Webinars have become a popular tool for technology vendors when it comes to driving quality leads for their sales teams because the content format is valued amongst tech buyers. In a recent study, 40% of buyers say they spend a significant amount of time on webinar or video-hosting platforms when researching technology solutions.
Beyond lead generation, savvy organizations are using either live or pre-recorded sessions to:
- Build brand recognition.
- Display thought leadership.
- Build customer loyalty.
- Foster a community.
- Roll out new product updates.
But driving these outcomes requires strategic decisions in the planning process, including choosing the right format. By selecting a webinar format that aligns with the goals of your content and needs of your audience, you’ll see more meaningful results and deeper audience engagement.
Here are five webinar formats for you to consider:
- Single speaker – These webinars feature an individual presenter who typically uses slides to keep the audience visually engaged. This format is useful for uninterrupted information sharing – for example, delving into research data, industry trends and insights. They are straightforward and relatively easy to coordinate, as you have only a single speaker and presentation to prepare.
- Live Q&A or “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) – The Q&A or AMA webinar format is highly interactive, so it’s well-suited for maximizing audience engagement and fostering a community. This format can also help you better understand your consumers and build relationships by opening the floor for niche, product-specific questions. You’ll get greater insight into the topics that are top of mind for your audience through the questions they ask. To create a seamless experience for your audience, you need a reliable webinar platform that supports question submission functionality and can handle the expected number of participants.
- Fireside chat or interview – These one-on-one formats offer businesses the opportunity to share relevant information in a conversational way by guiding a discussion with a seasoned expert or thought leader. Questions are often prepared in advance and may be shared with the guest ahead of time, so no one’s completely caught off guard in the moment. Fireside chats/interviews are a fantastic opportunity to showcase an industry expert: By leveraging the experience of influential leaders in your field, you can build trust with your customers and show attendees that you are on top of the latest market trends.
- Panel discussion – In a panel discussion, a moderator controls a discussion held between several industry or in-house experts who offer different perspectives on market trends, topics or product insights and business operations. This format is ideal for displaying thought leadership and reduces the pressure of one speaker carrying the webinar. A more diverse panel can bring in varying opinions and make for a captivating webinar, such as panelists from different industries, job functions or roles in the tech deployment lifecycle.
- Case study or demonstration – A case study or demo involves showcasing and explaining a product, service or process to your audience. This webinar format is ideal for attracting potential or existing customers. Demonstrating a product or service through storytelling allows the audience to understand what problem is being solved by the solution and how. The visual aspect is also helpful for conveying complex concepts or showcasing features and functionalities.
For success, align the objectives of your webinar to the webinar format
These are just a few examples of the most common webinar formats – however, there are many more which you can choose from to achieve the desired outcome of your content creation efforts. While some require more coordination than others, your format choice should aim to amplify your topic, appeal to your audience and work to meet your objectives. For more guidance on building successful webinars, read Build a Better Webinar: Planning Content.
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