Hope Dever asked:




Webinar in this present time happens to be one of the best online conferencing solutions. In this mode of conferencing the audience can directly communicate with the host of the seminar, unlike in webcast.

On a web server it is generally hosted by a vendor who lets either the client or the vendor to host the seminar at their own private server. It is always better to let the vendor host the web based conference as they provide round the clock assistance to the participants of the conference.

Why select webinar?

Unlike phone video conferencing more options for interaction between the presenter and the participants are available.

Easier presentation: Due to the facility of webinar, more options on the modes of presentation are available to the host as well as the participants. It can range from Slide shows, Power point, keynote or usage of Whiteboards. Pointer can be used by the presenter or any one of the attendee to locate a particular point and attract attention of the participants on the same. With whiteboard, anyone present in the conference, can keep notes, annotate or highlight a portion. Live editing can also take place in this conferencing mode.

Usage of Video: Live or streamed video can be used. Here, the video files can be multi-media files, digital camera files and even web cam full motion video files.

Clear audio: VoIp is used for clear audio communication between the people attending the conference.
Screen sharing: In this mode of conferencing anyone can share and view anything, be it screens desktop or any other kinds of application. Even participants can control other attendees’ desktops, though not widely used it enables one to manipulate other person’s screen.

Exchange of data made easier: Attendees as well as the presenter can push among themselves the URLs, cookies, online scripts and forms. All one needs to do is click and logon to the features. Live multiple choice questions can be circulated with immediate response. Another advantage of webinar is that private messages can be shared among a group of people or between couple of them.

One can also refer back to the meeting that took place, as it is recorded by either the client or the vendor or both of them.

Web conferencing tool

The web conferencing vendor offers various kinds of tools and software to conduct the web based seminars. As a client one must know the kind of presentation and the number of people that one would interact with. Based on that and the computer’s compatibility one should select the online conferencing tool.

Abode Acrobat Connect allows at maximum of 15 people to participate. This software can be used at both Windows and Mac.

Dimdim is a tool which has free versions available in the market, most of which are demos. Demos have limited features available, so it is recommended that one purchases that edition in order to avail the multiple features.

Central Desktop is limited to10 participants only. But it has unique features like wiki-style editing, archiving and tracking of the project.

There are many more webinar tools like Microsoft Office Live Meeting, MSN, IBM Lotus Sametime are to name a few.

Harvey

Steven Long asked:




Do you need to connect with business colleagues and clients in an engaging yet efficient way without the hassle of traveling? If so, web conferencing could be a valuable tool for you. A relatively new communications phenomenon, web conferencing offers numerous benefits and advantages that could help you move your company to the forefront of the business world.

Deliver Messages Effectively

In the modern business world, it’s essential to get your point across in a clear and convincing manner. Without good communication, your company will not be able to reach its full potential for success and productivity. On the hand, quality communication can help to move your business forward and to boost its success. By making use of web conferencing to connect with peers and clients, you will be able to deliver messages effectively and efficiently.

Build Strong Relationships

Another key to success in any industry is building and maintaining strong relationships with both colleagues and clients. When you are successful in this arena, all aspects of your business will benefit. Web conferencing can help you to create strong bonds with others by allowing you to communicate with them in a personal and engaging way, even when you are separated by long distances. It can also help meeting participants in different locations put faces to names and to work together in an interactive way, creating a better dynamic and allowing for a better overall meeting experience. Whether you need to foster good working relationships among your employees or to maintain a solid connection with overseas clients, web conferencing is a highly valuable communications tool.

Bridge Geographical Distances

As alluded to previously, web conferencing can also bridge geographical distances by allowing for virtual meeting experiences that are similar to face-to-face meeting experiences. No matter where the meeting participants may be located, this type of conferencing brings everyone together into a single working environment, allowing for more fulfilling and productive discussions. By combining audio and video with a number of different web applications and features, web conferences allow meeting attendees to share and exchange data and ideas in an open and dynamic way. As a result, geographical distances become insignificant and people can work together effectively no matter where in the world they are located.

