2020 has been a year which has seen many businesses having to adapt to a new way of working. Biotech, pharma and life science companies have all been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as it has meant that face-to-face meetings with customers at expos and conferences have been non-existent.
So, what can science companies do to ensure business continuity in the face of uncertain times – with no real end in sight for the lockdown measures?
How about webinars?
Webinars are a really useful tool, as if done well, they can be a powerful way to improve both internal and external communication – and also engage with your audience. It can also give you critical insight into your audience, and how they perceive your brand and what they engage with. All key takeaways you would usually get when you network at a scientific conference.
No one wants to sit with their headphones on, trying to read slides that are packed full of information and listening to a monotonous voice droning on about a company’s achievements. Time is precious, and if you don’t learn anything, then you’ve wasted your time. And the company presenting has wasted theirs – as they haven’t given you the impression that they are dynamic and innovative – and can help you solve your problems.
So, what can you do to ensure your webinar is a success and that your audience is engaged?
#1 Define your goals
We work with a lot of science companies, so we know that they are often struggling with mountains of information. Don’t get us wrong, many scientists love this aspect of their work – but it can be tough for them to quickly give answers to questions.
So, when it comes to your webinar, don’t try and cover everything by giving a broad overview – drill down and really define your goals. For example, when our client Manchester Biogel decided to do a webinar, rather than talking about cell culture in general (which is a huge topic) they focused on and discussed “recent developments in 3D cell cultures” instead.
Once you have defined your goals, you can then decide on the two or three valuable concepts you want to share with your audience that will have an immediate impact on their work – which will decide your key takeaways as well.
Once you have this information, then we can design awesome content and email campaigns to capture your audience and get them thinking about the questions that you are aiming to answer in your webinar.
#2 Make your webinar actionable
The point of a webinar is to give your audience knowledge that they can then apply. Don’t drown them in information but give them enough that they can then go on to think about how to use it in their work. It is really important to ground some of your webinars in a discussion that can lead audience members to see helpful fixes or drive them towards communicating with your company more to help them to get to the fix that they need.
We helped our client Provizio Sem Scanner, for example, with a webinar recently where they discussed the aetiology of Pressure Ulcers and introduced the Provizio SEM Scanner. They showed the audience how their product could help solve problems. By building trust and establishing themselves as a thought leader and someone who could help customers in times of need.
#3 Keep your slides decluttered and data-driven
Webinar audiences tend to focus on what they can see – your slides. And as much as scientists love data – it is important to create slides that are legible and decluttered. Focus on one message per slide and include plenty of ‘whitespace’ to make sure they are easy to read and follow.
If you limit the amount of information on each slide then people will listen to what the presenter is saying, rather than concentrating on reading from the slide. You will also be able to move through the slides more quickly, which is another great way to keep your audience’s attention.
That’s not to say, however, that you shouldn’t include any data in your presentation – after all data will help explain the problem at hand, and how you can help resolve that problem. But the data needs to be presented in a way that your audience can grasp easily, and so should focus on what they need to know. Here at Zool, we are experts at creating eye-catching graphics and slides which are ideal for getting your point across.
#4 Interact with your audience – two-way communication is key
Webinar attendees know that you can’t see them, and so this can lead them to not pay as much attention as you would like them to. It can also affect presenters, as the fact you can’t see them means you don’t know when they have stopped concentrating! So, in order to keep them following you and staying alert, you need to interact with them as much as possible – try asking questions or doing a poll in the comments section.
Most successful webinars will have some kind of Q&A session included throughout the process, rather than waiting until the end. That way you can clear questions up as they arise, before moving onto the next topic, and the audience will also feel that their voice is heard and you are prepared to answer any questions they may have.
One good way to improve brand awareness is to create a Twitter hashtag for your webinar, and then ask interested viewers to tweet your questions or topics. This is a great way to get ideas for content and can help to broaden your audience as well.
These are just some of the ideas we have to make sure your scientific webinar is as engaging as possible, but if you want to know how we can help you keep your customers coming back for more, then get in touch today.
Scientific webinars: why, what and how?
