Webinar FAQ

Video conferencing services are rapidly becoming one of the most popular business communication and meeting tools on the market. More and more business entities are realizing the benefit to using a video conferencing system as a standard part of company operations. Whether it’s performed on an individual basis, such as desktop video conferencing, or if it’s a larger form of internet video conferencing, corporations are seeing the concept of company meetings be more convenient and employees be more productive. As a result video conferencing makes companies more profitable.

An online search will help you find video conferencing equipment and software, as well as video conferencing services both quickly and easily. The ability to hold meetings between employees based in numerous locations is the key feature that has made this so convenient and cost-effective. Now you can conduct interviews, hold meetings and seminars, and give business lectures with the ease of clicking your mouse. The only way that video conferencing can be limited is by your own imagination.

People who work from home and telecommute from their home office are using the concept as well. Overall, it makes an amazing difference in the cost of doing business and bringing people together. It is also beneficial in that it eliminates most travel expenses incurred when on the road, so wasting valuable time commuting to company meetings is no longer an issue. Simply switch on your webcam and your right in the conference. Video conferencing also makes globalization a reality as people worldwide can attend meetings with no inconvenience involved. The world is easily accessible with this innovative technology. (more…)

Here’s a snapshot comparison of various web-conferencing solutions.

Over $100/month

webex Event Center
Free Trial?: Yes
Price: Request quote.
Recording: Yes, audio/video using flash or windows media file.
Features: Unlimited meetings up to 3000 ppl. Automated email management, streaming audio/video, powerpoint presentations, share documents, applications and more.
Support: Free training, online user guide, free 24/7 phone support.

$50-$100/month

gotowebinar
Free Trial?: Yes (30 days)
Price: $99/month Save 20% on yearly purchase.
Recording: Audio Recording.
Features: Unlimited webinars up to 1000 ppl. All the features of gotomeeting plus tracking of registrations, polling, surveys and more.
Support: Online support and 24/7 phone technical assistance.

webex Meeting Center
Free Trial?: Yes (14 days)
Price: $75/month per host. Also available as pay-per-use.
Recording: Yes
Features: Unlimited meetings up to 15 ppl. File transfer, text chat, share documents and more.
Support: Online user guide, free 24/7 phone support.

$20-$50/month

gotomeeting

Free Trial?: Yes (30 days)
Price: $49/month Save 20% on yearly purchase.
Recording: Audio recording.
Features: Unlimited conferences up to 15 ppl. Desktop sharing, white-boards, text chat, and more.
Support: Online and phone customer care. Unlimited software and service upgrades.

webex MeetMeNow
Free Trial?: Yes (14 days)
Price: $49/month Save 20% on yearly purchase.
Recording: NO
Features: Unlimited conferences up to 10 ppl. Private chat and more.
Support: Unlimited instructor led and self-paced training. Online ‘help’ section.

Free to $20/month

sightspeed
Free Trial?: Yes (15 days)
Price: $19.95/month – $695/month
Recording: Yes, video and voice.
Features: WebCam based. Multi-Party Video Conferencing, text messaging, unlimited PC-to-PC calling, and more.
Support: Live video or phone support 6am-6pm. Online knowledge base.

vyew
Free Trial?: Yes
Price: Ranges from $0 (ad supported) up to $19.95/month.
Recording: No
Features: Unlimited meetings up to 45 ppl. No special software required, desktop sharing, white-boards and more.
Support: Online user guide.

With the price of gas, airline tickets and other travel related items on the rise, more and more companies are looking for cost effective alternatives to sending their people around the country to attend meetings. For many smart companies, the answer is a web conference, and there are many advantages to having employees meet one another from the comfort of their own offices. Some of the many benefits (more…)

When choosing a webinar or webconferencing vendor, it makes sense to pick the simplest solution for your needs, and this includes the needs of your attendees.

Many people are not really computer-savvy and if you ask your audience to install or download software, they may be either unsure of what they should do, or suspicious of the software for security reasons. Picking a web-conferencing solution such as gotomeeting that doesn’t require your participants to download any special software will improve the response to your event.

Several days before your webinar, try to find a person who is not especially experienced (computer-wise) and do a trial run of your conference with him/her as the audience. Ask how well the webinar worked and if there is anything that might be made easier.

One measure of a successful webinar is how many people actually attended. Scheduling your event for the best day possible can positively influence the percentage of people who attend your event.

Weekends are usually a bad choice because most chose to spend that time with their families, pursuing their hobbies, shopping, or just relaxing.

Mondays are often a stressful and busy day at work, so are usually best avoided for that reason. Plus football fans don’t want to miss the big game Mon. night.

Fridays are usually another poor choice because people just want to get through the day at work and start their weekend.

Wednesdays are possible, however some people attend church or other activities on Wed. night.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually a good choice for holding a webinar, at least without specific factors or evidence to the contrary.

To actually find the best date to schedule your webinar, why not ask the people you invite? Consider adding a ‘best day?’ survey question to your webinar registration form.

Valuable Web Conferencing Features

The type and size of your online event determines the necessary capabilities of your web conferencing software. If you are giving a training seminar for a handful of employees, obviously you need a less robust solution than if you are conducting a multimedia presentation for hundreds of attendees.

Here are some features commonly included in Webinar Software.

Email Reminders: This feature lets you send emails reminding participants of upcoming meetings, track responses, and also attendance and details from follow ups after the event.

Flash Demos: These are useful as a teaching tool or tutorial. They can be used to showcase the important parts of previous webinars.

Surveys and Polls: Surveys and polls provide useful feedback from previous webinars. Use them during your webinar to steer it in the right direction according to the responses and needs of your audience.

Adequate Bandwidth: Bandwidth is usually tied to the maximum number of participants. The type of webinar you are giving figures into the bandwidth equation too. Basic PowerPoint presentations require less than live video or webinars using flash animations.

Ability to Record and Playback: This is an important feature for most businesses. Non-Attendees will be able to view the webinar at a later date. Also, keeping a record of the meeting is useful for research and archiving purposes. Look for the ability to save meetings in a standard format, such as Windows media files or .wmv.

Conference Calling and Web Surfing: When enabled, these features can improve communication between the presenter and the audience.

Annotation Tools: Tools such as a highlighter and pointer help to give your presentation a professional look and feel.

Here are some basics to help you manage a successful web conference or webinar:

Before the conference:

1. Preparing your agenda before starting the meeting ensures a smooth flow to the conference. Outline the important topics carefully. Have a list of questions and answers handy.

2. In most cases, meetings should not exceed around 2 hours. Long conferences will tend to create boredom, restlessness, and a reduction in effectivness.

3. Line up all the products, visual aids, and other demonstrations you will need. Coordinate with others if need be. (more…)