Streamline Your Work

Web conferencing is also highly beneficial in the sense that it allows you to streamline your work. Through the integration of the Internet with video conferencing capabilities, web conferencing provides you with a powerful communications tool and allows you to make use of a variety of applications and features with a single, easy-to-use interface. From delivering memorable presentations and demonstrating software to launching new products and collecting feedback from participants, web conferences let you take care of all of your virtual meeting needs in a single forum. As a result, you will enjoy greater efficiency as well as the satisfaction that comes with streamlining your work.

Save Time and Money

Incorporating web conferencing capabilities into your business meetings will also translate into greater efficiency with respect to both time and money. Not only will you save time and frustration by streamlining your work, you will also significantly reduce your required travel time. By allowing you to conduct productive and engaging meetings without ever leaving your office, online conferencing makes collaborating with colleagues and clients highly convenient. Moreover, by reducing the need to travel, web conferencing also allows you to save money, so you can stay within budget and get the most out of your available resources.

Benefit from Versatility

When you take advantage of web conferencing, you will also benefit from its high level of versatility and flexibility. As a powerful and dynamic communications tool, this type of long-distance conferencing can fulfill a variety of different functions. From collaborating with a team of colleagues to providing training and orientation to new employees, web conferences have multiple uses and can meet numerous communications requirements. Whether you need to interact with large groups of people or small audiences, web conferencing offers the flexibility you need to keep your business running efficiently.

Employ Multiple Features

One of the reasons that web conferencing offers such a high level of versatility and flexibility is the fact that it comes with multiple features and add-ons. Many online conferencing solutions come with scheduling and invitation features that allow you to gather participants together quickly and easily. Audio controls and reporting tools are also commonly offered by conferencing providers. In addition, other features that often accompany online conferencing solutions include everything from security and technical support to streaming media and live feedback functions. With so many excellent features and such a wealth of benefits, it’s clear that web conferencing is an outstanding communications tool for businesses large and small, one that can help you achieve your goals and take your company to the next level.



Maria

Dan Stojadinovic asked:




A webinar is one of the best ways to provide information and also earn money while working on-line. Through a webinar, also known as online web conferencing or online conferencing, you conduct live meetings or presentations to people all over the country as well as the world. Similar to webcasting, a webinar is an event that allows for controlled interaction from the audience. When you run a webinar, you are in the driver’s seat. You can allow participants to type in a question, ask a question through voice or do none of the above.

Whether it is a business webinar or an education webinar this is an inexpensive and effective way of transmitting information. There are numerous practices, which you can consider worth implementing in a webinar. Making money with webinar requires a strategic effort and planning but with some training and thought, you can be successful at webinars.

Making money with webinars

The following are some tips, which will help you make money with a webinar;

First, decide on a topic on which you are going to conduct your online webinar. It is better to select a topic of which you have a thorough knowledge.

The next thing you need to do is to create the on-line presentation. Create a PowerPoint to show graphs, charts and even diagrams and photos. The presentation should be upbeat and include bullet points to help your audience stay engaged and on point.

Decide in advance, what you are going to say in the online webinar. Make a hard copy for yourself, outlining the points which match your visuals and will help you to not become confused. Staying focused with material you want to present to your audience, be sure to take some questions before the end of the webinar and finish up with either a sales pitch or other direction to motivate your audience to action.

Make use of webinar software to invite people to your online web conferencing. These programs are the best webinar technology and a good web conferencing solution. These systems will also provide you a report giving you the names and email addresses of everyone who registered and who attended your webinar. You can also use the help of a webinar company, or various webinar providers in conducting free webinars.

Decide what will be the outcome of the webinar. If you are training in the webinar and not attempting to sell anything at the end, you can charge for your webconfererence. The amount you will charge will depend upon the topic, your experience and also your audience’s threshold for paying for the information. Charging for webinars sounds great, but it doesn’t always work out that way so keep this in mind as you create your model.

You need to promote your webinar. Promoting your webinar to your list of current customers and prospects is the first thing to do. After that you can consider doing a blog post and utilizing Social Media sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Always mention there is limited space in your online webinar, to encourage early sign-ups.

