Webcasting provider TalkPoint released the results of a customer survey they ran towards the end of last year. You can download a copy of the report from their website (free in return for your contact information): http://lp.talkpoint.com/WebcastingSurvey.html
Results come from more than 250 respondents who used an online survey tool. I asked TalkPoint if I could see the survey that was used in order to see how the questions were asked and what answer choices were included. Statisticians and market researchers know that the way questions are phrased can significantly affect the way people respond. It is very difficult to create an unbiased survey. Unfortunately TalkPoint refused to share the questions and detailed answer breakdowns, so we must rely on their edited summary findings.
One nice bonus to the report is a quick best practice suggestion from TalkPoint associated with each survey result. That makes it a more useful business tool for webcast administrators and presenters.
I certainly don't want to comment on every finding in the report, but I thought it might be interesting to look at a few notable (or confusing) items.
1) The first result comes from a question asking "Do you have difficulty creating content?" with a simple Yes/No choice. Only 8% of respondents said Yes. As an audience member, let me tell you… You're being far too kind to yourselves! Sure, you don't think you have a hard time creating content. But that's because you are creating slides filled with text. Writing your presentation script on your slides is not particularly hard, but we have a hard time staying awake when you present it!
Strangely, when presented with a multiple choice question asking for your single greatest webcasting challenge, 13% responded "Creating Topic/Content." These two results seem to contradict each other. It is no surprise at all that the runaway top challenge was "Securing Registrants."
2) TalkPoint asked people what type of webcasts they attend most often. The top response was "Best Practices/How-To" with a 33% response rate.
But when asked what type of webcasts they conduct the most, "Best Practices" languished at a low 16%. Take note, marketers! Content marketing is about giving your targets what they want, and what they want is tips, guidelines, and advice. Not a product pitch. Click here to read how to use this fact in creating an effective webinar/webcast title.
3) TalkPoint asked "What makes a webcast engaging?" and let people select multiple items from a list. Fewer than half included feature-specific items such as surveys/polls, video, and raffles. But 91% included "Interesting Speakers" in their answers. If you are unsure of the impact your presenters and presentation technique has on attendee satisfaction, look no further!
You can get the other results and the now-obligatory infographic chart from the TalkPoint survey link. It's always great to see additional studies and information in the field of web events. I applaud TalkPoint for sharing their information with our community.