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Webcasts, webinars, they’re all the same, right?
Well, no, they’re not, though you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was just two jargonistic sides of the same coin. Whilst both terms refer to virtual meetings, it is the level of interactivity generally involved that creates a fundamental difference. Where webinars are live streams that allow for participants to be directly involved, asking questions and contributing in real time, a webcast is a way of broadcasting presentations generally in a one-way fashion, can be either live or pre-recorded and usually do not involve interactivity from the participants.
So why choose webcasting?
It will come as no surprise that online presentations are still on the rise and it’s not difficult to see why. Webcasting is perfect if you wish to reach a large audience all at once, irrespective of location. They have a whole host of uses across the marketing and sales funnels from reaching out to new prospects, to product demonstrations to customer updates when new products are introduced to the market. If you want your information conveyed in a clear and concise manner without any bells and whistles detracting from your main focus, webcasting is for you. It’s an efficient and effective way of delivering your message and, with the help of a webcast platform, you will be able to produce professional and engaging webcasts whilst receiving a host of back end analytics and data to improve your output moving forward.
Reaching a bigger audience
You’ll have the space and scope to showcase not only your products but your personality and expertise whilst reaching a potentially global audience. Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of putting a face to your brand. Your outreach won’t be hampered by location or attendance costs in the way an in-person event would. This means you’ll be able to reach a much wider audience including those who wouldn’t necessarily have the budget for travel expenses to attend an event but do have the budget to invest in your business.
You don’t have to broadcast live
The ability to pre-record webcasts also gives you the chance to edit and reshoot, allowing for a slick and pitch perfect presentation that can be revisited by your clients at a later date, with 47% of views taking place up to ten days after the initial broadcast. That said, you also have the option of broadcasting live and without the option to revisit the broadcast. This can have its own merits by creating brand urgency – only those who are signed up and participate on the day will be able to access the information you’ll be presenting, creating an exclusive buzz around your content.
Fewer hiccups
Technical difficulties happen to the best of us, no matter how prepared we are. Due to the more streamlined nature of webcasts and the one-way delivery of information, you can reduce the likelihood of running into these issues, as well as allowing for secondary viewings, should the audience members run into connectivity issues at their end.
When it comes to online presentations, knowing your webcasts from your webinars and when to implement them could make a real difference to your outreach, lead generations and reputation in the field. Creating and broadcasting high-quality, informative webinars that can be redistributed and revisited could be what sets you apart from your competitors.
