What Is A Webinar & How Can You Use One For Your Business?

Posted by Sophia Duplin

Grow Your Business With Engaging Webinars

A webinar is video conferencing that takes place online without the need for face-to-face meetings. Companies often use these online events to update and inform customers of new developments, demonstrate products or services, build relationships with clients, and increase authority around the brand.

 

Webinars have excellent functionality for users because they can be watched independently and attended live in-person for those who want more from an interactive experience. 

 

The webinar content is dynamic because you can include Q&A sessions or discussions on topical issues they're interested in so you can tailor the webinar presentation to the needs of your attendees in ways that you can't customize in-person live events.

 

Webinars provide businesses with a way to introduce themselves publicly while simultaneously building trust among their audience through interactivity (via asking questions). 

 

Let's dive into how you can use a webinar to build confidence among your audience and teach attendees about your products and services today!

 

What Is A Webinar?

A webinar is a type of presentation that can be delivered live or recorded by using advanced webinar software and available features. 

 

Most commonly used by large companies, a successful webinar provides a platform where speakers share insights about specific topics since this allows people to work remotely worldwide. Global access is one of the main benefits of webinars because attendees have unprecedented access to what's happening in real-time without the need to attend an in-person event.

 

Effective webinars provide excellent value because of how inclusive they are. Anyone who has an internet connection (assuming there aren't any other technical problems) can view what's going on during the event. Be sure to use an online webinar hosting platform that provides expert technical support so you don't waste your time or your attendees' time with technical issues!

 

Planning a webinar can be difficult, but webinars are a powerful way to deliver a specific message to your target audience, like: 

 

Educate a specific audience about a new product or service your company offers. These should all address specific pain points that your registrants face in their job or daily life.

 

Show off new features of a product, or show the first-hand experience of your team using your products or services. You can use these interactive training sessions to educate webinar attendees about your products or services. This means that you can convert quality leads to paying customers in no time!

 

Provide instructions on how to use your products or services. These can be tutorials, how-to presentations, and even testimonials. Not only can you educate registrants, but you can also use your webinar to establish your team as the go-to thought leaders.

 

Highlight the success that other customers or companies have had while using your products or services. 

 

As you can see, you can use webinars as a cost-effective way to share crucial information about your products or services. Each webinar should be built around a specific topic, and you can use various methods to make the presentation as personal and relevant as possible for your end-users. 

 

A cartoon person uses a laptop to attend a webinar

 

What's The Difference Between A Webinar And A Webcast?

A webcast is what you might think about when it comes to an online conference, Livestream, or online meeting event. Webcasts are typically live presentations that stream over the internet in real-time, which means viewers can watch them as they happen without having to worry about time zones or different schedules.

 

Webinars differ from a webcast because you'll usually have some registration process for attending one. 

 

The presenter will often see who's watching their presentation while speaking during the event itself. It also depends on what type of event it is (i.e., if there are any Q&A sessions), but generally, this is what a typical webinar looks like:

 

Your business needs a unique set of tools to deliver an engaging webinar. It would help if you had an engaging topic and the ability for attendees to interact with each other when needed. Let's take a look at some ways you can make your next webinar a success!

 

How To Make Your Next Webinar A Success

To use a webinar successfully for your business, you need to have an excellent presentation. This can be done through PowerPoint slides or other visual aids like videos and images.

 

1. Make Your Content Relevant To Your Audience

The content should also be what the potential customers are looking for and what they want to know about - this is what will keep them engaged in the webinar! 

 

It's also vital that you let people know beforehand whether it will deliver live so they can plan their schedules accordingly or consume the content at their leisure after the live webinar concludes.

 

2. Allow Participants To Interact & Participate

One of the key benefits of hosting a webinar is that it provides attendees with an opportunity for interaction and participation. You can get people engaged by asking them questions about what they see on screen, polling your audience in real-time, or even giving short quizzes. 

 

It's essential to keep this element of interactivity going throughout the presentation because it ensures everyone stays engaged and involved in what you have to share. You can accomplish this with a live Q&A session, live chats, polls, and even breakout sessions for specific topics if you have the attendance and capacity to do so. 

 

This also helps create more opportunities for discussion among participants after the event concludes too. There's never a better way to grow relationships than by keeping those lines open after the fact.

 

3. Include Visual Aides & Slides To Help Tell Your Story

In order to keep your audience from getting bored, you need to make what's happening on-screen exciting and engaging. This means utilizing visual aids (such as images) or slides that tell a story while keeping the information relevant. 

 

Slides are not only perfect for storytelling but also for highlighting different points during a webinar too. Slide decks can be in PowerPoint format, which helps those who prefer listening rather than reading what you're presenting get all of the necessary info they need without feeling overwhelmed by text.

 

This is just one small example of how this type of presentation can work - take some time to brainstorm with others about what will best suit your needs, so it doesn't end up being off-putting instead.

 

Host The Best Webinar For Your Business Today!

Now you know what a webinar is and how important they are for any business. A webinar can be watched independently, but it's always more meaningful when attended live in-person to get the full experience of Q&A sessions or discussions on topical issues that may interest you.

 

BeaconLive is the leading webinar solution for companies that want to deliver the best webinar possible for their audience. Talk to our team of experts today to see how BeaconLive can help you set up and present a winning webinar today!


 

Topics: Webinars & Webcasts, Webinars: Best Practices

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FAQs

What Is A Webinar And How Does It Work?

A webinar is a powerful tool for any business because it allows you to virtually connect with your audience through video, visual aides, and even recordings. 

Can I Hear The Audience When Presenting A Webinar?

You are typically not able to see the audience when presenting a webinar. However, your audience is able to type and submit questions while you present.

What Is The Best Format For A Webinar?

There are several webinar formats that you can follow depending on your needs and the needs of your audience.