08/ 30/ 2007
by Maggie Flynn
For many entrepreneurs, attending business seminars can be beneficial. Yet many factors like travel time and expenses can deter them from going to as many as they would wish. Likewise, holding your own seminars may be an ideal way to bring together employees and/or clients from geographically diverse locations, even though the logistics can prove challenging.
If you wish that you and your employees could either attend more seminars or put them on yourselves, then the Web might be the place for you to turn. Web seminars, or "Webinars" as they are called, give you the chance to hold or sit in on presentations from the comfort of your own desk. Read on to see if Webinars might be worth exploring for your business.
How it works
Webinars take place in real time. They are broadcast live over a server, allowing people to watch the presentation on their computer. Phone lines are usually hooked up to allow the presenter to take questions or comments from the audience.
Putting together your own Webinar
You will need a software provider in order to hold a Webinar. By simply typing "Webinar" into an Internet search engine, you'll see the variety of providers available. Many of these will allow you to reach up to 1,000 "attendees." Your provider will generate a Web page and e-mail invitations for the event and allow you to create interactive features, such as a forum for audience questions and feedback. This can be ideal if you have customers or branch offices in other parts of the country (or even the world). Also, if you need a meeting space to accommodate a large number of attendees, holding a Webinar, which starts at about a $100 dollars, will likely be much cheaper than renting out meeting space, providing refreshments, and so on.
Be aware, however, that it's easier to keep people focused and attentive when you are face to face with them. If you're planning a Webinar, you'll need to keep your presentation as dynamic as possible. Power point slides can be an effective way of getting the key points across. Make use of the interactive tools your Webinar software provides. If you're comfortable with on-the-spot speaking, answer audience questions throughout the presentation to keep people feeling involved. Also, keeping it short is key. Most Webinars are 40-50 minute sessions. Going longer risks losing the attention of your audience.
Attending Webinars
If planning a Webinar is not for you, perhaps you and your employees would still like to sit in on one. Webinars are usually reasonably priced, and some are even free. While Webinars are initially live events, many are archived and available to view on demand.
Finding the Webinars you'd like to attend might take a little searching. If you regularly receive invitations to live seminars, you can see if the provider is planning to broadcast the event. Keep your eyes open for upcoming Webinars in industry trade magazines. Also, universities and technology companies hold webinars covering a diverse array of topics—check the Web sites to see if any sound appealing to you.
As you would with any other service, do your homework before purchasing a Webinar. Find out the presenter's credentials and see if the cost seems in line with other Webinars. Even if the Web event is free, try to gauge if viewing it will be worth your and your employees' time.
Attending business seminars in person certainly has its advantages. It gives you the opportunity to make new contacts and gain new perspective on your business, not to mention gets you out of the office, likely a rare event if you're like most small business owners. But for those times when you can't get away, Webinars can provide a viable way to bring the action to you.
