Association-Focused Webinars and Webcasts

Building a community vibe is key. Consider setting up discussion boards or social media groups where members can chat, share ideas, and support each other during webinars. Send out regular newsletters with personalised content, and don't forget to throw in some exclusive resources or challenges to keep things interesting. Also, spotlighting your members' achievements can go a long way in making them feel valued and engaged during a webinar.

You can also include a Webinar Library in your marketing and comms strategy. It's a dynamic resource that you can encourage members to explore in between your live events. Regularly update your members on new additions to the library through newsletters, emphasising the value of on-demand content. Make sure your Webinar Library isn't just a repository but a living, breathing hub for continuous learning and engagement.

Other ways to keep members engaged is to repurpose your webinar content. This could be to create podcasts, bite-sized clips for social, or blogs that you can share.

When picking a webinar platform, think about your association's unique needs. Look for one that's built with associations in mind, offering features like Webinar Libraries, accreditation support, and sponsorship tools. It should be easy to use, customisable for your webinar branding, and able to scale as your association grows. Integration capabilities with your existing tools, strong security features, and robust analytics are also crucial factors to consider for webinars. To help you get started, we’ve put together 11 questions to ask before you sign up to a webinar platform.

The sweet spot typically falls between 45 minutes to 1 hour for a webinar. But remember, it's more about balancing valuable content with keeping your webinar audience engaged. Feel out the complexity of your topic and the vibe of your audience – sometimes shorter, more frequent webinars work well, and other times a deep dive is what your members need. Still in doubt? Ask your members the next time you run a survey or reach out via your social channels.

Make it interactive! Have live webinar Q&A sessions to address real-time questions, run webinar polls and surveys for instant feedback, and enable chat features for ongoing discussions. Inject some fun with quizzes or contests, and consider incorporating surprise elements like guest speakers or exclusive announcements during your webinars. And don't forget to encourage social media engagement – create a hashtag for your event and let the discussions spill onto platforms like Twitter or LinkedIn.

Accessibility is key. Ensure your webinar content is accessible for everyone by providing closed captioning, using high-contrast visuals, and describing images or graphs. Opt for a webinar platform with built-in accessibility features, and be mindful of language and tone. Make sure your scheduling is flexible to accommodate different time zones for your webinars, and strive for diverse speaker representation to offer varied perspectives.

Think security and transparency. Make your webinar registration process secure and straightforward, and be crystal clear about how you handle webinar attendee data. Tailor your registration forms to gather the info you really need, and send out confirmation emails with all the necessary details. Webinar reminders are your friends – send them leading up to the event. And after the webinar, gather insights through post-event surveys to keep improving your game.

Feedback is your secret sauce for improvement. After the webinar, shoot out post-event surveys. Ask about what worked, what didn't, and what they'd like to see at the next webinar. Make it easy for them to share their thoughts, and assure them that their webinar feedback matters. You can also set up more informal channels – encourage members to drop suggestions in your community forums or have a virtual coffee session where they can voice their ideas directly. It's all about creating an open dialogue.