The webinar, a portmanteau of “web” and “seminar,” is a formula increasingly appreciated in the business world. More than just an online conference, it is a genuine exchange between the speaker and the audience who can attend the conference from their own homes. What are the advantages of webinars in the business context?
Webinars, thanks to the health crisis, are now becoming exponentially prevalent in companies. They become an asset in business relationships if used wisely.
Key Figures
According to Workcast, the global online seminar sector surpassed one billion dollars in 2023. Industry analysts predict that the overall value of the online seminar industry will reach an impressive five billion dollars by 2035. A stable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 8% is expected for the online seminar sector between 2023 and 2035. Thanks to the health crisis, webinars have taken off. It has become a favored means of communication.
Cost Reduction
A webinar can be organized very simply and at low cost. Participants attend the conference from their offices, without incurring logistical expenses for the organizer. YouTube allows for low-cost live video streaming, although this requires good video and sound equipment and a high-speed internet connection to ensure the comfort of viewers. Furthermore, the structure of webinars has another advantage, as it allows for reaching a large and international audience much more easily than with a traditional conference.
Welcomed Interactivity
The difference between a webinar and a webcast lies in the reciprocity of exchanges. Listeners are not just spectators of the conference; they can intervene and ask questions to the speaker. Moreover, the audience always appreciates this interactivity. Indeed, it constitutes a real innovation in the business field. Finally, a chat or comment system will allow the speaker to select questions from viewers and answer them immediately, establishing a direct connection with them. This way, viewers feel valued and are more engaged in the speaker’s discourse.
Relevant Statistical Data
A webinar provides you with precise data. For any online conference, you can quickly benefit from detailed statistics about the participants. It will be possible to know their number, the time spent on the stream, their interest, and their geolocation. These are all relevant pieces of information to improve understanding of prospects, clients, and individuals surrounding your company. For example, Microsoft regularly communicates the numbers of its Microsoft Tech Days webinars: some conferences have up to 60,000 participants!
Simple Content Creation
The usefulness of an interactive web conference is not limited to live conditions. It is also possible to rebroadcast them, sometimes in several parts depending on the topics discussed, to easily create unique and quality online content. This serves as an excellent showcase for any company, accessible on replay on a YouTube channel or via a dedicated landing page. The content may be shared by internet users or featured on specialized blogs. It would be wise to create articles detailing the points discussed during the webinar, with links redirecting to the relevant videos.
Boost for a Commercial Website
The reverse phenomenon is equally possible. It’s the webinar that becomes a means of attracting internet users to a professional website, in a simple and natural way. Call-to-action placed during the conference will give viewers the opportunity to download a promotional brochure, read an article revisiting a mentioned topic, or discover related content hosted on the speaker’s website. This is a good way to increase website traffic and see prospects turn into clients.
