Small business owners are accustomed to wearing multiple hats. It goes with territory of being a business owner. Multiple roles need to be performed – often at the same time.
The same is true for webinar presentations. Every webinar has multiple roles being delivered, and often by the same person who is unaware that they are fulfilling different roles.
The roles being performed for a webinar to be a success are:
Webinar Producer
The producer leads the webinar team and coordinates all of the other roles you see described below. However they are more than just a simple project manager. The producer must set the purpose of the webinar – why is the webinar being conducted? They also ensure that pre and post webinar activities are planned and actioned – such as email or phone follow up to registrants. And, most importantly, they commit the funds for marketing the event and purchasing the tools to enable the webinar to go ahead!
Promoter
The promoter is responsible for marketing the webinar and getting people to attend the online event. Often this involves setting up registration pages and then following up with email reminders in the lead up to the webinar to remind people to attend. After the event they should follow up with those that did attend, and with those who did not attend the webinar.
Basic webinar tools can provide you with comprehensive reporting that tells you not only who turned up and who didn’t. The better ones are also able to provide you stats such as who was actively watching and for how long during the webinar.
Tech Team
The tech team configure the software and ensure that all presenters on the webinar can be seen and heard at the appropriate times during the event. They provide the technical support to enable the speakers to focus on delivering their message to maximise the opportunities for the webinar to be a success.
Director
The director provides the comprehensive leadership during the webinar ensuring that the tech team have the tools configured correctly, the moderator is prepared and the presenters are ready to deliver engaging content to the audience. It is the responsibility of the director to ensure that the webinar presents a professional image.
Moderator
The webinar moderator is the master of ceremonies for the event. They will be the first face seen and heard by the attendees on the webinar. They play a pivotal role as they set the tone for the webinar and they establish the ground rules for the event by facilitating Q&A sessions and managing audience interaction through polls.
Presenter(s)
The last role to be filled – but the most important! The presenter(s) must deliver great content in an engaging way. The content must be aligned to the purpose of the webinar (set by the producer) and it must visually engage with effective PowerPoint slides and the presenter must keep an audience interested through their vocal delivery skills.
There are a number of hats that are worn during a webinar. For a webinar to be a success it is vital that the roles described are performed fully – even if it is by the same person. In the next webinar you attend see if you can spot the roles being performed…
