platforms have webinar packages that depend on the size of your audience. Under any circumstances, do not pay for accommodation capacity that is too large for your requirements.
2) Ensure that the Platform Has Support for Mobile Accessibility
A significant percentage of people prefer to consume content on their mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Hence, your aim is to make your webinar easily accessible to as many members of your target audience as possible. Select a platform that provides mobile-accessible webinar services.
Such a solution will make viewing more convenient for your attendees, while optimizing your attendance rate. Conduct practice webinars to determine the quality of the user experience on both Android and iOS devices.
3) Pick a Webinar Service with a Simple UI
Ease-of-use is an overlooked factor when conference creators choose a webinar platform. If the webinar services you decide on are too complicated for the average participant, they may lose interest.
Similarly, a webinar platform with a complex UI (user interface) may also affect the delivery of your presentation. Not everyone is equally technologically perceptive, and a complicated interface will only hinder a smooth execution of your webinar. Choose software that is straightforward to use and does not require technological prowess to operate.
4) Consider the Integrations on Offer
Does your company have a Customer Relationship Management or CRM database? If yes, then choose a webinar platform that supports integrations for the right fit for your event. You can quickly transfer the data you collect from your webinar attendees to the company database through these integrations. You can then analyze your data and obtain leverage for lead generation.
Another good integration that many webinar services offer is with your calendar tool. The calendar tool allows your audience to add the webinar to their calendar with the click of a button. How convenient!
5) Look for Quality Engagement Tools
Engagement tools are an integral component of webinar software. Even if your content is flawless, a lack of engagement may cause participants to lose interest or get distracted. To prevent this, engagement tools such as polls, surveys, quizzes, whiteboards, and others will come in handy.
Look for webinar services that give you the option to incorporate the above elements into your presentation. Ensure that it supports high-quality media, features like real-time chatting, and the ability to share links. All these are helpful functions that will boost engagement and give your webinar an edge over others of its kind.
6) Decide on a Budget and Stick to It
When it comes to a webinar hosting platform, more is not always better. There are webinar services packed to the brim with features that will set you back hundreds of dollars. It is very easy to get carried away and choose the wrong platform because of features you don’t need. However, in most cases, you will be paying for more than you require for your webinar.
Have a budget in place and only look for features that you require. Focus on features that are indispensable in giving your attendees an interesting and immersive webinar experience.
Your Choice, Your Call
There are plenty of webinar services out there to choose from for your event. However, not all of them would be the right fit for you. Take the above tips into consideration and you will end up with the perfect webinar services for your use case.
