Just like a convention or a seminar, a webinar is an online presentation or meeting held via the internet in real-time. It is an event hosted online, which connects individuals with viewers across the world. It makes it possible for them to interact at any time or place online. To host a webinar, you need to find a webinar platform that will help you share presentations with others online. Web conferencing came into existence in 1996 and was made available to the public immediately after webinar software was released. More than one presenter can use the software to make presentations to several people located worldwide. With time, the webinar software has been developed and more features added to it to enhance the users’ experience and make it faster. This live webinar software lets you create the online virtual meeting you and your attendees will use to view and follow presentations. The features of the Webinar that make it possible for all this to happen conveniently are.
- Chat
- Whiteboards
iii. Desktop sharing
- Recording
- Sharing video and presentation
Advantages of Using Webinar
- They are quite different from marketing videos in that the audience follows your presentation in real-time.
- They enrich an organization’s online content. Increases the available content to the interested parties online and creates a rich collection of information relevant to current important human assets of a business and future generations of critical human assets.
- They establish authorityby creating and hosting webinars packed with insightful and valuable information for your audience. people always go to those they believe have the answers they seek since it shows expertise in the areas they desire.
- Wider reach. Online webinars are accessible to a global audience, meaning that businesses can conveniently and effortlessly extend their reach to anyone worldwide if they have access to internet-enabled devices.
- More engaging. Webinars are among the most effective digital marketing tools available today. One of the main reasons for this is that they are better at getting and holding the audience’s attention than marketing videos.
Cons of webinars
- Technical difficulties. In some instances, the presenter’s time and presentation are disrupted due to technical issues. When the internet connections and operating systems used to join a live webinar meeting by individuals differ, problems may arise affecting the audio-visual transmission.
- The kind of interaction in online settings is minimal. The presenter and the audience in a live webinar session do not get the opportunity to interact compared to people in a physical conference. The sessions are online, meaning attendance is only by audio and visual means.
- Does not promote teamwork among workmates and colleagues. Working together with colleagues in groups ensures that every member is involved throughout the process. Webinars do not encourage collaboration since the sessions are held on online platforms with minimum interaction.
- Nonverbal cues such as body language cannot be effectively used in live webinar meetings. Online-based seminars do not involve the use of body language to communicate. Some of the commonly used body language in physical conferences include clapping and handshakes. These methods of communication make the audience more lively and engaged, which is not possible on webinar platforms. Most of the time, even the attendees are not dressed up for the meetings.
Conclusion
Webinars are flexible and can hold formal events ranging from education, business, and even official training sessions. However, controversies have been rising with people giving opinions that online platforms used to conduct meetings and conferences will bring the end of physical attendances, which have much more benefits than web-based meetings.
