Large scale video webcasting seminars through BlueJeans Primetime are a great way for a business to market to new customers, launch a new product, make a press release, or train new staff. But whether it is online or in-person, it can be difficult to make these speeches interesting and engaging for long enough to keep people focused or to make your point effectively. It is even more difficult when people are accessing the seminar online as there are multiple outside distractions and it is easy for them to find something more appealing and leave the seminar to do something else. Here are a few things you can do in your next online conference to make it more interesting and keep people watching for the entire length:
1. Make Them Interactive
Remember that conferences, even when hosted online, don’t have to be like a college lecture. You can turn them into a conversation and involve the audience in all or part of it. This keeps people interested and prevents them from drifting off or leaving the seminar. There are multiple ways you can make a seminar interactive; including a question and answer session at the end, using team building games, or asking others to share their opinions. Anything which involves the audience and keeps them invested in the seminar should be included.
2. Provide Useful Information
Content is key in online marketing, and Social Media Examiner says that the best way to make videos of quality content is with ‘how to’ videos, which get a lot of views. By providing a step by step guide or any type of useful information that people actually need, you can keep their attention while establishing yourself as an expert in your field at the same time. Many people offer a piece of free information in order to draw in more paying customers and establish their brand name. You can even record your seminar and upload it to a video sharing site so that it can be used as a marketing tool and reach even more people in the future.
3. Screen Sharing
A great way to demonstrate your knowledge isn’t just explaining the steps but demonstrating them live with the use of screen sharing tools. This means that everybody on the call will see a live stream of your entire computer screen and everything that is going on, allowing you to give a live demonstration of a new piece of software or work practice with commentary. HR firm TLNT says that this technology is especially useful for staff training, as it allows new hires to follow along with the steps, see clearly what they have to do, and won’t be left behind. The ability to save the recorded session and upload it to cloud storage for future viewing is also useful for any staff members who couldn’t catch the live stream and prevents the need to repeat a lecture at a later date.
4. Social Media Streaming
People access media today in multiple ways, so assuming people will only use a single method of reaching your seminar will result in lower attendance. You can use your streaming software to broadcast your event on multiple social media channels live. For instance, you can use the newly launched Facebook Live feature to draw people in from the most popular social media website in the world. This feature encourages interactivity as it includes live text comments from viewers. Even after the event, sharing the link on your social media channels can increase its visibility and encourage more sharing and more inbound links towards your website or video.
5. Invite Guest Speakers
Many people will fly across the world to a conference just to hear an influential guest speaker or somebody who is important in their industry. By viewing the conference online, they gain the rare opportunity to hear them and sometimes even ask them questions without even having to leave their homes. Guest speakers make a great addition to a seminar as they can back up your points, create a buzz, draw in their own followers, and prevent the need for a single person to ramble on for hours at a time. Your options are opened up considerably by inviting people to speak through their webcams rather than needing to travel, so make some enquiries and you will be surprised at the people who could be willing to help you out with your conference.
By preparing some great content, making your seminar accessible through multiple channels, and encouraging interactivity, you can make all of your online events, whether within your own company or open to the public, memorable, fun, and influential. Practise and use the online conferencing tools at your disposal such as screen capturing or live social media feeds to make the seminar easier to run and create the biggest impact that you can.
