Anyone who has organized a webinar at least once knows well that the process requires a lot of preparation, but it also brings satisfaction, both for the organizer and the participants. A well-done webinar can indeed work wonders: it gives listeners specific value, promotes the brand, and increases sales. Therefore, it's worthwhile to reuse the content presented during a live webinar in many different ways, one of which is by making the webinar recording available.
How do you prepare the recording? What tools to use and what to remember to make the recorded material even more attractive? How else can the recording be utilized? We will answer these and many other questions in the blog post below.
The average time users are able to focus on the content in the Internet has been gradually decreasing for several years. The attention span is now only 8 seconds. This is partly because social media promote short content – videos up to a minute in duration or even shorter. The so-called shorts on Instagram and TikTok are raptly a few seconds long videos with quick cuts and short shots.
So, viewers are getting used to content that is fast and as short as possible, condensed in terms of the message, length, and graphics.
Recent trends in webinars
The above mentioned trends can also be seen in the case of webinars. Just a few years ago, webinars lasting an hour or even longer were popular. Now, according to recent data, audiences prefer shorter events – 45 minutes at most. The data even says that webinars lasting less than 20 minutes have an average audience of 57%, while that figure drops to 47% for those of 40 minutes in length. (LinkedIn)
That's why it's so important to keep your content concise when preparing and editing it. A live meeting is governed by its own rules, it is spontaneous and full of real interactions between the presenter and the audience, so if the presenter adequately interests the audience, it can hold their attention for longer.
On the other hand, in the case of webinar recordings, played back at any time, but not taking place live, it is much more difficult to maintain attention, hence it’s important to skillfully edit the recordings in postproduction and adjust them to the requirements of a quickly bored audience.
Webinar recordings are an excellent way to adjust the content to meet audience needs. Here is a short overview of what you can do:
- Shorten the recording
- Cut it into shorter parts
- Make the content more varied
- Make it visually more attractive
These treatments are part of smart content repurposing. That is, you can reuse one webinar in multiple ways and in different places. You can include relevant snippets from the recording in Facebook posts, for example, or add a short video from the webinar to blog posts you create, making them rank better for SEO. Repurposing webinar content effectively is a broad topic and we give you more details on it later on in this blog post. We've also written more about it in our other blog post. Read it here.
All these actions lead to maximizing webinar recording value through repurposing.
Okay, so much for the introduction, and now the important question:
How do you do all this? How do you specifically prepare a video to keep the attention of your audience for as long as possible and gain favorable feedback?
Here are some practical webinar recording editing tips:
#1 Trim the beginning and end
The very process of recording is very simple. The webinar starts, and you (if you are the presenter) or your moderator (if you have one) press the record button in the webinar room. From that point, everything you say is recorded!
This may include the moments when you wait for participants to join – possibly a few seconds or even minutes of silence. Your microphone checks or adjusting the lighting might also be recorded. It's a technical time for the presenter, and it’s natural that a webinar doesn't start in full form, precisely on the second, like the Greenwich clock.
The start and end of the webinar are therefore the moments you will first need to edit, or more directly, just trim.
#2 Add an intro
An introduction is fundamental. Each webinar should have a title nicely incorporated into the graphics that you should add at the beginning of the recording. You can also add a subtitle, date, and the presenter's name, which will undoubtedly create a professional impression on the viewers. This way they will immediately know where they are and why they came. These are definitely webinar recording post-production best practices that are to be first used to produce professional recordings.
Adding such graphics is not difficult. You can do it within the LiveWebinar platform, using the recording editor. Read more here.
#3 Add a short video
It could be a promotional video showing your company’s services or products. It's important that it's not too long. A minute is entirely sufficient. Editing webinar recordings for impact will always work if you use diverse forms: videos, graphs, sound and more. Users don't like boredom, they need to be entertained.
#4 Enhance audio
While live webinars are a great venue for spontaneous, authentic remarks, if you plan to distribute a webinar as a recorded download, it might be worth refining it a bit. What sounds perfectly natural live might seem somewhat unprofessional when played back.
Therefore, certain elements can be cut or trimmed, such as uncontrollable sounds that may come from the environment, or perhaps the presenter's hesitation or coughing. An experienced presenter will be able to comment on these situations live, possibly adding some humor, but it's good to know that these segments can be removed in post-production if necessary.
#5 Color correction
If you don't have a perfectly situated studio with diffuse sunlight coming from several directions, your lighting is probably not ideal. This is a common problem both in the office and in remote work! Fortunately, many problems caused by poor lighting can be resolved in post-production.
#6 Display text at key moments
Need captions for a specific part of your webinar video? Want to provide additional information via a quick note on the screen? Then it's worth adding text to the recording.
