This is a good article that gives a good basic definition of what a webinar is and how you can use it for your business. Webinars and teleseminars are becoming more and more popular as businesses use them in their marketing efforts. No longer are webinars and teleseminars only the domain of internet marketers, but other businesses and industries are taking heed of this marketing technique.
As more businesses look for creative ways to reach new customers
as well as cut costs of communicating, the subject of webinars
often comes up. What is a webinar, and what benefits can it
generate for a company?
To answer the question of “what is a webinar?” one need only
look to a resource that has become common to businesses of all
sizes during the past ten years: the Internet. The basic answer
to “what is a webinar?” is that it is simply utilizing the
Internet to share visual presentations and other documents with
persons who are in various physical positions around the country
or even around the world. The word webinar is derived from two
root words: web and seminar. A webinar is a seminar using the
web and web conferencing software. When a web conference is
partnered with an audio conference call, the result is a
powerful communications tool that can change the way your
company does business.
A webinar can be a very simple affair that is used to convey
information from corporate level to outlying locations. It may
also be something much more complex that involves the ability
for persons to work together on a common document, interact on a
common project, or stream data out to a large number of
locations.
It is important to think in terms of what this can do for your
business. One of the most immediate benefits of a webinar is
that it can eliminate a large portion of your company’s travel
budget. While there will always be those occasions when a face
to face meeting is a necessity, many business exchanges within
your company can be handled with the use of a web conference.
Meetings that once required travel by jet can now be handled via
a web conference. A web conference can also be used to connect
with potential clients who are physically at a distance from
your location. Even if your suggestion of holding the meeting
via the Internet is first met with the question “what is a
webinar?” a quick assurance that it is easy and would require
less expense on their part will impress your customer. After
all, you are using cutting edge technology to communicate with
them and you are doing so with an eye to being respectful of
their busy schedules. This is a win/win situation and it is an
opportunity to raise their opinion of you and your company.
Webinars are an easy way to hold an ad hoc meeting with people
in many different locations with almost no advance notice. As an
example, assume you have a client that has just encountered a
major problem. You know your company can bring them a solution.
You simply prepare the necessary documents quickly, gather all
relevant persons together for a webinar, and walk them through
the solution. While this could be done with an audio conference
alone, the added impact of visuals will often help drive home
the effectiveness of your solution and allow your client to
authorize your solution much more quickly. This could give you
another opportunity to strengthen your presence with your
customer.
Webinars are a tool that allows you to take persons on a tour of
any web site you choose. Often, when you want to connect with a
potential client who is too busy to set aside a couple of hours
for a face to face meeting, you can get thirty minutes on an
audio call and a session on the web. You can prepare some slides
or a document to illustrate what your company can do for them;
or if you have a really informative company web site, take your
prospect to your company web site and point out a few facts that
are prominently posted.
While we are several years away from a time when people will no
longer ask “what is a webinar?” the answer will always vary,
depending on what types of communication are most desirable to
the person who makes the query. If it is documentation, then
that is the main thrust of the response. If it is finding
information on the web, the web-touring feature will be part of
the answer. Should the main concern be finding time for
meetings, then the time efficiency and cost savings of webinars
will come to the fore. Whatever the need that is foremost in the
mind of the person asking the question, there will be found the
most appropriate answer to the question “what is a webinar?”
About the author:
Greg Roy is a communications specialist. To find out more about
the advantages and benefits of Webinars, please visit
http://webinar-s.com.
[tags]webinar, internet[/tags]
