In this post I will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of live and recorded webinars.
WHAT IS A WEBINAR?
It is an anglicism that means conference via web or online or through the Internet. These online conferences can be live (live webinar) or recorded (recorded or automated webinar). The webinar has become a powerful communication tool in digital environments and is widely used in the educational field. In addition, the webinar has become a favourite tool for infoproducers or creators of digital products. If you would like to be an infoproducer or sell your canine education training courses online, then this article is of interest to you.
In this post I will tell you some of the advantages and disadvantages that I see in doing live webinars or recorded webinars. This way you will be able to assess which one is the most suitable for you when it comes to recruiting dog handlers and families as a dog trainer or dog educator.
First I will ask you a question: Would you rather attend a concert 🕺 or watch it two days later on TV 📺?
You will tell me that a webinar is not the same as a concert and you are right. But the truth is that if you are really passionate and confident about what you do, you will be eager to meet, surprise and connect with your audience live. At first you may panic, but with practice and as you become popular with your community, it will be most rewarding for you 🤩.
Let's get down to business... and start with the ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF LIVE AND RECORDED WEBINARS.
ADVANTAGES OF A LIVE WEBINAR
✅ You offer more credibility and trust: Seeing you live makes you real, close and your audience feels they can communicate with you on the spot. Also, they will empathise with you and you with them, making you more natural.
✅ You can eliminate objections and doubts: The audience can ask you directly in the question spaces you create and you have the possibility to eliminate all their objections immediately.
✅ You get better audience retention: You can prepare all kinds of networking activities to get them actively involved and keep them motivated and interested. Ask them questions and engage them with their stories. Help them live and adapt your message if you see that something is not working as you would like.
✅ Invite collaborators: Nowadays practically nobody ventures to buy anything without first taking a look at reviews and opinions. You can add a lot of points if you invite an expert, former students or customers who have been successful cases so that they can tell their experiences and even the attendees can ask them questions directly.
✅ Validate and improve your offer: Having the possibility to ask your attendees about their needs, expectations and interests before making a purchase allows you to build your sales pitch based on them. In addition, you can receive valuable feedback that makes you rethink changes and improvements to what you already offer.
DISADVANTAGES OF A LIVE WEBINAR
✅ Live glitches: Who hasn't been on a live webinar and heard the phrase "it's live glitches". We have to live with technical failures in all live events, and live webinars are. Having patience and having a plan B prepared just in case will help you a lot.
✅ A lot of dedication and time ⏳: It is clear that it is not something to do every day. Some webinars last for hours, others are divided into days depending on the sales ticket and you always have to be providing value because if you neglect them, the audience will gradually abandon you. It is important to offer everything you promise and if you can do a little bit more, your audience will thank you for it.
✅ Commitment and energy 🔋: If you commit to your audience then you have to be there, postponing or cancelling doesn't feel very good if the reason is not compelling. You have to be at your best and give them your best.
✅ Count on possible disappointment 😞: If you are just starting out, don't have much experience or your product or service has not yet been previously validated, your audience may not like it as much as you thought they would. This can be disappointing for you after so much effort. Seeing the audience slowly fade away or criticise you is hard. If you do a live webinar, be prepared for anything to happen, and stick it out until the end. It's OK if it doesn't go well, you learn from your mistakes, don't you? You'll get a lot of feedback that will help you do much better next time.
ADVANTAGES OF A RECORDED WEBINAR
✅ Time flexibility 🏖️: There is no live streaming, therefore, it does not require your physical presence or your energy at the time of video playback and viewing by your audience. Once the webinar is recorded, you can play it back and follow up on the comments and feedback received.
✅ Larger audience 📢: As there is no timetable, the videos can be viewed at any time and from any country. The time slot is not an issue and the audience (after registration) can decide when it is best for them to attend the webinar. This great availability makes attendance over time much higher. But be careful, we must keep the audience warm until the booked day and time to avoid disinterest and forgetfulness.
✅ Recurring revenue💰: The recorded webinar is an evergreen, i.e., it is a process that you leave in automatic replaying over and over again on demand from the audience. Therefore, if done well, the income it generates is recurring. It is very important to take into consideration the price of the sales product, to structure the content very well, to have an exhaustive definition of your ideal client, to present an irresistible offer, a good sales page and to eliminate objections.
✅ Greater professionalism 💼: The fact that webinars are recorded and are not live, eliminates all kinds of spontaneity, but also randomness and unforeseen events. You can do post-recording editing work so that the webinar is exactly in line with your business strategy.
DISADVANTAGES OF A RECORDED WEBINAR
✅ Less retention 📢: If the webinar is very long, if you are not there to keep up the hype of your audience, you may lose them little by little and many of them will not stay until the end. You will have to think of a retention strategy to make it really worthwhile for them to stick around until the end.
✅ Less credibility 😒: When you see something that interests you, but it is recorded and you cannot interact with the person who shows it, it is inevitable to think if it is a hoax or if it is real. This distrust increases if your sales are only made online and without previous contact with you.
✅ Audience with objections and doubts 🤔: If you are not there, you will not be able to solve the doubts and objections of the attendees on the spot. You will have to think of ways to communicate with your audience, even if they are not synchronous.
Well, you already know many ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF LIVE AND RECORDED WEBINARS. Which one do you choose? 🙂
Choose the option that best suits you to attract clients as a dog trainer and educate families with dogs online.
