The Ups and Downs of a Webinar Participant Chat Box
The Chat Box functionality in a webinar platform is one of the most valuable tools offered for webinar hosts, speakers, and participants. Here’s why:
It’s how webinar speakers and hosts can talk to one another privately throughout the webinar. Is a speaker’s dog pacing in the background suddenly and distracting? This is a quick way to let them know without disrupting a presentation.
Chat is how participants can message a host or speaker about presentation concerns and questions that can help You as the host or speaker. I’ve seen it all at this point – “the audio keeps cutting out” to “I think the speaker is on the wrong slide” – Remember, anything can happen during a live event!
As the host, you can send updates throughout the webinar with useful information to webinar attendees. Some top ones usually include letting everyone know the webinar will start in a few minutes, sharing a link to a survey or your website for more information, or linking an invite to the next webinar for people to register for. Engagement during a webinar is KEY, and the Chat Box function can be used to share information that keeps participants engaged on your website, or with a piece of content, or a future webinar. More engagement = more prospective sales.
Now, what about expanding your Chat options so that participants can chat with each other publicly in the chat box, too?
Here is where it gets trickier. When done well, this can be a GREAT way to boost engagement and participation in your webinar. Remember if someone attends a webinar it is because they want to learn. I have found that industry professionals love to learn from one another and can easily have a comradery around having the same problems, concerns, and shared successes. I’ve hosted webinars where the chat is ON FIRE with shared knowledge and excitement over the topic being presented. And folks asking great and intelligent questions of the speaker and one another. From a webinar standpoint, this is a home run situation. People are engaged, excited, learning, and listening to what your company has to say and talking about it! It’s the point of the webinar, right?
I have, however, seen the group participant chat box go wrong. It isn’t always the right decision to turn on this functinality. Here are a few examples:
When group chat is on, everyone can see the names of participants on your webinar. If competitors poaching your leads is a serious concern, this may not be ideal for you.
There is always the chance someone will disagree on information or opinions presented and do it in a public and unprofessional manner in the chat. If your topic is a controversial subject, be ready ahead of time with a plan for a speaker or host to handle these comments or questions.
Is your webinar product focused? I’ve been on a webinar where a participant said during one of the new product features presented that a main competitor’s feature is better and suggest check that out instead. Ouch.
Whatever you decide, part of putting on webinars is learning some of these things for yourself with trial and error. The more webinars you put on, the better idea you’ll have of your audience and subject and how everyone will respond.
