I love webinars.
In what other context can you join experts in their field
without having to leave your home or office, have the ability to raise any
number of pertinent questions, wear your PJs if you want (if you work from
home, naturally!), avoid hideous traffic jams/train delays/arriving late
through no fault of your own and upsetting rows of tutting people, all for free
and at a time that (more often than not) suits you?
OK, so some are in the middle of the night if they’re in a
different time zone. But you can always ask to see the webinar afterwards.
And that’s another thing. I love that you get access after
you’ve attended a webinar just in case you missed something or want to revisit
a particular point.
Would it benefit you to hold one, or more? Here’s why you
should consider being a webinar host:
You get to reach the people you want to reach – in a session
that almost feels like it’s one-to-one
Find out what your target audiences want to hear about; it’ll
show you what’s hot and what’s not in your sector. People are more likely to
ask questions during a webinar without having to worry about putting their
hands up in front of others, if they’re of a timid nature.
You can get across your key messages without sounding like
you’re ‘selling’ and therefore people will be more likely to respond
favourably.
Increase the reach – a webinar is for life, not just for
the moment
Your messages will live on after the webinar is finished,
through the ability to let people see it after broadcast. So don’t forget to
give it some SEO welly too so you edge up those Google rankings.
Use different ways to grab interest
Show the breadth of your expertise by reinforcing what you’re
saying through more than just talk. Use slides, animation, polls and any other
method which captures the imagination without being visually unappealing or
annoying.
Be a cheapskate
So much cheaper and easier than holding an event, webinars
are also value for money as your database will grow with each one.
What’s not to love?!