Digital Events Life Science / Nov 30, 2020
2020 has been a year which has seen many businesses having to adapt to a new way of working. Biotech, pharma and life science companies have all been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as it has meant that face-to-face meetings with customers at expos and conferences have been non-existent.
So, what can science companies do to ensure business continuity in the face of uncertain times – with no real end in sight for the lockdown measures?
How about webinars?
Webinars are a really useful tool, as if done well, they can be a powerful way to improve both internal and external communication – and also engage with your audience. It can also give you critical insight into your audience, and how they perceive your brand and what they engage with. All key takeaways you would usually get when you network at a scientific conference.
No one wants to sit with their headphones on, trying to read slides that are packed full of information and listening to a monotonous voice droning on about a company’s achievements. Time is precious, and if you don’t learn anything, then you’ve wasted your time. And the company presenting has wasted theirs – as they haven’t given you the impression that they are dynamic and innovative – and can help you solve your problems.
So, what can you do to ensure your webinar is a success and that your audience is engaged?
#1 Define your goals
We work with a lot of science companies, so we know that they are often struggling with mountains of information. Don’t get us wrong, many scientists love this aspect of their work – but it can be tough for them to quickly give answers to questions.
So, when it comes to your webinar, don’t try and cover everything by giving a broad overview – drill down and really define your goals. For example, when our client Manchester Biogel decided to do a webinar, rather than talking about cell culture in general (which is a huge topic) they focused on and discussed “recent developments in 3D cell cultures” instead.
Once you have defined your goals, you can then decide on the two or three valuable concepts you want to share with your audience that will have an immediate impact on their work – which will decide your key takeaways as well.
Once you have this information, then we can design awesome content and email campaigns to capture your audience and get them thinking about the questions that you are aiming to answer in your webinar.
#2 Make your webinar actionable
The point of a webinar is to give your audience knowledge that they can then apply. Don’t drown them in information but give them enough that they can then go on to think about how to use it in their work. It is really important to ground some of your webinars in a discussion that can lead audience members to see helpful fixes or drive them towards communicating with your company more to help them to get to the fix that they need.
We helped our client Provizio Sem Scanner, for example, with a webinar recently where they discussed the aetiology of Pressure Ulcers and introduced the Provizio SEM Scanner. They showed the audience how their product could help solve problems. By building trust and establishing themselves as a thought leader and someone who could help customers in times of need.
#3 Keep your slides decluttered and data-driven
Webinar audiences tend to focus on what they can see – your slides. And as much as scientists love data – it is important to create slides that are legible and decluttered. Focus on one message per slide and include plenty of ‘whitespace’ to make sure they are easy to read and follow.
If you limit the amount of information on each slide then people will listen to what the presenter is saying, rather than concentrating on reading from the slide. You will also be able to move through the slides more quickly, which is another great way to keep your audience’s attention.
That’s not to say, however, that you shouldn’t include any data in your presentation – after all data will help explain the problem at hand, and how you can help resolve that problem. But the data needs to be presented in a way that your audience can grasp easily, and so should focus on what they need to know. Here at Zool, we are experts at creating eye-catching graphics and slides which are ideal for getting your point across.
#4 Interact with your audience – two-way communication is key
Webinar attendees know that you can’t see them, and so this can lead them to not pay as much attention as you would like them to. It can also affect presenters, as the fact you can’t see them means you don’t know when they have stopped concentrating! So, in order to keep them following you and staying alert, you need to interact with them as much as possible – try asking questions or doing a poll in the comments section.
Most successful webinars will have some kind of Q&A session included throughout the process, rather than waiting until the end. That way you can clear questions up as they arise, before moving onto the next topic, and the audience will also feel that their voice is heard and you are prepared to answer any questions they may have.
One good way to improve brand awareness is to create a Twitter hashtag for your webinar, and then ask interested viewers to tweet your questions or topics. This is a great way to get ideas for content and can help to broaden your audience as well.
These are just some of the ideas we have to make sure your scientific webinar is as engaging as possible, but if you want to know how we can help you keep your customers coming back for more, then get in touch today.
