Long before the internet existed, whenever businesses wanted to get together with others to discuss or promote their products and services, or to train their staff, a meeting called a seminar was arranged. The format would tend to be one or two speakers making a presentation to a live audience which could number several hundred in larger seminars.
Today, seminars still happen, but the onset of the internet has spawned an online version of seminars called webinars. Now, we are not here to challenge nor vouch for the merits of ‘webinar’ being the name conjured up to describe online seminars. What is more important is their use by businesses and the many ways that webinars can be used to promote products and services.
What Is A Webinar?
For those that have never heard of or been on a webinar, they are online presentations that the audience views on their PC, laptop or mobile device and the information being relayed is presented by one or more organisers of the webinar. Just think of a Zoom call but instead of speaking to one person, you present it to hundreds.
Webinars are relatively simple to create with the main equipment needed being a microphone, a webcam (optional), presentation slides (e.g. PowerPoint), and a script so that you can describe what is on the slides. In addition, a webinar platform is needed which acts as the conduit between the presenter and the audience. The most popular webinar platforms online include GoToWebinar and Webinar Jam.
In most cases, webinars are presented live and there is often an opportunity for the audience to ask questions via a chat box. However, they can also be set up to replay, or to be broadcast automatically on a loop several times per day, every day.