webinar software

webinar software

Every marketer or company nowadays is doing webinars. How do you stand out in such a competitive market? As a new entrant, it can be challenging to leave footprints that will not be erased. The only way to do so is to provide your attendees or audience with an unforgettable experience. Ni matter how valuable the service or product you are selling is or how appealing your presentation is, it’s all for nothing if your audience does not get the right experience. Only the best webinar software can do that for you. In this article, we have reviewed some of the best webinars you will come across in the market. Let’s get right into it!

What is a webinar software?

Webinars are virtual seminars which allow interaction between a conductor and attendees. The attendees can be hundreds or even thousands, but the conductor is singular. Webinars can be used to host staff meetings, train staff online, advertise products or new features in a product, hold sales presentation or even give ted talks. The list is endless!

Webinar software is the software that is used to conduct a webinar. A webinar software platform does a similar job to that of a video conferencing or web conferencing software. However, a webinar software platform is more user-friendly guaranteeing users a better experience. The webinar software allows for more interactive, engaging and flexible interaction between the conductor and attendees. It also comes with special tools and features to manage large numbers of attendees, unlike other conferencing software.

What makes excellent webinar software?

Everyone has something they will not compromise for whatever reason in a webinar software platform. It’s just like when you are looking for a phone. For some of its tools that enable them to conduct a simple webinar. Others are looking for webinar software that will allow them to record and share the webinar on different platforms. Whatever the reason, there are certain features that cut across all webinar software that you need to look out for. Take a look at some elements of a webinar platform.

User-friendly, intuitive interface and design- the best webinar software should be easy to use. It should be easy for anyone to get around even for users without any experience or technical knowledge. The design should also be easy to get around for enjoyable user experience for both the conductor and the attendees.

Browser-based- we would recommend investing in a webinar software which is a browser-based rather than a desktop app. Browser-based software is safer than the latter which has been said to have a flaw in the programming, leaving the users exposed to attackers. Browser-based webinar software also takes away the hassle of downloads and regular updates required.

Customer service- the customer service of a webinar software your investment in should be top-notch. The customer services should be available 24/7 to assist users in whatever they need. They also need to be readily responsive and helpful to give the right information when the users need it.

Highly customizable- you should find a webinar software that comes with custom branding options. The software platform should allow the user to change their profile picture, logo, waiting room, webinar rooms and registration. As a user, the webinar software platform should also allow you to create thank you pages, change colours, borders, import your company logo, create and use personal images or add anything that will make the webinar experience feel like home for you.

Wide range of powerful features- a webinar software is not complete without features such as screen sharing, whiteboard, survey and polls and chat feature. You should also be able to access additional tools such as google analytics, salesforce and PayPal if you are going, you be conducting live sales. Some other useful tools you should look out for depending on your needs include;

On-demand webinars- this is a webinar type that allows you to sell products or generate leads. All you need is to record your broadcast.

Paid webinar functionality- this is a webinar where attendees need to pay to get in. It could be a useful feature when you are teaching a new skill or giving a ted talk that people would be willing to pay for. It’s a great way of monetizing a skill or talent. Paid webinars should be absolutely easy to set up and link to payment processors such as PayPal for you to collect your money from attendees.

Automated webinar capability- as the name suggests, this is a tool that allows you to play prerecorded broadcasts at specific parts of your webinar.

So, which is the best webinar software platform?

Adobe Connect

Adobe Connect is another product in the long line of adobe’s creative suite of products. Adobe Connect offers features that remain unmatched by other webinar software in the market. It’s one of the safest and most reliable webinar platforms you will come across. It employs a multi-layered security approach to ensure that users data is secure. It also allows users to play with their creativity. Adobe Connect webinar software is highly customizable to meet the user’s preference. The user can also use polls and surveys on the webinar software to engage the audience. You can also encourage interaction using quizzes, chat pods, games, breakrooms and simulations.

Features

• High-quality video and audio
• Video conferencing integration
• One-click registration
• Real-time collaboration with presenters
• Compatible with mobile
• Break out rooms for discussion
• Auto download and archive features

The captivating feature in adobe connect is the leverage backstage and prepare made. The feature allows multiple presenters to collaborate in the background during a live session for a successful webinar.

Adobe Connect is suitable for small meetings. The user should be ready to stay withing the adobe software ecosystem. The webinar software comes with analytics and other advanced features, so you don’t need anything outside the software.

Pricing plans

Adobe connect starts at $50/month and allows up to 25 attendees per webinar.

