On LinkedIn there was a questions asking for feedback on webinars. Typically I’ve responded fairly fully and exceeded the word limit, so I’m posting my answers here in case they help anyone else.

Original post: https://t.co/ooHJx0t83k

Original question:

I’m looking for some feedback on #webinars if you either deliver them as part of your marketing strategy, or attend them as part of your (informal) L&D or for personal interest… (No need to respond to all questions – all feedback appreciated!)

1. How useful they are to you?
2. How often you attend/run them?
3. What topics that appeal to you the most/work best?
4. What you normally do once you’ve attended/run them?
5. What would be the one thing that you’d do differently (as a facilitator)?
6. What would be the one thing that you wish was done differently (as a participant)? Thanks in advance!

My answers:

1) Very! Depending on subject, facilitator, company, quality, tech use, participants and so on. Best for me is a subject that is relevant, with a quality speaker, appropriate interaction to help me with the subject, an open chat area to ask/learn from and network with others. I also host a great number of webinars, in some different formats, and they are useful for me to learn the topics even if I might not normally have attended them.

2) Attend, when I can. One a week on average maybe.
Run, one a month for the Training Journal #TJwow discussion webinars, one a month for the LPO Exploring Design of Virtual Classrooms webinar, ad hoc for others as I’m needed as a host or producer or speaker.

3) For my development, it’s what I’m focusing on for personal/professional development or for my business, so it’s very subjective.
Good for audiences will depend on your company, the products/services you offer and your key audiences. Either way you need to be focused on what can reasonably be achieved within the time frame of your webinar and allowing for discussion/interaction. It needs to be succinct and to the point.

4) For TJ: Publish a page with the recording link, image of the lessons learned, link to register for future webinars. Others are similar – it’s getting the recording and materials out and dealing with follow up questions. Thanking the speakers privately and publicly on social media.

5) As part of #4 I now include some of the thank you comments to highlight why people should attend. I keep an ongoing list of registrations, attendees and percentages against industry standards to show progress.
As a facilitator it’s always about improving your skills, technology, understanding, the setup, working with the speakers etc.

Hope that helps, feel free to reach out for further discussion as I’m interested in hearing more about your project.