Employee webcasts: Your roadmap from start to finish

You have to hope that the content is compelling enough for people to tune in to a general presentation—in a world where people have become used to highly customized, one-to-one communication.

Not only are you competing for viewers who’ve become accustomed to watching only what they want to see, but you’re also competing for time against all kinds of work and non-work related content that employees can watch instead of your webcast.

“Five years ago, webcasts were a big event. People would watch them no matter what, because they were new and cool,” says Chris Duncan, associate director of communication resources for Dow Chemical Co. “Now they want more concise information, and they want us to get to the point faster.”

That’s why webcasts should be developed with today’s employees in mind, building in ways for them to engage with presenters and to have a say in what’s discussed. Below, experienced communicators offer their advice on crafting well-attended webcasts from start to finish.