All you need to know about automated webinars

Planning a live webinar is no easy feat. You need to manage different time zones, coordinate schedules, and fix unexpected tech issues while you’re “on air”. Automated webinars are different. They are pre-recorded, designed and planned to go live when you need them and still attract many viewers and leads. These webinars can be recorded once and re-used to host hundreds or thousands of viewers.

No need to wait for the presenter to be ready or even to bear the pressure of a technical glitch during the recording. In this blog, we dive deep into everything you need to know about automated webinars and run them without the hiccups of a live webinar. Read on!

Jump to:

• What are automated webinars?
• Why are automated webinars beneficial for business?
• Automated webinars: which actions can be automated?
• What features to consider when selecting an automated webinar platform?
• Top 3 automated webinar platforms
• Plan an automated webinar today!

What are automated webinars?

Automated webinars, sometimes called evergreen webinars or on-demand webinars, are pre-recorded and then broadcast on a recurring schedule (simulating a live event). This helps in engaging an audience that grows over time, without burning the midnight oil.

But… how do automated webinars work?

The webinar host delivers and records their presentation as they would a live webinar, and then upload it to the webinar platform to be broadcasted to participants. Recording a (live) webinar once, to be used over a longer stretch of time is of course the most time and cost-efficient way to do webinars.

Once the recorded webinar is uploaded to your webinar platform, the pre-registration process begins. Apart from collecting registration information such as name, email, time zone, and company, you may ask additional questions to customize the webinar according to the viewer.

On the day of the webinar, viewers are emailed a link to view the webinar. Viewers join the webinar and watch the pre-recorded video that runs according to their time zone. The host can include a live Q&A session or real-time interaction with the audience.

Multiple sessions can be created to target different demographics and allow for additional customization.

Why are automated webinars beneficial for businesses?

Let’s be honest. Revenue and leads are at the crux of any webinar.

Automated webinars can help you generate revenue through paid subscriptions and purchases, leads, email lists, and more.

Automated webinars are perfect for re-engaging existing customers and building relationships with them. They are also great for scaling your business and expanding your reach. By sharing your webinar link across social media platforms and email lists, you can easily reach potential customers even when you’re asleep!

Automated webinars also can capture leads. You can use lead magnets to encourage people to tune in to the webinar and fill out forms with their details in exchange for something of value to them. This way, you start and nurture relationships with your customers.

The best part is — you can also track and measure the performance of automated webinars with custom tracking links and analytics. You can track and measure registrations, sales, and other metrics from the webinar platform.

In a nutshell, here is a point-wise list of how automated webinars can benefit your business:

• Generate more leads
• Capture more sales
• Develop customer relationships
• Boost brand awareness globally
• Increase customer engagement
• Leverage social media outreach
• Measure and analyze the performance
• Save time, and cost minus the woes of a live webinar

Automated webinars: which actions can be automated?

Apart from recording your webinar once and looping it — there are a bunch of other activities that can be automated. Some of these include:

• Registration: Automate and streamline the entire process to make it easier for customers to sign up quickly.

• Scheduling: You can use webinar software to schedule automated webinars with one click. You can also schedule multiple webinars depending on your viewers’ run time, time of day, and time zone.

• Reminders: You can set automated email reminders for your webinar viewers to remind them when the webinar is about to start.

• Post-webinar follow-up emails: After the webinar, you can set up automated follow-up emails to thank your viewers for attending or share additional resources.

• Analytics: Some webinar platforms can generate automated reports for you that keep track of registrations, attendance, sales, and other key metrics.

What features to consider when selecting an automated webinar platform?

When selecting an automated webinar platform, there are certain features to consider for a better experience.

• Customizable user interface: The webinar platform should be easy to understand and simple to navigate. This will help your viewers to focus on the content without any hassle.

• Analytics & Tracking: You should find a webinar platform that provides insights and analytics about your webinars. This would help track the performance of your webinars.

• Scheduling & Automation: You should look for a platform to schedule and broadcast your webinars and emails without much intervention.

• Recording & editing: You should look for a webinar platform that provides editing and recording capabilities. This helps you to customize and personalize your webinar content.

• Integrations & plugins: It’s essential to look for a webinar platform that seamlessly integrates with other tools, such as third-party plugins, email marketing tools, and more.

• Security & Reliability: The security and reliability of a webinar platform are essential to ensure your webinar runs without any hiccups. You should also look for SSL encryption, firewalls, and other security features.

Top 3 automated webinar platforms

Kaltura: Kaltura is a feature-rich webinar platform allowing you to broadcast webinars easily, with unique engagement and branding features. Run memorable webinars from A to Z with automatically generated branded registration pages and webinar minisites, powerful engagement features, automatic recording and uploading to the minisite, and of course analytics and tracking for a meaningful webinar follow-up. It also integrates with marketing automation tools and other third-party plugins to ensure your webinar is an absolute success. Kaltura is planning to roll out automated webinars in early 2023, so stay tuned!

Demio: Demio is an all-in-one automated webinar platform that offers features like recording and editing, automated emails and reminders, lead capture, and custom branding. It also offers integrations with leading marketing automation tools like Mailchimp, GetResponse, and more.

WebinarJam (EverWebinar): WebinarJam provides a powerful platform for creating excellent automated webinars. It provides analytics and tracking, recording and editing, custom branding, 1-click registration, automated emails and reminders — and integrates with widespread automation and email marketing tools.

Plan an automated webinar today!

Webinars are a powerful tool to generate leads and convert them into customers. Automated webinars make planning, scheduling, and running webinars easier. They help you save time and money while engaging and nurturing both potential and existing customers.

Whether you’re an established business or a solo entrepreneur, automated webinars are a great way to get started with content marketing.

While an automated webinar eats up the daunting tasks involved in a live webinar, you still need to plan and execute an automated webinar to ensure its success. Creating content that excites your audience or addresses a pain point is still important. Also, do a health check-up to ensure maximum participation, engagement, and conversion.

So, there you have it. Looking to put up unique and memorable webinars that convert? Try Kaltura Webinars with a 14-day free trial. We’re rolling out webinar automation in the next few weeks, giving you the leading webinar solution on autopilot!