Earlier in the century, website best practices taught us that you have 6 seconds to engage your visitors before they click away.
Well, guess what. Now…. It’s less.
Here’s why…
Some of the most popular video games found in the App Store in recent years have been in the “match three” genre.
Bejeweled Blitz, Dragons, and Candy Crush, for example, have taken (literally) billions of dollars in revenue, not just because of their compulsive, slot machine-style mechanics, but because of the short, easily consumable levels.
They fit in well with our also short attention spans which demand we keep flicking between Facebook, SKYPE, SnapChat, Twitter and, erm…
…what was that other thing…
Oh, yes… work.
Which may make one who uses webinars in their business wonder, “Exactly how long does a webinar host have to engage their audience?”
A little more than six seconds, thankfully.
And, given that your audience has registered for your webinar and taken the time to make sure they’re at their computer when your event begins, that suggests a reasonable level of commitment.
But DON’T take that for granted. It’s critical you engage your webinar attendees as quickly as possible once you go live.
Your audience might be a friendly one, willing to give you some time to prove that your webinar is worth their attention for the next hour (or even two). But you still only have A FEW MINUTES before you’re going to be competing with Cookie Jam!
That’s why, in the upcoming event about webinar best practices, Secret #6 is going to be all about hooking your webinar audience during those opening moments… and fast.
Here’s a sneak preview of how it’s done…
3 Webinar Audience Engagement Tricks
These engagement tricks have varying degrees of difficulty and some of them will feel unnatural – even counterintuitive – but make a point of mixing them into your presentation and you will see an improvement in your stick rates and audience participation.
Trick #1: Don’t rush
It’s tempting to jump in and start speaking at double speed like an auctioneer to prove your webinar’s worth, but this can be counter-productive. So, take a breathe and slow down.
You don’t want to give your audience whiplash. Instead, warm them up a little with a relaxed, friendly welcome that gives your viewers a moment to settle in.
Trick #2: Set the rules
Don’t actually call them “rules,” though. No need to make your valued attendees feel like naughty schoolchildren. Make some helpful “suggestions” that will ensure your viewers get the most out of your presentation.
Commend everyone for taking the time to show up, for recognizing the value of what you’re going to share, and encourage them to eliminate all distractions.
Things like…
- Turn off the cell phones.
- Turn off any Internet-connected devices that consume bandwidth.
- Turn off email and instant messaging.
- Make sure the rest of the family knows that you’re not to be disturbed.
- Take notes.
Remember, this is an opportunity to get your audience to take the initiative and force THEMSELVES to engage with your webinar. Don’t pass it up.
Trick #3: Eye Contact
It’s tempting to deliver your webinar with one eye on your video feed, but this has a conspicuous, unnerving effect. Makes you look all shifty, you see?
To prevent this from happening, you need to break the “fourth wall” and look directly into the camera.
Magic happens when you make eye contact. Think about it…. How do you feel when you look into your child’s eyes? What about your dog? Or a new, gorgeous face across the room. Kaboom!
Yes, it’s a bit harder to do on a laptop, granted, because the camera is just a pinhole in an inanimate object, but you need to get into the habit of focusing most of your attention on that tiny dot.
It feels weird, but it will create the impression that you’re looking directly at your audience. This has a fantastically positive effect.You appear more believable, more trustworthy, and more persuasive.
It’s a simple trick, but a true game changer!
Glue Your Audience to Their Seats
If you work to get your engagement strategies roiling during the opening minutes of your webinar, it is entirely possible to keep your audience hooked for the full performance.
The 12 Webinar Secrets webinar is going to reveal three additional engagement tricks, and one of them (Engagement Trick #5, to be precise) is so powerful that, not only can using it improve your webinar stick rate (and conversions) but NOT using it can kill your webinar dead.
Listen out for this one. It’s covered about two-thirds of the way through the discussion of Secret #6, and you’ll kick yourself if you miss it.
If you haven’t already, make sure you register for the 12 Webinar Secrets webinar. It costs nothing to register and nothing to attend, so make sure you reserve your seat now.
We’ve been working long and hard on this event and our goal is to not only to make the webinar content epic (imagine the lovechild of Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead), but to make the presentation itself a master class in webinar design and delivery.
AND…
If you watch the 12 Webinar Secrets webinar in full, you’ll be able to get your hands on some awesome, exclusive free gifts, including the complete set of WEBINAR SLIDES created just for this event.
Does this mean you can take our slides and copy all of our best ideas for your own event?
Abso-freakin-lutely!
In fact we WANT you to do just that. We want your webinars to be a roaring success and anything we can do to help you reach that goal is our privilege.
The SLIDES will be yours, absolutely gratis, no purchase necessary, no strings attached…
Apart from registering for the webinar, obviously. So, go do it already!
Can’t wait to see you there…
We’re ready to help!
We’re ready to help with that, too!