Promoting your webinar and reserving time for questions and answers, inviting guest speakers and rehearsing for the webinar are also some webinar best practices that will help you make money through your webinar. If you follow these tips, you can substantially enhance the effectiveness of your webinar, which in turn can bring you much higher returns.

Regina

Tom Cruz asked:




Signing up to play host to a webinar is not enough to make this online technology work in your favor. To pull off a presentation that’s effective and doesn’t fail to dazzle does require some planning. Fortunately, learning how to create a webinar is not as difficult as many believe. This format is very easy to use and personalize to one’s advantage.

So, how can you create a webinar that meets your needs? Follow these basic steps to put yourself on the right path:

oSelect the right facilitator – There are a variety of webinar vendors offering services on the Internet. Look for a company with a reputation that speaks for itself and you will be on the right track. Pay attention to the potential features of a webinar package, too. The best companies will offer such things as visual and audio communications, transcription services, faxing ability, security and even voting options.

oPlan your meeting – Making certain that a webinar is an effective means of communication goes beyond selecting a good facilitator. To pull off your purpose, you will need to plan out your meeting, seminar or exchange of information. For example, you might want to create a presentation using a program like PowerPoint, set an agenda and even enable group discussion functions. When you select the right facilitator, the infrastructure will be in place for you to use your imagination to its fullest extent.

oInvite participants – Learning how to create a webinar is not enough to pull off an event that’s a success. You will need to also make sure your desired participants have the information they need to find the right site and get into the “meeting room.”

It is possible for just about anyone to create a webinar that dazzles participants. When planning goes into the proposition, meetings, seminars and even inter-company collaborative efforts can all be pulled off with ease.

Amy

Cheow Yu Yuan asked:




Video conferencing allows you to conduct webinar that allows people from around the world to attend it without the need to travel. With video conferencing, you can engage your participants as if you are in a room with them. However, sometimes hosts find it hard to find people to attend their webinars.

There are many reasons why it is hard to get people to attend webinars. Firstly, not all people are used to attend meetings or seminars through a video camera. Another reason might be because of different time zones. People who are in different time zones from the host do not want to stay up late to attend it.
To get more people to your webinars, you need to make it attractive and relevant to the participants. If people are really interested in the topic that you are sharing, they can wake up at 3 am to attend your webinar!

To find people to attend your webinar is not hard. The participants can be your colleagues, business associates, list subscribers, customers, family members and friends. You just need to know how to entice them to attend it.

In this article, let me share with you some tips to get more people to attend your webinar:

1. Offer a free gift after registration. Write an e-book about the topic of the webinar and offer it as a free gift in your email invitation. If your e-book is good and people feel you have over-delivered the content, they will attend your webinar to get more tips from you.

2. Soften your email invitation approach. Do not use all caps and bold in your email subject line as this will only encourage them to send your email to the junk box. Send them a simple and sincere email to invite them to your webinar. Sometimes, you will find that this approach works better with people.

3. Get their suggestions for the topic of your webinar. People always like when someone asks for their opinions on something. Ask for suggestions and ask them to send their inputs by replying to the email. Alternatively, you can direct them to a page that allows them to place their comments.

4. Tell them you will answer their questions during the webinar. Through your email invitation, direct them to a page that allows them to submit their questions. Tell them that you will answer their questions during your webinar and encourage them to register immediately.

These are some ways to entice people to register your webinar. Just be creative and sincere and you should be able to see an increase in attendance.

Leonard

Linda Breim asked:




This article deals with some simple tips and things to keep in mind whenever you are going to participate in a teleconference. Usually every participant is given a common number which may be toll-free or not depending upon the service provider and also a bridge number which allows you to join the conversation.
So here are a few things to keep in mind:

o If you are the person responsible for setting up the call then it is important that you make it as easy as possible for all the participants to dial in. You can use VoIP services like Skype, considering you are a Skype member. You then simply need to add the phone numbers into a calling group and then you are ready to make a call.
o If you have a land line that is three ways enabled and you need to make an unplanned teleconference, then all you need to do is press the flash button on the phone and you are set. You can press the “flash” button to place the first caller on hold and then you can dial the second participant’s number and then press flash again. You then need to use a headset with a microphone which can be plugged into your phone.
o If you are using a VoIP system then you need to plug the headset into your computer. The headset prevents anyone else from listening in to your conversation and also mutes out and distracting sounds.

