The Benefits of Digital Training and Webinars

The digital training market is growing rapidly, but many industries have adopted online training or e-learning without necessarily embracing it. What they may not realize is that webinars and online continuing professional development (CPD) courses can benefit both businesses and individuals in a variety of ways.

Any business that chooses to use digital training can offer many thousands of hours of education, leading to greater brand awareness and passive income streams. Below, Anthony Chadwick of The Webinar Vet shares the advantages of digital training for business, users, and employees.

The advantages of digital training

1. When offline businesses adopt digital training practices, that training is made more widely accessible and affordable to users. People no longer need to travel to the training site, and the cost of production and delivery is low. The time commitment for watching the training is reduced.

2. When training is difficult to access, those seeking that training often see the number of hours set by the professional body as a target, rather than a minimum requirement. However, those participating in digital, online CPD programs like webinars complete many more hours of training than is required. They embrace the ease and enjoyment of the digital training process and are far more likely to continue their education beyond the requirements set forth by their supervisors or their professions.

3. With webinars and other forms of digital training, the calibre of CPD can be high, because organisations can use the most experienced and relevant speakers for each training module. Just imagine the respect, trust and revenue your brand can collect by sharing the knowledge of industry experts with students, no matter where they are.

4. Online training offers countless opportunities for staying in touch, as well as introducing followers who might be able to benefit from one another’s expertise and connections. Regularly scheduled webinars aren’t simply training modules; they have the power to morph into networking events, too. This benefits both the business, and the training users.

5. The relationships that develop from digital training often lead to business and brand growth. These digital connections give businesses the opportunity to establish trust that builds brands and encourages word-of-mouth advertisement. Students feel they truly know their instructors, and therefore feel more confident moving forward with deeper, loyal business relationships. Even those learners who rely solely on free material gain valuable knowledge about the business and the brand—so they can spread the word.

6. Online training can be delivered at a time that’s convenient for the audience. Most digital training is delivered live, which allows for an interactive experience with questions and answers, but is also recorded for those who can’t ‘attend’ or who wish to refer back to the material at a later time. Live, offline events are rarely recorded. This means that attendees need to rely on the notes they’ve taken, or their memories. Whereas, if a student has access to recorded training sessions, they can search for popular topics or a specific subject when a problem arises.

7. If you run a business that requires its employees to complete regular training, you could save money by including online education options. Digital training is generally preferred by employees, particularly those with young families who have difficulty making commitments outside the typical 9-to-5.

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How to get started

15 years ago, it may have cost more to set up an online business than a traditional one. Just hiring a developer and navigating technical pitfalls may have been too much for any start-up or established business’ budget to bear. Now, recording tools and assistance are not only affordable, technical support is also widely available.

Webinars can be broadcast live and recorded using tools such as Zoom, and then stored on Amazon Web Services. Both are off-the-shelf and can save businesses huge sums in development costs—particularly when compared with the expense of an all brick-and-mortar business.

Conducting regular webinars is a great way to plan future product offerings and marketing strategies. You can use the interaction and feedback to gauge interest and find gaps in what your industry is currently offering. CPD digital training and webinars allow you to leverage your valuable time, to connect with one or many clients, no matter your geographical proximity. You can put webinar software to work as your junior sales assistant, gauging demand and making conversions…all through training that is ‘virtually’ in-person.

About the Author

Anthony Chadwick is the founder and CEO of The Webinar Vet, the largest online veterinary education provider in the world. The business was set up in 2010 by Anthony, as a way to make veterinary education easier, more accessible and affordable to vets.