Posts Tagged ‘Web conferencing’

 

Social Media and Webinars: Tools for Stronger Connections

Monday, October 29th, 2012

Social media is about making connections, building relationship and engaging an audience.

So how is that done?

As with building anything, it’s all about using the right tools for the right occasion.

Social Media Platforms

Social media, as defined by Wikipedia: “interactive platforms via which individuals and communities create and share user-generated content.” Here’s a few of the most common social media platforms.

Twitter: Twitter functions as a microphone. Occasioinally, the microphone can be handed out to the audience (think talk show host going out among his/her crowd). Recently, Dustin Stout posted an excellent article on some Twitter basics. Check it out here.

Google+: Google+ is a toddler on the social media playground, but many believe it has potential to grow to be one of the biggest because it’s integration with Google. Read our post on Google+ tips here to learn more. 

Facebook: Though still a kingpin, Facebook’s ever-changing format and ‘pay-to-promote’ options are making other platforms more appealing. We appreciated this comment regarding the pay-to-promote model:

Webinars

After connecting on social media, you may need to present or engage in a more personal way. Apart from meeting in an office (aka “coffee shop” for freelancers) another way to connect is by way of a webinar.

Webinars are so new to the tech scene that the autocorrect just underlined it in red. Computers don’t even know the word ‘webinar’ yet. 

As with in-person presentations, the key to success is engaging your audience. Use all the tools you’ve got.

Slides: Even if you don’t have Microsoft’s Power Point or Mac’s Pages programs, you can still make decent slides to give your webinar visual appeal by using Google’s free presentation software online.

Polls: GoToWebinar and other webinar software programs offer the ability to poll your audience. This increases engagement and provides social proof for your presentation points.

While planning your  keep in mind that your webinar could be extremely boring and lecture-like. So keep it engaging.

Question: what are some of your favorite tools to engage people online? Let us know in the comments below!