Want to Host a Webinar?: Tips from the Experts

HIV.gov maintains a resource page with webinars of interest to the HIV and hepatitis communities. It’s a central place for our readers to find webinars that interest them. Our page also gives webinar organizers a way to promote their event, to see how other organizers are describing and marketing their sessions, and to avoid schedule conflicts.

We want to include webinars that meet your needs, so we’ve invited some national organizations to contribute information about their upcoming webinars, and we asked for their tips on organizing a webinar.

For example, Liesl Lu, ACE Activity Manager for the HRSA-funded ACE TA CenterExit Disclaimer offers these words to the wise:

“We make our webinars interactive for the attendees by using polls to test their knowledge and including visuals with minimal text to keep them engaged. We have learned not to underestimate the amount of preparation needed, including taking care of the logistics and technical aspects of hosting the webinar.”

Our colleagues at CDC’s Public Health Grand Rounds provide training across many key health issues. Communications Director Susan K. Laird told us:

“We know our viewer numbers totally depend on promotion. While we use all existing social media channels, we start by asking, ‘Who cares?’ We build our viewership by reaching out to as many newly identified audiences as possible, and our hope is that each first-time participant will become an ongoing subscriber to our Grand Rounds website.”

From The National LGBT Health Education CenterExit Disclaimer Dr. Harvey Makadon, who directs the Division of Education and Training at The Fenway Institute, told us:

“Success lies in providing shorter webinars with simple slides focused on key message points and ample time for question and answers. And it’s vital to recognize early that there will always be a wide range of participants, and to work to serve them across the content.”

Alice Gandelman, Director of the California STD/HIV Prevention Training CenterExit Disclaimer said:

“Social media is a key part of how we promote our webinars. We put tailored posts on our LinkedIn page and tweet about upcoming sessions. We try to highlight how our webinar will help our targeted professionals to address challenges in caring for patients living with HIV and other STDs.”

Whether you’re organizing a webinar or want to brush up your knowledge, we invite you to visit our page for tips and webinar schedules.

And if you want to suggest YOUR webinar be added to our page, please send us the details.