It seems like wherever you look — including your email inbox, social media, and office group chats — student affairs professionals are participating in and hosting online webinars.
The higher education world is chock-full of online conversations and webinars as professional development moves to the internet.
Perhaps you’ve thought about hosting a webinar yourself. Maybe you’ve come up with an awesome way to host virtual orientation, you’re finishing up research on supporting students through CARE teams, or you want to share your expertise on campus e-sports with the world.
Hosting a webinar can be a great way to not only share information with other professionals remotely but to also bolster your resume, give you professional presenting experience, and allow you to network with professionals across the globe.
So, how can you host an awesome webinar? How can you build one from the ground up that will be engaging, well-attended, and free of technical difficulties?
Here are some of my top tricks and tips.
Pick a topic you are well-versed in and passionate about. Look at trends in higher ed, challenges professionals are currently facing, or something you’ve done in that past that you’d like to share with the world.
Creating a panel for your first webinar can help increase attendance through the social circles of the other panelists, bolster the expertise in the (virtual) room, and help you shape the webinar’s focus.
You could even consider partnering with a national or regional professional organization. Many professional organizations are looking for engaging webinars to host for their members as an alternative to canceled conferences and in-person workshops. For example, NASPA Region I has been hosting amazing guest webinars every Thursday, open to any interested student affairs professional whether or not they’re a NASPA member.
Presence also hosts a happy hour webinar series, featuring student affairs professionals sharing their unique insights and tips.
To attract a large audience, you’ll need great marketing. Come up with an eye-catching virtual flyer (I recommend using Canva for an easy and free design), then share it in as many of your circles as you can, asking your co-panelists to do so, too!
Similar to advertising events for students on campus, the more platforms through which you announce your webinar, the more attendees are likely to show. Additionally, if your webinar is focused primarily on a specific group of professionals (such as res life pros or career advisors), make sure to also share your webinar within those circles.
Here is a list of places to share:
You can also use surveys, polls, or quizzes on social media to generate interest in your webinar, gather data to guide your topic, and collect questions for the presenter(s).
Holding a mic check before your webinar is essential for ensuring that everyone’s technology is functioning well and to work out any bugs before the big day.
Here are some other factors to consider during your practice run:
Additionally, you should make decisions regarding the following questions:
If applicable, be sure to share any data or info about the participants prior to the start of the webinar. For example, you could send out a pre-webinar survey to find out what percentage of participants feel they are lacking in a certain skill or competency area. You could also share factual information, like that 50% of participants are housing professionals. This can help guide the conversation in addressing participants’ interests and questions,
Practicing the entire session with all panelists, from start to finish, is the key to holding a successful webinar. Additionally, you may want to recruit a practice participant to test out the chat feature, allow panelists to see how questions will be asked, and to give feedback on the overall participant experience.
The day has come to share your expertise with the world! Whether it is a small niche webinar or a large overarching topic, here are some tips for the day of:
As a profession, student affairs highly values assessment, evaluation, and research. So why not bring this into your own professional development? Evaluation can come in the form of a follow-up survey on what participants got out of your webinar and what lingering questions they have. This information can help inform opportunities for future webinars or further research.
You should also record the webinar live and post it on YouTube or your website after to keep the conversation going. This will be helpful both for anyone who wasn’t able to attend and for attendees who want to continue the discussion — whether it be with you, colleagues, or their institution. It will also allow the presenter(s) to add to their own professional portfolios and share their great work with colleagues.
Finally, provide your contact information at the end of the webinar for others to continue connecting and networking with you. As someone in a field that values interpersonal connections, encourage communication beyond the conclusion of your webinar. Participants can optionally share their contact info in the chat or you can follow up with your contact info after the webinar via email.
We know that holding professional development opportunities online isn’t always ideal. But with creativity, resourcefulness, and hard work, you can build fulfilling experiences for shared professional growth.
Through a successful webinar, professionals across the globe will build skills, connect with others, and progress the knowledge base within student affairs. Whether you’re hosting a webinar about working from home, virtual orientation, or TikTok, it will lead to increasingly improved experiences for students on their respective campuses.
What questions do you still have about hosting a webinar? Connect with us on Twitter @themoderncampus.