Tv? Radio? Internet? Newspaper? Magazine? With thousands of advertising channels available, choosing the right one has become increasingly difficult. This is a major concern as the wrong channel will fail to deliver your message to your intended audience and will hamper your event's success.

Here are a few questions that you should to ask before selecting an advertising channel for your event:

	What is your event size?
	Where is your event located?
	What is your audience type - fixed or diverse?
	What is your budget?

As you answer these questions, you slowly but steadily eliminate channels that will not work for you. For example, if you are organizing a doctor's conference for doctors practicing in Mumbai, buying a TVC spot on popular channel is both pointless and expensive. You will deplete your budget without seeing an impressive rise in conversion rates. A better channel for a medical event would be a medical magazine as it will reach your intended audience for a cost effective rate.

To simplify your decision-making process further, here is an at-a-glance look at some popular advertising mediums and their pros and cons:

Live Event Virtual Event Cost & Convenience Organizing a live event is more expense than organizing a webinar because there are more logistics involved such as venue, travel, audiovisual equipment, meals, labor and accommodation. A webinar is more cost effective and convenient as it can be run completely online i.e. provide event information through an event website, accept registrations and payment directly online via an online registration facility and conduct the webinar from the comfort of your own home or office. Equipment Every event requires audiovisual equipment. However, most venues do have their own equipment that is included as part of the package. To conduct a webinar successfully, you need a good web hosting solution to host the event and every attendee need to have a high-speed internet. Acquiring a good web hosting solution to run your webinar will be your biggest expense. Manpower Staff is required to man the registration tables, greet guests and generally ensure that the event is running smoothly. You need to assign or hire sufficient staff make sure the event runs efficiently. A webinar is a one-man show; you do not need any extra resources as the attendee’s log into your online conference room at the set time without any additional assistance. Venue & Attendee Numbers For a live event, the venue capacity determines the attendee number, and your event budget decides the venue location and size. One benefit of having a live event is that you can use the venue’s location to attract a larger audience. After all, who does not want to attend a conference in Goa or Hawaii? The advantage of organizing a webinar is that there are no size limitations. One webinar fits all. Your webinar can accommodate 10 people or 10,000 people easily because they attend the webinar from their own homes and offices. Travel & Accommodation If you have attendees coming from all parts of the country or the world, travel and accommodation will consume a large part of your budget. A webinar is cost effective solution as both attendees and presenters participate from their own offices desks or home offices. Time Organizing a live event is significantly more difficult not only because there are more logistics to consider. A live event requires attendees to clear their schedules for a few days, as they often have to fly out of town to attend. A webinar is easier to get on attendees’ calendars as it is only an hour out of their schedules. Important: A webinar should last no longer than an hour. If your material requires more time, organize multiple sessions over a period of time or opt for a longer live event instead. Value Additions Live events enable you to offer more. For example: Demos, hands on training, group discussions, plant tours etc.

To summarize, all channels have their pros and cons; ultimately, you need to decide which channel will best promote your event. By choosing the right a channel, you will spend less money and will retain a bigger budget for other essential activities.