The Difference Between a Webinar and a Teleseminar

You may not know what a webinar or a teleseminar is or perhaps you confuse the terms. That’s okay, marketing can be complicated. We’re about to make it easy.

Both webinars and teleseminars are powerful marketing tools that effectively get the word out about you, your company, and your product. These can be used during a product launch to really boost your sales. So what are they and what’s the difference between them?

The Difference Between Webinars and Teleseminars

Let’s break down the difference between these two marketing tools, shall we? A webinar is visual. It’s a live or prerecorded video stream and/or PowerPoint presentation. A teleseminar, however, is audio, also either live or prerecorded. Same concept, different methods of delivery.

Both are effective methods of reaching people and both can be used to sell your product and deliver information to your audience.

In my personal experience, teleseminars are far less intimidating for beginners. Using your voice rather than having to do a full video presentation takes some of the pressure off. However, webinars seem to be more popular to attend—there are many visual learners out there that require that visual piece that teleseminars just can’t offer.

With a teleseminar, people can easily put some headphones on and listen while they clean the house, relax, or before they take a nap. They’re very convenient. With a webinar, it’s more involved. They require you to pay attention to a video or else you may miss important parts.

Of course, there is always the option for your audience to only listen to the audio portion of your webinar. They may not have to turn on the video part—many webinar platforms offer this option by allowing your audience to call in rather than view the video online. However, unless you’ve made your webinar so that the visual piece of it is completely optional, people may get frustrated because they won’t be able to experience it fully and may miss important chunks of information.

Both options can be fully automated and can run on autopilot in the background, so either choice is a good start. All you have to do is simply pick one and get to work. If you don’t like one, you can always try the other.

What About Live-Streaming?

If you don’t like the idea of a formal webinar, most social media networks have now integrated the option to go LIVE with your videos. This means you can stream yourself—live—right there from your phone or other device. Facebook Live seems to be leading the live-streaming race right now, with Instagram and Twitter also in the mix.

Streaming your video live can be incredibly intimidating, but it can also really boost your visibility. Here’s some encouragement for you: You’re gonna fuck up; it’s live.

BUT it’s cool, because you’re human. People understand. People sympathize. And people respect that you’re stepping outside of your comfort zone and are trying something new.

Because, after all, that’s the way we grow. And growing is how your company will not only survive… it’ll thrive.

So no matter if you’re hosting a webinar, teleseminar, or even a live-stream via social media, it’s just important that you pick one to try and see how it feels. You may find you really enjoy it!

If you’re interested in hosting your own webinar, take a look at Using Webinars to Sell Your Product.