When cost, travel, or time constraints make face-to-face meetings a challenge, consider webinars. With only a computer, an Internet connection, and a web browser, you now have virtually unlimited ability to interact with prospects, customers, staff, and a host of resources around the globe.

What’s a webinar?

A webinar is a live meeting that takes place over the web. Attendees in different locations “login” to the meeting host (usually a third party, such as Webex or Centra) via their computers and watch the meeting on their screens. The audio, if there is audio, can be via telephone or the web (voice over IP).

Webinars might consist of live video, a PowerPoint presentation, Word or other types of documents, or any combination thereof. Some webinars are one-directional (meaning the attendees watch passively); others are more interactive, where attendees interact with the moderator, each other, and/or the documents being viewed.

Why webinar?

Webinars are a rapidly growing phenomenon for a number of reasons:

• they’re inexpensive to host and generally free to attend
• they require only a PC, phone line, and Internet connection
• you don’t need to invest travel time and airfare – you attend from your desk
• as an attendee, there is an almost unlimited number of choices in topics
• as a moderator, webinars are an effective means to deliver live and on-demand training or support for customers or your own workforce; provide product information; and make presentations
• webinars are usually live events, but can be saved for later viewing
• webinars can give even a small business, a “big business” presence

Attending a webinar

Webinars are available on just about any topic – a quick Google search unearths webinars on everything from stress management to HTML coding to gardening. To select and get the most out of a webinar, follow these guidelines:

• Choose your webinar from a trusted source, and don’t hesitate to shop around for quality. Ask how many attendees are expected – if you want to be able to ask questions, look for webinars with 10 or few participants.
• Well before the webinar starts, make sure your firewall won’t prevent you from connecting, and download any files that might be necessary.
• Have the URL and login instructions ready to go before the start time.
• If audio is via your PC, have your speakers, headphones, and microphone ready; if it’s via your phone line, have the dial-in number handy.
• Minimize interruptions - close your door, mute the phone, turn off your cell, and if there is background noise on your end, don’t use your speakerphone.

Hosting a webinar

If a webinar is the right solution to deliver your trainings, presentations, product launches, etc., here are some tips for making it successful:

• Your topic should be clear and concise, and your description of your webinar should set your would-be attendees’ expectations accurately.
• In scheduling your webinar, determine whether set times or on-demand sessions will work best for you and your audience.
• Market your webinar on your website, e-newsletter, or other creative places, and encourage attendees to invite others. Really sell the value of your webinar – appeal to WIIFM (what’s in it for me).
• If you opt to allow attendees to ask questions, be prepared to field whatever may come up.
• For more interactive sessions, limit attendance to 10 or fewer and consider including a polling feature.

When choosing a hosting vendor or buying hosting software, there are a number of options and features to consider. How to Host a Successful Webinar is a compact education on what to look for.

When to webinar, and when not to

While conference calls, email, and webinars have their place, many business relationships, particularly in their early stages, require personal investment to build trust. When you need to see and respond to facial expressions, body language, or subtle comments, webinars are not the right choice. Webinars are also not advised for issues that are controversial or will spark lots of conversation or debate – save those for face-to-face meetings (when you want the exchange) or memos (when you don’t).