A nod, a knowing smile… these are some of the ways that a live audience lets a speaker know that they are engaged. These cues are simply not available in a webinar format.From a speaker’s perspective, here’s how webinars differ from live presentations.

Webinar pros:

• Wider reach -in terms of capacity as well as geography
• Logistically simple -there’s no conference room to set up
• Efficient -the time you allocate for the seminar doesn’t need to be padded with travel time
• Interactive -depending on budget you can expand your use of technology e.g. to poll your audience instantaneously
• Digital files -presentation files can be downloaded, a green and low cost option for handouts
• Positioning -firms embracing new technology are considered to be on the cusp of innovation

Webinar challenges:

• Minimal feedback -though webinars are interactive in that they invite participants to post or call in with their questions, there’s no eye contact, smiles or other body language to let you know that they are engaged with your talk
• Dead air -a challenge for longer webinars is the silence, other than the sound of your own voice, that extends for the better part of the session
• Need to multi-task-instead of people patiently holding up their hands to ask a question, questions come in via web and telephone, visible to all participants and needing to be addressed in the moment
• Technology -the more we depend on technology for a presentation, the more opportunity there is for something to fail
• Networking -when the webinar is over, there’s no mingling, shaking hands or exchanging business cards
• Leave behind materials -there’s no opportunity to circulate brochures or ask participants to sign up for a newsletter

Presentations have been a longstanding marketing tactic for interior designers, investment advisors, chiropractors and other professionals. Whether or not it’s time to switch over to webinars will depend on your preferences as a speaker and the goals of your practice.

Don’t make the mistake of understating the importance of decisions about the delivery of a marketing plan. The effectiveness of a marketing tactic is dependent on both the underlying message and the manner in which it is delivered.

Related articles: Webinar – Definition, Seminars – A Proven Marketing Tool and Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking.