6. Improvements in Webinar Technology – Best Features

Generally webinar hosts are pleased with improvements in webinar platform usability; user interfaces have improved and are relatively intuitive. Some users continue to seek improvements in reporting and analytics capabilities.

In addition to the interactive features mentioned above (Recording, O&A and Chat), some of the features respondents find critical include: Automatic Email Reminders to Registrants (75.9%), Email Registration Templates (67.0%) and Application Sharing (43.6%). Features considered beneficial by respondents include Polling (58.1 %), Audience Attentiveness Meter (54.4%), Hand Raising for Attendees (51.8%) and Post-Session Surveys (47.9%).

The most important aspect of the webinar platform for users in the Ease of Use/Setup, according to 42.5% of survey respondents. Reporting and Archiving also are considered important.

7. Post-Presentation Reporting, Follow-Up and Marketing

To achieve the greatest ROI from a webinar, businesses must maintain a high level of focus during all stages – before, during and after the event. Starting at the top, company division must work well together to plan the concept, create the content, promote the presentation and follow-up effectively to reach the goal of the session, particularly when the goal is generating sales leads.

Webinar hosts can stay on top of the webinar following the live presentation by sending out follow-up emails and analyzing the post -presentation report. Survey respondents are attentive to both of these strategies, with 70.6% sending out Automatic Follow-Up Emails most of the time and 68.9% of respondents viewing Post-Presentation Reports most of the
time.

Keeping the dialogue going can be a key component in a business’ desire to stay top-of-mind for attendees. Maintaining interest in the webinar after the live event also will serve to generate new interest in archived recording.

“Don’t think of a webinar as a static event,” McDonald said. “It should be an ongoing dialogue.” To that end. webinar hosts should consider all the options of how to utilize the content post-presentation. “I call it Return on Slides (ROS).” he explained. “You can tweet about it, blog about it and link to it.” McDonald referred companies to a site called SlideShare that allows anyone to upload presentations and make them available by Internet search.

Conclusion

Webinar technology has come a long way and businesses are realizing the benefits of incorporating webinars into an overall sales/marketing strategy. As companies continue to increase the number of webinars they present each year, they are becoming more focused on engaging attendees in innovative and creative ways by improving the content, incorporating interactivity and participating in different types of social media. Overall the webinar platforms available are working effectively for users. Improvements in usability and user interfaces have made the process more user-friendly. Some improvements on the horizon will likely involve analytics and reporting.