I was on two webinars this week: one was very engaging and effective; the other was not.
On the first slide in the first webinar they introduced all the speakers including full contact information and suggested a Twitter hashtag to use if we cared to tweet about it. What followed was a powerful presentation which included audience participation (via Twitter), with dialogue continuiing beyond the end of the webinar.
In the second webinar, the first slide was a complicated agenda. What proceeded was a complicated, one-sided Powerpoint presentation. Only at the end of the webinar did a speaker suggest a hashtag to use on Twitter. Too late?
While both webinars were informative in their own respects, the first webinar was more engaging, allowed for interaction with the webinar panel AND the webinar audience, and extended it’s influence beyond the subscribed audience.
It reminded me of a blog I wrote a while back on the InfoManage Technology Report: Webinars + Twitter = SUCCEED?
When will sales and marketing departments realize that webinars can be so much more than Powerpoint presentations? It’s not about the technology anymore. The technology is out there and the audience is sophisticated enough to use it.
It’s like the first television programs that were really just radio programs translated to a new communication medium. Let’s challenge ourselves to innovate within the new paradigm of communication we have today.
Want to know who I’m talking about? Check my tweets!