I am pleased to announce that I have successfully completed the Virtual Event Specialist Certification Program, a 4-week training course that equips online professionals with the key skills and tools necessary to offer clients important and in-demand virtual event management services.

Small businesses are increasingly choosing to hold webinars and tele-seminars to present training programmes, conferences and even week long education summits. Thanks to improved technology, social media and the real time web, they provide a real alternative to off line events. Here are seven reasons why event providers and small businesses are choosing virtual events:

1. They are less expensive compared to offline events
2. They offer more flexibility and convenience to presenters and attendees – everyone gets a front row seat!
3. Allow people to attend from all over the world without having to step out of their door
4. For the presenter, it extends their reach beyond the immediate locality potentially increasing the number of attendees
5. They save time with no travelling involved for any party, which also means they’re good for the environment
6. By recording the event it enables attendees to listen in at a time convenient to them
7. The recording enables the presenter to re-use the material again and again increasing their passive income

In the current economic downturn it’s no surprise to learn that 67% of professionals responsible for physical events report that overall attendance has dropped, and 70% of corporate event organisers predict significant growth in virtual conferences and webinars.

I offers a range of niche services to support small business owners with their marketing and events, particularly in the online and social media arena. That is why I’m excited to be adding important virtual event specialist services and tools that will further improve my clients’ visibility and presence. These include setting up and delivering tele-events featuring one or many speakers, webinars and webcasts, online radio shows, live podcasts and live streaming TV shows.

In VAClassroom’s Virtual Event Specialist Certification Program, I learned strategies, best practices, tips and techniques for efficiently and effectively creating great events for my clients using the leading technologies including:

• GoToWebinar webinar hosting software
• Camtasia online video editing and recording software
• Ustream for presenting live events online

This certification also entitles me to ongoing training, so as technology develops I will always continue to offer quality up-to-date virtual event specialist skills for my clients!