Webinars allow businesses to reach out to their potential customers and get the opportunity to increase their sales. Some individuals like to host live events to discuss industry-relevant topics in real-time, making live webinars perfect for this purpose.
But on the other hand, there are situations where automated webinars or pre-recorded video presentations are the better option.
While their purpose is most likely the same, you can still get more sales if you use the one that is more suitable for your business or particular situation. As such, you need to know which one will help you convert your webinar attendees into clients and analyze the pros and cons of both types of webinars.
Automated Webinars
There are two basic types of automated webinars: evergreen and on-demand.
An evergreen webinar needs to have content that is relevant to people regardless of time. Even if you published the webinar a few years ago, its content remains relevant to the people who view it now.
Like evergreen webinars, on-demand webinars are live webinars that have been recorded to accommodate differences in the time zones of the hosts and their viewers. Typically, when a person wants to watch an on-demand webinar, they’ll need to submit details like their names and email address before they’re redirected to the page where they can view your content.
Advantages of a Pre-recorded Webinar
Avoiding Presentation Issues
One of the best advantages of an automated webinar is helping you avoid technical issues.
Since it’s pre-recorded, you’ll have the time to make preparations and check your presentation before publishing your webinar. You can watch your presentation over and over to see if there are flaws you need to fix. You can redo your video if you make mistakes and do some edits until it becomes perfect.
Continue Getting Leads and Sales
Automated webinars also allow you to continue getting an audience and leads without having to host the same presentation over and over again. You can keep using the same pre-recorded webinar, so you can continue getting sales from the same presentation.
Instead of hosting new webinars for essentially the same topic, you can focus your resources toward promoting your automated webinar.
You Don’t Have to Be Present Each Time
You don’t have to be present each time you produce automated webinars. You just can use your video presentation as many times as you want without having to talk and discuss things again.
For this reason, you can focus on other essential projects you need to do for your business. Every company requires attention and efforts to grow. So, saving your time will be extremely beneficial.
Makes Your Webinar Convenient to Play
Unlike live events, people can watch your presentation at their convenience. It’s beneficial, especially given the difference in time zones between you and your target audiences. In live webinars, your potential clients might have to make adjustments to watch your video. Since we all have our responsibilities and priorities, it won’t be easy for everyone. But in automated webinars, you can give your target market a chance to watch your webinar whenever they want.
Disadvantages of a Pre-recorded Webinar
Despite the numerous advantages of pre-recorded webinars, you also need to be aware of its disadvantages.
Long Preparation
Automated webinars require a lot of effort when you prepare them. You need to ensure that you’re presenting a polished presentation due to limited opportunities for audience interaction. Otherwise, it can be difficult to convince your viewers to watch your presentation until the end. As such, you need to work really hard for your preparations to make sure you create interesting content and maintain audience engagement.
Can’t Be Used for the Trend
Because it is pre-recorded, your webinar might not cover trending topics, unless you make timely edits or additions.
As such, it’s not advisable to cover trending topics for your automated webinar. Remember, the trends change and using the same webinar record will confuse your viewers.
Live Webinars
Live webinars are presented in real-time. They have the same purpose as automated webinars, which is to conduct a seminar and get the opportunity to promote your products and services. However, live webinars also have advantages and disadvantages you need to consider.
Live Webinar Advantages
Good for Time-Relevant Content
Because you and your viewers are online at the same time, you get the chance to discuss timely topics with a live webinar presentation. Besides that, you can provide updated content that will significantly help your audience.
Allows Real-time Audience Interaction
A live webinar will give you an opportunity to interact with your potential clients in real-time. They get to ask questions, and you can give them answers immediately. When they get what they want quickly, they become less confused and more interested in your content.
In addition, you’ll know exactly what they think about your responses based on the way they respond and engage. Since you are facilitating a conversation with one another, they tend to get more engaged.
Convince Attendees and Boost Sales
When you are live, you’ll have the chance to use the new strategies that suddenly come into your mind and use those to introduce your product and services. You can convince your attendees more and boost your sales:
Live Webinar Disadvantages
While live webinars are great for reaching out to your target clients, they also have cons that you need to be aware of.
Not Always Convenient for Your Target Audience
In an automated webinar, people can watch your recorded presentation at any time. But when it comes to a live webinar event, it can be inconvenient for some individuals. Not everyone has the same timezone as yours, and your webinar schedule might not be convenient for some people. Although they may want to attend your live event, they won’t be able to if they have other commitments on the time and date of your webinar.
Interruptions Can Occur
When you are presenting a live webinar, you have to make sure things are strictly organized. Otherwise, there might be interruptions, such as lag and other technical problems that can affect your presentation.
You also can’t undo your mistakes, unlike in an automated webinar, and your audience will be able to see the flaws. Besides that, if you have unexpected guests or any noise in the background, your attendees will hear that.
It Will Test Your Confidence
If you are not the type of person who can quickly generate your ideas in front of others, a live webinar might not be a good option for you. When you are presenting live, you need to give answers to your audience every time they ask. Otherwise, they might think you don’t know what you are doing and lose interest. So, you’ll need to ensure you are ready and confident that you can answer all their possible questions.
Choosing the Best for Your Business
Automated webinars and live webinars are both great platforms to present your business and get more leads. But which is better?
The answer will depend on your preferences and setup. If you are a busy person and can’t host a webinar as frequently as you like, you can choose pre-recorded webinars.
You also have to consider the timezones of your target market. If you know that they are different from yours, you can adjust to their time or just produce a presentation they can watch at their convenience. Besides that, if you need time to gather your thoughts, you can record a webinar instead of going live to ensure that your presentation goes smoothly.
If you are confident about your distraction-free setup and know that there will be no interruptions, you can use a live webinar. It will be extremely advantageous if you want live viewer interaction. You can also host a live webinar first to get ideas on what your potential customers want to know and record that live video to make an on-demand webinar.
