%201.webp)
Keeping things fresh with your association’s member content is a must, so we’d like to share a few tips to revive your webinars and get the attention of members. With our help, you’ll have your membership tuning in to participate in no time!
Webinars are a source of knowledge, value, and guidance for your association’s members. But if they aren’t just as entertaining as they are educational, you might have a problem fully engaging your membership. We’ve all been in this situation before- sitting through a lifeless, mundane lecture just counting down the seconds before it’s over and you can leave to do something much more interesting. It’s a common scenario to be in, but it doesn’t have to be the case with your association’s webinars.
There are so many reasons why members just aren’t tuning in to engage with your webinars. From timing, software, and everything in between- you’ll want to keep a close eye on what you’re promoting to members in terms of webinar content.
Keeping things fresh with your association’s member content is a must, so we’d like to share a few tips to revive your webinars and get the attention of members. With our help, you’ll have your membership tuning in to participate in no time!
No matter how dynamic the content of your webinar is, the time and day of the week you host it could seriously be plummeting your member engagement. According to the Webinar Benchmarks Report by ON24, there are actually specific times that many organizations seem to host webinars. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday seem to be the most common days across the board- and shockingly enough, you may want to steer away from these days to maximize online attendance. Think about it this way, if so many other organizations are hosting their webinars on these days at similar times, why would you want to host yours then as well? Members may already be attending a different online seminar at these times, and you don’t want to create competition for yourself.
Consider choosing an alternate day of the week, and stick with a time that works for member schedules. Hosting your webinar mid day can usually catch members who are on a lunch break, although shooting for a time like 11am PST may work best if you have members across the country (catering to everyone at once can really help your engagement rates).
Listening to the same person go on and on about a topic can become tiresome after the first fifteen minutes. We all remember the pain of having to sit through lectures as a student with no breaks or pauses for interaction, so why do that to your members? Create webinars that allow for pauses and breaks in between. This will give members time to stretch their legs at home, shift their mindset for a bit before focusing back on content, and even take notes on what they just listened to. These breaks are great for keeping the attention of members all the way through your webinar.
You can also use these breaks to interact and communicate with members. Your webinars are an experience, so you might as well make them an interactive one. Communicating with members through a live chat feature on your webinar platform can help you make sure your messages are hitting home and no one leaves confused. You can even answer any questions members have during the break to keep things rolling along smoothly.
You put a lot of time and effort into making your webinars valuable to your membership. So, why should they disappear into thin air once the live stream is over? Creating a webinar archive, just as you would with blog posts and videos, adds an extra element of stored content to your membership’s value. Members can go through the archive and watch older lessons they find interesting, making sure that no matter when they come on board they have access to the lectures and lessons you’ve taught over time.
Even if you can’t get a great live attendance rate due to your members’ busy schedules, an archive ensures your webinar engagement can grow long after the webinar has ended. Consider creating a space on your website for past webinars, and promote current webinars here as well so members know what to look forward to!
While hosting a live stream is all good and fun, you can add an extra element of engagement by incorporating photo and video content into the lessons you’re teaching. Having photos and videos to project onto your live video while you cater to members is a great way to keep things dynamic. You can pre-record videos that relate to your webinar topic and create graphic/photo content to reference during your lecture. This way, you’re always keeping members on their toes and ready for the next visual experience that comes their way.
There are many different ways you can add content to your webinars. However, ON24 has a helpful infographic of ways to incorporate video into webinars that you might find useful if you’re struggling to do so. Keep webinars fresh with your association’s members by using our tips and tricks. Your online member engagement rates won’t regret it!
