Here’s What to Look for in a Good Webinar Platform
The importance of webinars in businesses and organizations can never be overstated. For entrepreneurs, webinars go a long way in reaching prospects, keeping existing customers engaged, and educating a target audience more about your business, products, and services. They are also great tools in spreading awareness or sharing knowledge that could benefit others. As a matter of fact, many academic institutions use them to deliver certain course content. Businesses use them every day to provide training for their employees.
Especially since the pandemic came in 2020, webinars have been gaining massive popularity. They help ensure that crucial information reaches those who matter and to those it matters most to. However, your overall experience when using webinars can only be as good as the platform you pick to host, record, and broadcast your web seminars. The last thing you want is to disappoint your audience by using an unreliable platform that keeps freezing during sessions or delivers poor video quality. Here are a few things to look for when finding a good webinar.
1. Ease of Setup/Use
How technically savvy are you? This will help you maneuver through your webinar. Some speakers do not have the technical know-how, but they have the perfect content. In that case, you will find them assigning the technical jobs to someone else.
Well, there’s a whole world of webinar software out there, most of which differ in terms of features and what they can achieve. As per the folks from EcoSecretariat, quality webinar software will either be cloud-based or browser-based. This means you won’t have to download or install any additional software from the net on your PC. They come with a ton load of incredible features that make them easy to use for you as well as your audience from the other end. The ease of setup and use should be a driving factor when using a webinar platform.
2. Custom Branding
If you have to enhance your brand customization, you have to create an educational and engaging platform. This means that you have to include your logo, corporate colors, signatures, and font for your brand. Although not all platforms may help in promoting your brand, you have to weigh and decide how important it is. Nevertheless, who would not want to have his brand known to the public? As rhetoric as this question may sound, it carries a lot of weight as far as branding and marketing are concerned.
3. Cost
This is a metric that will dictate how your webinar will turnout. Before you settle on a specific option, make sure you get facts and figures of what will cost you how much. Pick an option that will not bring a financial burden. However, see if your choice has the qualities you want to achieve. Is it the sales or lead generation, delivering value, heightening brand awareness, or delivering paid content? Whatever your goal is, focus on it and make sure it matches your budget. Make sure that the goal you pick adds value to your business.
4. Number of Allowed Attendees
You do not have to pay for a large audience only for a low turnover and vice versa. You need to find the average number to avoid incurring extra expenses unnecessarily. The best way to handle this is to have limited spots to be strict on how many attendees you need in your space. This is a strategy that can ensure that a lot of people are encouraged to pay in advance.
5. Free Trial
When you are shopping for a car and are stuck between two or three machines, maybe the last thing to do is take a road test to make the final decision. That is the same thing when it comes to webinars. Does the webinar give you the option to make trials before settling on it? It is an awesome way to determine the different features that different software offers. Trials help you to get a deeper understanding of the software.
6. Reliability
Technical difficulties often lead to failures and flops in different situations, causing an embarrassment in the case of webinars. We have all been victims of such a circumstance, but some audiences may not take it politely. It’s good to always have a backup plan and avoid platforms known for lags, freezes, and delays. Notably, your webinar should also accommodate and support your audience size. Make sure that all the interested individuals can access your presentation with ease despite their geographical locations.
From the look of things, webinars are here to stay. Teachers, trainers, online tutors, public organizations, and businesses of all kinds are increasingly using them for various reasons. The above tips should help you choose a webinar platform that won’t frustrate you or disappoint your audience.