Most webinar platforms come jam packed with a lot of bells and whistles as they seek to compete for your subscription dollar. Some are very useful and others not so much. Below, you’ll find a list of common webinar features to help you get the most out of your webinar creation software.
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What Are the 5 Most Common Webinar Features?
1. Sending auto-reminders to registrants with the date and time of your webinar
Top platforms do a great job at sending registrants email reminders — in fact, 57% of webinar registrations come via email.
Typically, you want your tool to send automatic reminders on registration, the day before, 15 minutes before and right when your webinar starts.
These reminders are typically sent via email, text or both and they contain a link to your webinar room.
You can use the standard content your platform offers, or you can customize your message to suit your style and brand.
In addition, all top platforms will show you analytics on reminder email opens so you can fine-tune your messaging to maximize conversions.
2. Offering slides, PDFs or other downloadable assets to your viewers
One great way to entice people to stay through to the end is to offer downloadable assets, like free guides, eBooks, worksheets, slide decks, etc.
Most webinar hosting tools allow you to make these available at a predetermined time.
For example, you could time the links to your assets to appear after your slides and before the Q&A section.
These tools also offer analytics on downloaded assets so you can decide what to include in future webinars.
3. Recording the webinar for later viewing
One of the most popular common webinar features is the option to record live webinars so you can watch them again later.
You can also make these recorded sessions available for replay to those registrants who missed the webinar entirely.
If you choose to use this feature, your registrants will receive a follow up email after your event with a link to a viewing room to access your recorded webinar.
Depending on the length of your webinar, the recorded version may appear immediately or several minutes later.
4. Timed call to action functionality
All top platforms will give you the option to add a call to action button set to appear at a pre-established time, to coincide with a specific point on your script.
When your attendees click this button, they’ll land on an offer page, a product page, a checkout page or any other URL that you supply.
Timed calls to action are a very effective conversion tool since only highly engaged attendees will see them (those who stayed all the way through).
5. Using a chat box to communicate with attendees
A final common webinar feature you'll love is the chat box, which allows you to obtain feedback from your attendees in real time.
Chat boxes are very effective to weave your audience into the conversation, by peppering yes/no confirmation questions throughout your presentation.
You may also use these boxes to solicit participant questions at different points in your webinar, which you’ll then answer during in your Q&A section.
Some platforms even offer a separate question box and can store all questions linked to the registrant's email address so that you can contact them later.
This gives you yet another opportunity to engage with your prospects after the webinar is over.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of webinars?
- Engagement: The intimate nature of webinars, coupled with interactive features, like chat boxes and live surveys, create a high level of engagement with your target audience.
- Cost Efficiency: Webinar apps are easy to use and reasonably priced.
- Connectivity: Webinars are easily served globally, connecting audiences from around the world.
Can the audience see each other in a webinar?
Unlike web conferencing, where participants can see each other in small boxes on the screen, webinars don’t include this functionality.
This is mainly for privacy reasons, since in the vast majority of cases webinar participants don’t know each other.
What are the pros and cons of a webinar?
Pros: Low-cost, easy-to-produce. Can reach a global audience 24/7. More interactive for audiences.
Allows for more immediate responses or questions from attendees.
Cons: They’re limited to those who can attend at the scheduled time. They require a significant time investment to prepare, produce and broadcast.
They require excellent command of the language on the part of presenters.
Do I need to appear on camera for a webinar to work?
Not always. A slide deck with narration can work perfectly well for most webinars.
However, you should at least introduce yourself on camera at the very beginning to humanize your presentation and create a visual bond with your audience.
How do I join a Zoom webinar?
After filling out the registration form, you’ll receive an email with your webinar link several days before the event, then again an hour or two before, 15 minutes before and then at the time of your webinar.
How many reminders you’ll receive depends on how the hosts set up the webinar.
What are the disadvantages of webinars?
The main disadvantage, compared to a web conference, is that attendees don’t get to talk directly to the host.
The only way for the audience to participate in a webinar is via chat and hope their content is picked up for discussion.
