Webinars are becoming a significant tool for businesses to connect with customers. In the past five years, webinars have exploded in popularity in part because of the high cost of travel and the time it takes to give a presentation if you have to be physically present. 

The cost of putting on a webinar is so small that it is within the budget of the smallest business. Webinars are also making use of what people know best these days--going online for information.

But like anything else in the business world, it's important to market your webinars the right way. Use an email list, find a micro-community and make connections for promotion. To get people's attention, you might consider giving away valuable information to educate your audience, and in the process draw the kind of attention that will create a marketing opportunity for a product or service.

You can also list your event in webinar event sites. Some of these include Eventspan.com, Finervista.com and Webinar Hero.

There are a number of affordable technology options for small businesses to hold webinars including Bright Talk, Ready Talk, Zoho Meeting, Webex and Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro. You may be behind the times if you don't take advantage of this trend. Or you might already be riding the wave of another great IT tool.

For more on webinars:
- check out this OpenForum.com article

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