If lockdown saw you turn to digital platforms to stay in touch with news from the interiors sector, you couldn’t have failed to have noticed the rise in webinars. While not a new phenomenon as such, they have quickly become the new tool of choice for companies to engage with audiences and confirm their position as experts within their field.

So, what are the benefits of webinars? The ability to engage with any audience in a convenient form is a key factor, after all it's one of the reasons social media now plays a key art in our daily lives. Add in content in the form of discussion, video and interviews, and webinars allow companies to converse with likeminded and inquisitive professionals that may well go on to become clients.

So what are the pit falls? As much as you may think you have a great idea, if you cannot get a conversation going it's likely to fall on deaf ears. Technology, while wonderful can cause a few issues so having a back-up plan is always a good idea.

Pre-recorded content can work, as long as interactive elements are included such as question and answers. Opening up to wider audience via live social media platforms has to be well adjudicated, as we've been in on big scale webinars where irrelevant (and sometimes just disruptive) comments can ruin a discussion. Choosing a platform to house your webinar with a controlled sign-up should prevent this and allows you to gauge numbers prior to the event.

We asked Hotel Designs editor Hamish Kilburn for his take on how webinars are playing a key part in engaging with interior sector audiences.

"If anything positive has emerged from lockdown, it is that we have discovered new and meaningful ways to stay connected. As well as launching our own online conference Hotel Designs LIVE - and being forced to present our annual awards virtually this year I have had the pleasure of joining and hosting several virtual panel discussions, which has certainly kept the industry connected during the pandemic.

"Going forward, I hope that we can integrate virtual format, like webinars with live events in order to accessibly define the point on international hotel design from all angles. During this time, it has been refreshing to work with a forward-thinking PR agency like Select First in order to discuss new ways to start engaging and relevant conversations."

Want to keep your conversation going? Get in touch and we can take the hard work out of creating a calendar of engaging webinars.

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