Webinar of web conferencing software such as GoToMeeting or Glance are great for setting up meetings online. It is advisable that you test the software before using it for an official meeting. Make sure that it works with your caller’s operating system and their web browsers. A good tip is to try and log in early so that technical glitches, if there are any, can be taken care of immediately.

Gina

Jennifer Morriss asked:




In this era of multinational companies operating in different countries all over the world, effective communication plays a very vital role in success of any business. It is very important to have a well planned and solid dedicated system of communication in place. Communication is equally important with higher officials, employees, partners, suppliers, clients, shareholders and other stake holders. It is not always possible for top official to present everywhere for conferences and meetings. Telephonic or audio conversation is no more an ideal form of communication as today you need both audio visual aids to communicate your point. It is for this reasons that web based conferencing is becoming a must form of communication for every company.

Probably the best advantage of web based conferencing is that it can cut your telephone costs drastically. All you require to set up this communication channel is a computer and with reasonably good speed internet connection. You can use all the audio visual aids that are available on computer like PowerPoint presentation, movie clips and audio files. You can even transfer any important files and documents electronically through this channel. In certain if required you can even grant access to a computer and the participants and connect to a single and all play with it while discussing. This can be ideal in many circumstances when a group meeting is required to finalize a design.

It also possible to conduct an online seminar with this kind of communication channel, any number of participants can join this meeting and the message can be broadcasted to all of them all simultaneously at the same point of time. This is very suitable to conduct a meeting of all the shareholders where it is not possible to all of them to attend the local office venue of the company. They can simply log in to their computers and join the conference remotely from anywhere in the world.

Terri

Rangoo Srinivas asked:




Organizing a webinar is made easy with the web conferencing software that are available today. But the major problem of any webinar is to get targeted audience who are willing to watch and listen to the presentation and take appropriate action.

So what are the best ways to get traffic to webinars?

Here are some of the things you can do before, during and after the webinar.

1. Announce the webinar in advance

Before starting the webinar people have to mentally get prepared to sign up for it. They have to free up their precious time to attend the webinar that may go on for an hour or so. They will willingly do this if the topic being discussed is what they want to learn. they will do this if they know the person who is going to teach them is an expert on the subject. They will benefit more if they come mentally prepared to learn from the webinar.

All these points emphasize the fact that we should announce the webinar quite in advance. We should send one or two emails with a gap of two three days. In each email we should emphasize one aspect of the webinar.

It would be better to announce the webinar on a blog or news site. This will get people posting comments saying we are looking forward to the webinar. When are you going to announce the dates? If you get the participants to this level you can be sure they will not miss the webinar.

2. Announce a Webinar Gift

When it is nearer webinar date and when you send the email with the registration details of the webinar add the information that webinar participants will receive a special gift. There is no need to spell out what the gift is. It is good to keep them guessing rather than say too much and kill their enthusiasm. Some of the potential participants who were not sure whether to sign up or not will want to sign up for the sake of the gift. The gift could be a report, a free software, information about services that will help them speedup whatever is suggested during the webinar. Whatever is given during the webinar should have some relevance to the webinar topic. The topic discussed should be closely linked to the product being given away. This will add value to the webinar, get more traffic to the webinar and the participants will be ready to attend the next webinar without any hesitation.

3. Announce a Contest

The idea of free webinars may be to promote the sale of a product or service, to educate the company staff, to train participants of a membership site, and so on. Whether the webinars are conducted for religious purposes or internet marketing purposes, some of the basic responses of participants are common. Participants enthusiastically sign up for the webinar, at least 50% of them actively participate by asking questions and interacting with others. If the webinar had gone on well, they leave the webinar room with a lot of enthusiasm to get things done. Then they get back to their routines and 90% of the effort they have put in and the webinar organizer has put in is lost. To gain maximally from any webinar, the organizer should announce a contest at the end of the webinar. All the participants are automatically entered into the contest and a prize is announced for the winner.

