Webinar 101: How to Organize an Online Seminar

This article is sponsored by RollCall Business Conferencing Solutions, a proud supporter of OfficeArrow and provider of web and teleconferencing services.

While a webinar can be a useful tool for training and educating a group of decentralized staff members, it can take a lot of time and energy to organize one. And, it might not work for every situation.

If you've been asked to organize a webinar, you need to understand your role. As the webinar facilitator, you'll develop the topic, identify a time, locate a speaker/presenter, create an agenda, send out advance details (i.e., dial-in/log-in information, speaker information), and find a provider, such as RollCall Business Conferencing. Remember: Your overall responsibility is to ensure that the webinar runs smoothly.

Determine if a Webinar is the Best Venue

There are a lot of different methods for training and developing your staff. That's why it's important to determine if a webinar is the right way to go. Consider aspects such as the overall size of your audience, how much time you'll need to properly cover the topic, and your alternative choices (i.e., classroom training, one-on-one) for disseminating the information. You may also want to get feedback by talking to webinar-tool experts as well as your training team.

Choose the Right Webinar Format

There are basically three types of formats: single-speaker, interview and group panel. Depending on the topic and size of your audience, you'll have to determine the best method for sharing information. Keep in mind the benefits and downsides to each format.

Probably the easiest format to use, the single presenter is much like a college professor. There's only one person to speak, demonstrate and answer questions, so it's simpler to control and monitor the webinar. However, by making the webinar more interactive - engaging participants in activities and conversations - this can be a very useful format for a smaller group.

While interview-style webinars are often very engaging, they do require you to coordinate the schedules of two presenters who are equally comfortable with the subject matter. Also, the panel discussion is a great way to offer multiple points of view and variety; however, the more people who are involved, the more potential scheduling conflicts. Plus, you need to ensure that guests don't talk over one another; otherwise, vital information could be lost.

Identify a Presenter for Your Webinar

The person who organizes and facilitates the webinar may very well be the same person who presents it. However, due to time constraints, it's generally wise to separate these two responsibilities. The presenter is the person who actually prepares and presents the webinar. She creates the visuals, plans the discussion, and fields questions from the audience. If you're having more than one presenter, each will need to create their own visuals.

That means you need to identify a subject-matter expert (or a group of experts, depending on the format). Subject-matter experts may be individuals in your own firm, members of a professional association, vendors working in the field or instructors at a local school.

Handle All of the Details of the Webinar

After all, this is truly your role, isn't it? So, what are all of the details?

• Agenda: Be sure to create and distribute an agenda to your speaker(s), outlining the flow of the webinar. Here is an example:

9:00a Moderator introduces speakers and provides overview of webinar
9:05a Moderator talks to first guest
9:15a Moderator talks to second guest
9:30a First guest demonstrates
9:45a Second guest demonstrates
9:55a Moderator wraps up


• Conference materials: Be sure to provide your audience with speaker details, such as a biography and photo, as well as dial-in/log-in information to participate.
• Web-conferencing tools: When selecting a web-conferencing provider, such as RollCall Business Conferencing, make sure they can accommodate your group size and will offer all of the features you require. For instance, you may need a live video feed, web-streaming video or operator assistance.
• Develop introductory visuals: You'll probably want general webinar slides. These might remind the audience how to log in and what time the program begins, as well as the topic of discussion and list of presenters.

Just as with any business event, it's about organizing and planning ahead. With a little time and effort, your webinar should run smoothly.

The pros at RollCall can provide even more information on webinar etiquette and best practices. Give RollCall web conferencing a try today with a free trial account.