Today, many businesses are making use of live webcasting as a way to reach out to their potential audience. While a webcast used to mean a video that people were able to watch to provide them with information, these events have become an interactive event that requires some audience participation, particularly through the use of social media. Before you work on your next webcast, it is important to take these webcasting tips that will help you make the most of your interactive environment, into consideration.
Tap Into the Power of Social Media
Social media actually started as a way for individuals to keep in touch with their friends and family. However, it has grown beyond that to become a useful tool, especially when you are making use of live webcasting as a way to reach out to your customers, clients and vendors. There are two basic ways businesses can make use of this area of marketing for their webcasting: private and public social media.
If you are dealing with a webcast that is only between members of your own organization, you want to make use of only the private social media sites, such as Chatter, Jive or Yammer. These sites allow you and your viewers to share the information with others within the organization without exposing your private information for the entire world to see.
When your webcasting brings a public audience, you want to make sure your audience is able to share the information they are learning with the public social media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter and even LinkedIn. Providing easy links that allow your viewers to “like” the webcast, comment on it or make their own posts or Tweets about it. The more people are able to share your live webcasting events, the more successful they will be.
Mobile Is the Latest Trend
More people than ever are making use of their smartphones in many areas of their lives, including in how they conduct business. As you are creating your webcasting event, it is critical to tap into the mobile aspects of society. This means making sure your live webcasting is available on mobile devices instead of requiring your participants to be tied down to a desk or a laptop computer. When you allow your audience to access your webcast via a mobile device, you will extend your reach to a much larger audience. While it is still important to record and offer your event on demand, more people will have access live.
Keep in mind that offering your webcasting via mobile devices will not ensure everyone can access it, but it will help expand your reach. Not all mobile devices are capable of supporting all the features you may add to your webcast. If you take care to choose your features carefully and make sure you offer social sharing and high-quality viewing at the least, your viewers should be pleased with the experience.
Participation Is Important
One of the most important webcasting tips is to make sure you provide plenty of opportunity for participation from your audience. People aren’t thrilled about attending a live event, only to sit and listen to someone speak for the duration. This is why it is important to put some effort into making your presentation as interactive as possible. This will help you build your audience and provide greater benefit from the webcast.
In past years, people weren’t encouraged to participate in these events. This year, it is important to tap into the knowledge your audience has. It is still critical to choose presenters who are experienced in the field and can offer new information to the audience, the feedback and interaction of your audience can be a useful asset.
Learning the latest trends and webcasting tips will provide you with the greatest chances of success as the world of online business changes. When you are able to create an interactive environment for your audience that implements social media and the latest trends in mobility, you will be able to build a larger audience and provide them with a better experience.
