Webinars have been around for a while and have become an essential communication tool for disseminating knowledge, promoting products, or connecting with a wider audience. What makes them great, due to their digital nature, is accessibility, cost-efficiency, and above all, interactivity.

Here’s how you can start a webinar:

Goal and Topics: You should have a clear goal for hosting a webinar, whether it’s to connect with your audience, offer company updates, promote a product, or present on a topic. The goal will guide the content covered in the webinar.

Platforms: Many platforms support setting up and running a webinar. You can choose from services like Zoom, Webex, GoToWebinar, Zoho Meeting, Livestorm, WebinarNinja, etc. based on your budget and the objective. You can also opt for Google Meet and YouTube.

Communication: This is the key element for setting up a webinar. Use your website, social media, email listing and network to promote your webinar. Ideally, do a pre-hype, launch and post-event coverage on all platforms. Set up sign-ups and reminders for everyone joining the webinar.

Go Live: Test your tech and go live; take notes during the event to understand what works and what doesn’t work. Keep your audience engaged during and after the webinar. Learn, analyze, and plan for the next one.

(Digital Digest is a continuing series provided courtesy of the MPE Caribbean Report, which offers travel and tourism news weekly. It is published by US-based integrated marketing agency Marketplace Excellence, which has an office in Richmond Hill, Ont. www.marketplaceexcellence.com)