This gives a valuable opportunity for the webinar expert to contact this group after the webinar is over. Again the contest and the pprize should be announced in blogs and webinar news sites. Announcing this in webinar forums is a great way to spread the message. The competition will go on for some time, then the prize will be announced and there can be a post from the prize winner about the webinar experience. This is a wonderful testimonial to the webinar that will get more people sign up for a similar webinar in future.

There are many more ways to get traffic to webinars and this article has dicussed three important traffic tactics that can be implemented before, during and after the webinar.

Lillian

Lucas Mattioneli asked:




Webinar is short for of Web based seminar, which is a seminar conducted over the Web. The conventional seminars require many preparations and money is spent in the arrangement and organization of the seminar. A new way of conducting seminars is the latest technology called webinar where the seminar on the chosen subject is conducted on the web.

A webinar is a cost effective method of sharing useful information among a group of people without going into the hassle of booking halls, making seating and other arrangements, sending out invitations etc.

Webinars are convenient also because assembling a group of important speakers at a platform can be quite a bit of a task making booking with each speaker and making their travel and stay arrangements while they fly all the way to a place leaving their important work and researches just to attend a seminar.

A webinar can be a real learning experience for individuals where they can share useful and relevant information among each other and learn new technologies or theories that is relevant to their field of study. There can also be a live question and answer session where participants can point questions at the speaker and they can answer these questions further clarifying any persisting confusion in the audience’s mind. All this can be done on a live web based interactive communication through webinars.

The scenario described above can be arranged at the web without any major cost and with minimal effort and easy convenience of all parties involved. Also invitations can be sent online to specific people to attend or the webinar may be open to general audience so that any interested person can join in and gain knowledge of their subject of interest.

One other important use of webinar is to give subject based trainings to individuals of the field. Interested candidates may apply to available postings and get themselves registered to online training programs through webinars. This is a scenario where a single speaker gives training to a set of 10 to 12 participants of a specific field. At the end usually there is a question answer session. At the end of the designated course, certificates are issued to webinar attendants.

Another great application of webinar is in education. Many interested individuals through the web that may not be able to attend a conventional seminar due to its limitations of either money or time to travel.

Gilbert

Cheow Yu Yuan asked:




Video conferencing is taking the market by storm and more businesses are using it to conduct webinars and meetings. The reason why video conferencing is so popular is because it saves travelling cost. With this, business owners do not need to travel to overseas for a face-to-face meeting anymore – they can sit in front of their computer screens and conduct meetings with their associates.

In this article, let me share with you some tips to conduct a successful webinar:

1. Set up your conferencing equipments properly. To hold a successful webinar, you must get the equipments in place. The quality of the equipments is very important as it will directly affect your video. For example, if you use a low pixel camera, the video output will be grainy.

2. Avoid slow Internet connection. The most common reason why webinars fail is because of slow internet connectivity. Your connection speed should be at least 3mbps.

3. Prepare yourself for the webinar. Before you conduct a webinar, you need to prepare. Plan out the agenda and things that you want to share with your participants. Also, familiarize yourself with the video conferencing platform so that you can guide your participants. If you have one bad experience, you should not give up on video conferencing. Practice makes perfect. By holding more webinars, you will improve and become proficient at it.

4. Send out your invitation early. You need to send out invitations to your guests at least 2 weeks before the actual date. If you are holding a commercial webinar, you should consider advertising it. By building buzz around it, you can attract more people to attend it.

5. Try your best to engage your audience. If your webinar is boring, people will leave. Even if you are using it to pitch your product or service to a potential customer, you must make your presentation as engaging as possible. Again, this takes practice. Do not give up just because of a few bad experiences.

6. Set a convenient time for your audience. One main reason why people don’t turn up for your webinar is because it is set at your local timing. You must set a time that is convenient to your target audience, not for yourself.

7. Build rapport with your audience. When you are conducting a webinar, it is not the time to be shy. You must be comfortable with people and bring across your point to them. Be it a sales webinar or shareholders meeting, you need to make a great impression in their minds.

Video conferencing is definitely the way to conduct presentations and meetings. So get yourself comfortable in front of a video camera and start holding webinars now.

Rodney