Just recently, Entrepreneur ran an article advocating that business leaders consider experimenting with automated webinars in lieu of hosting live, streaming presentations. The author’s reasoning was that actively managing a live webinar requires a great deal of time and energy and by automating the process, you can free yourself to focus on other tasks.
This course of action, however, does not come without risks.
It’s true, that many times it’s difficult to find the necessary time to devote to planning and presenting high-quality webinars. But when you consider the invaluable returns that you can receive from hosting webinars (like creating brand awareness and thought leadership, as well as expediting the buying process for your customers), it’s worth trying to find extra periods in your schedule to accommodate them.
A webinar, after all, is your online stage where all of your marketing efforts combine to create a highly-engaging, professional presentation. It’s your chance to get in front of your audience and devote your own personal time to your target market, and give them the opportunity to engage with your brand. One of the biggest boons of live webinars is it affords you the chance to have a two-way dialogue with your audience. When you automate the process, you lose the ability to answer questions in real-time, conduct (and discuss the results of) meaningful polls and speak freely with your audience.
What you can do, as an added benefit, is offer your archived webinars to your customers after they end either on YouTube, or through a downloadable asset on your website. This will help drive extra value. But there’s just no substitute for offering a live, high-quality presentation to your customers.
So don’t offer your audience members canned content. Keep your webinars fresh and live for the best results. Click here to learn more about how Onstream’s webinar services can help you do this.