Adding static text to the recording is simple, in most tools you just need to drag the text onto the timeline, and then enter the text. You can also set the text to appear at selected moments in the timeline. In a similar way, you can add advertisements, banners, or logos, if they have not already been added to the webinar room.
#7 Add transitions
If your webinar covers many different topics or separate parts, it may be worth separating these parts. For instance, you might use a fading effect to black out the screen, or you could add more advanced options, such as animations with the title of a separate part of the recording.
In the case of a recording shared on YouTube – it's worth adding so-called timestamps with chapters during the recording. Not only does this enable a clear division of content, but it also affects better positioning on Google.
#8 Add background music
Another way to enhance a webinar is by adding background music. It is quite rare for music to be played throughout a webinar, even at a very low volume level, as it may distract viewers from the content. However, at key moments of the meeting, think about adding music elements, which can produce a dramatic effect, drawing attention to important points. Everything also depends on the webinar content. If it involves, for instance, methods of relaxation or the health benefits of herbs, ambient background music would be a nice addition and may have a positive impact on the perceptions of the audience.
#9 Add graphic elements
This is a popular action especially during short videos on YouTube. Creators often add arrows, short comments, or emojis to the recording to draw attention to an important moment. It's worth doing something similar with webinar recordings. So, if you want to draw attention to a specific point, why not add an arrow? If you mention a website or link, why not display it on the screen? Live adding of such elements is difficult or even impossible, but you can freely add them in post-production, and it's a simple trick.
#10 Add an outro at the end
Adding an outro at the end of the webinar is the perfect way to professionally end the recording and make a maximally professional impression on the audience. There are several different types of outros that can be used depending on the industry, audience, and the topic of the webinar.
- Graphics with the message "Thank you for participating!"
- Video promoting the company
- A fading transition along with background music
- Company logo and a link to the website
- Call to action, e.g., "Visit our website."
So, there were webinar recording optimization strategies, and if you use them wisely, you are sure to get brilliant effects and professional recordings ready to interest your audience from the beginning till the very end.
Repurposing webinar recording
Once you've prepared a good webinar recording, you can use it for content repurposing. That is, you can reuse one webinar in multiple ways, in different places. You can include relevant snippets from the recording in Facebook posts, or add a short video from the webinar to blog posts you create, making them rank better for SEO.
Here are several strategies for repurposing webinar recordings:
Produce short video clips
Edit the recording into short, bite-sized video clips that highlight important moments or key takeaways. These clips can be shared on social media platforms, used in email campaigns, or added to your website to attract viewers to the full recording.
Create blog posts with short videos from the webinar
Transcribe the webinar and turn the content into multiple blog posts. Each post can focus on a different topic or section discussed in the webinar, providing detailed insights and extending the life of the content.
Generate podcasts
If the audio quality is good, extract it and turn the webinar into a podcast episode. This allows your audience to consume content on the go, reaching those who prefer audio over video.
Write social media posts with videos
Break down webinar content into smaller, shareable snippets and insights for social media. Regularly post these snippets to keep your social media channels active and engaging.
Develop online courses
If the webinar content is educational and comprehensive, consider turning it into a structured online course. This can provide ongoing value and potentially generate revenue.
Send newsletters
Segment the webinar content into sections and create a series of email newsletters. This keeps your subscribers engaged and provides them with valuable information in manageable chunks.
Finally, there remains an extremely important question:
What tools to use for editing a webinar recording?
There are many tools available on the market that allow for professional editing and processing of webinar recordings. Some of them are paid solutions like Adobe Premier Pro, which is best suited for desktops. For mobile versions, we recommend Capcut, which is available for free. Another popular solution is Da Vinci Resolve. For Mac, iMovie is recommended.
Choose the right webinar platform
Also, choosing the right webinar platform is crucial for the success of the recording.
When choosing, pay attention to whether the platform allows webinar recording and whether it is an option available within the plan you select. It may turn out that on a particular platform within the free plan, webinar recording will not be possible.
It is also important to know how many hours of recording are saved and stored within the platform. In some platforms, you can buy additional hours of recording (as an add-on). This is how the LiveWebinar platform works. This gives you more options to choose from and you can decide what you want to record and when. It is very convenient.
How can LiveWebinar help?
LiveWebinar gives you the option to edit the recording within the tool. You can:
- Add graphics as an introduction to the recording
- Add final graphics, e.g., with a redirection to the offer, or a logo
- Mark the recording with a watermark
- Remove unnecessary parts using a trimming tool.
You can insert content that redirects participants to your website or show an image related to your latest promotion. All of this could make your branding more consistent and recognizable to potential customers.
Want to know more? Eager to start using out tips? Check LiveWebinar now. Choose your plan and see what possibilities you have at hand! Produce great webinars and develop your business!