There’s a misconception out there that you need to have had teacher training to run a workshop as a business, however that is in fact, not the case. Not only is running a workshop a great way to share your expert topic knowledge with other likeminded business owners or individuals, but it’s also a fantastic marketing tool for your brand.
‘How’ you may ask?…
Well, we’ve got you covered. Read on to hear our top 5 business benefits to running workshops:
1. Brand awareness
Running an event (such as a workshop), increases awareness of your company and your brand. Just think… you’ll be promoting your workshop across your social media channels, on your website, newsletter updates and where you can, at in person or virtual networking events. All of these actions combined have a huge potential reach – with the possibility of the promotion being re-shared to other networks too. Once businesses see that you’re offering a workshop, even if they are not able to come to the one that you are currently promoting, it is now on their radar and they’re more likely to try to look out for the next one and consider you in the future. A workshop is also a great networking opportunity for your business and for the other businesses attending.
2. Helps to establish credibility
Every business can ‘talk the talk’ but, how many of them actually ‘walk the walk’… A workshop is an opportunity for you to share your knowledge for the greater good, showing that you are a collaborative business and open to sharing valuable information to help or advise others – many of whom may become potential clients, as trust is developed through education and information sharing. Long gone are the days where businesses keep all their knowledge to themselves! Running a workshop can also help to increase your brand’s social media following, testimonials and referrals.
3. Face to face time
Over the last few years, we’ve really come to appreciate the value of spending time with potential clients and customers in a face-to-face environment. Don’t get us wrong, we’re a great lover of virtual workshops and meetings – they can often be more productive, but sometimes – nothing can quite beat that face-to-face element. As the world continues to move forward after the pandemic, running a workshop can give you the opportunity to enjoy valuable face to face time with them once more, building on your current relationships and making brand new ones, demonstrating your expertise and showing a ‘taster’ of what you can do for them on a larger or more long-term scale along the way too.
4. Good value for money
Workshops are a cost-effective way for business owners to learn something new, up-skill or gain expertise needed to improve their business, as well as helping to generate another important revenue stream for your business along as well. Every workshop facilitator is different and has their preferences, but for us here at Shake It Up Creative we like to provide a mixture of presentation and direct teaching, as well as interactive, hands-on practical tasks, which helps our attendees to learn in a fun memorable way, whilst getting good value for money too – which is of course, so important for many companies out there.
5. Helps to build your own confidence… and have fun!
Public speaking can be daunting at the best of times, but even more so if you’re a business owner or sole trader, it can feel overwhelming. Buuut… don’t let that stop you! Push yourself out of your own comfort zone, and be challenged by the things that may scare you, sometimes the best outcomes happen when you do that. Holding a workshop is a great way to build up your confidence in these areas, because it’s not just you standing there giving a speech! Picture it as this. You’re sharing your knowledge or being a facilitator to the group. You are helping people with an aspect of their business (or personal) development and they are learning from you. To help aid your confidence on the day, remember to plan thoroughly and do all you can to create a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere for your attendees – trust us, when you’re having fun, it’s so much more memorable!
We hope this blog has inspired you to dip your toes into the rewarding world of running workshops for others. We’d love to hear if you’ve decided to take the plunge and organise a workshop after reading this. Let us know below, in the comments of this blog post.
At Shake It Up Creative, we run many online and in-person workshops throughout the year on SEO, content planning, PR, planning a website and much more. Sign up to our newsletter or check out our Twitter feed to see what we’re up to.
Rachael Dines, Shake It Up Creative