In our previous post, Daniel Fowle discussed how to get started with Microsoft Teams Webinars, looking at some of the technical requirements needed to get up and running.
Now we have it running and have planned our first webinar for the 16th of June 2021! We thought it would be time to go through some of the features you can utilise in webinars and some gotcha's that you want to look out for. Here are our top tips for running webinars in Microsoft Teams!
Create a stand out registration page!
You have the option of asking the people you invite to your webinar to complete a registration form. This is possibly the first impression you get to make so make it eye-catching and use the features to capture the information you need.
We found that the best size image for the banner at the top is 1500 X 200 pixels
Call out the important information in the banner too, it helps drive home the key information
Add the key speakers in so people know who's presenting
Customise the registration form as needed to help with follow-ups
Update the meeting options
Make sure you take the time to update the meeting options so that the meeting experience is seamless for attendees and presenters.
Disable microphones and video for attendees if you do not want them to interrupt your webinar.
Allow reactions to make the event more engaging
Determine who can bypass the lobby
Select presenters ahead of time. Using multiple presenters helps keep the audience engaged.
Engage your audience with polls
Using the power of Microsoft Forms you can run polls directly in the webinar. This is a great way to keep the audience engaged.
Plan your polls in advance
Talk about the results after voting has ended
Share stats of the polls publically if you're able to show people who were unable to attend interesting insights.
Use your presentation options wisely
There are several different presenting options for webinars in Teams. A lot of the functionality you are used to in normal Teams meetings are there. One of which is Presenter mode.
Switch between Standout and Content only mode to keep what you're sharing dynamic
The standout mode doesn't work with all sharing options so make sure you're sharing your screen first if using this mode
If sharing a PowerPoint presentation you may want to disable the ability for attendees to move through the presentation so they stay on the slides that you are talking about.
Be prepared and have fun!
One of the most important things you can do, however, is to make sure you are prepared for the webinar. Your attendees are taking time out of their day to listen to you so make sure you have done some of the basics.
Have all your material ready.
Do a practice run-through.
Consider having a dedicated facilitator who can help with polls, introductions, next steps and general facilitation of the lobby and attendees.
Log in early and check everything is working.
Set yourself to do not disturb and tidy any screens you will be sharing.
Facilitate the lobby and greet attendees.
Run an ice-breaker poll.
Keep your audiences attention with planned re-engagement polls.
Enable chat to facilitate the Q&A.
Finish your webinar with a great outro and next steps.
We hope you found these tips useful and we wish you the best of luck with Teams Webinars! There is still time to join our webinar on Five free killer apps for Microsoft Teams. You can register below!