AnyMeeting

As the name suggests, AnyMeeting webinar software is suitable for almost all small meetings. You can host webinars for small organizations, startups and educational institutes using this software. AnyMeeting is packed with user-friendly features to enhance the interaction of webinar sessions. The software offers HD video broadcasting for extremely clear webinars. It also comes with a screen sharing feature for you to run two different screens at the same time.

You can as well create registration forms and send email reminders and conformations with your attendees. AnyMeeting also allows the conductor to share pdfs and ppt files to attendees as a way of interacting. There is a pop-up window which the conductor can use to view questions from the audience. The software also allows you to create and run surveys and polls and direct the attendees to a URL of your choice after the meeting.

Features

• Allows up to 1000 participants
• Comes with six live speakers
• Option for real talk with attendees
• User-friendly features and tools
• Integrates with email for confirmation and follow-ups
• In-built Q&A sessions, polls and surveys

AnyMeeting is suitable for small meetings. It is also ideal for beginners in webinars since it comes with a simple to use tools.

Pricing plans

Webinar lite, which is the software’s basic plan goes for $48/month and allows only 50 viewers. Webinar pro costs $128 and enables 200 viewers. The last plan is the webinar enterprise which allows 1000 people per session.

BigMarker

Are you looking for excellent video platform for your webinars and virtual conferences? Look no further than BigMaker. Their live streaming webinar which has a limit 0f 10000 people will blow your mind. The platform offers HD quality video and sound to be able to engage such a huge number of people per webinar. It also comes with other interactive features such as inbuilt quizzes, handouts, polls and surveys. You can also hold a live Q&A session with your attendees to get to know them.

BigMaker has some big plans for your business too. It comes with marketing tools such as custom email invites, landing pages and regular reminders and follow-up. You can also access the automated webinars and integrate it with BigMaker CRM software to convert leads.

Features

Impressive third-party apps such as calendar, Marketo and MailChimp

Browser-based for security and speed

Unique live-streaming features such as one-click meetings

Provides 15 different landing pages

Deals with 135+ currencies

HD video and audio

Stream to Facebook and YouTube

BigMarker is suitable for small and big business and marketers generally.

Pricing packages

Big marketer comes with four pricing plans which cost $79, $159 and $299 per month respectively. The white label plan is enterprise-based and charged depending on requirements.

ClickMeeting

ClickMeeting is one of the most popular webinar software in the market. The simplicity and user-friendly interface are to thank for the popularity. The software is focused on the interaction between the attendees and the conductor. It offers automated webinars as well as live and customized invites. The webinar software also comes with inbuilt quizzes, chatbox and polls and surveys. The attendees can reach out to the conductor for training, products sales and marketing.

ClickMeeting comes with step by step instructions on how to set up the webinar. It’s, therefore, beginner-friendly. Its browser-based for maximum security. You can also analyze the number of users for an upcoming event and other data using built-in analytics.

Features

• Built-in polls and surveys
• Can connect to social media such as Facebook and YouTube
• The webinars are auto-recorded and stored to the cloud
• HD audio and video
• Chat options for interaction

Pricing plan

ClickMeeting starts at the cost of $25/month, billed annually for 25 attendees. You can also pay $35/month for 50 attendees.

CrowdCast

CrowdCast is not your typical webinar software but its highly customizable to meet your needs. It comes with a chat feature to interact with attendees. CrowdCast also supports polls and surveys. You will need to add features such as buttons and URL links to direct audience to your service or product. It comes with a high conversion rate and is excellent for building a rapport with the audience.

Features

• Stream to Facebook Live and YouTube
• Unlimited user registration
• Supports chat and polls for interaction
• Highly customizable
• Integrates with Zapier

One feature that is unique to CrowdCast is the ability to broadcast on multiple platforms. The platform has inbuilt support to broadcast to Facebook, YouTube and periscope and services like LinkedIn live and twitch.

CrowdCast is suitable for content creators and small office meetings but not for businesses. It lacks marketing tools such as analytics and email responses.

Pricing plan

The starter plan, which is the lowest, goes for $20 a month and supports 50 attendees. You can pay 15 cents per extra attendee or upgrade to another plan.

DaCast

DaCast is an excellent webinar software if you don’t want to waste any time in setting up your webinar event. With impressive features and tools, you will be able to host your webinar seamlessly. The webinar software incorporates live video for webinars. It also allows the user to scream the webinar on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. Features such as APIS ensure HD videos for the webinar.

With 24/7 customer service, you can reach out to their enthusiastic support anytime for help. DaCast is a simple, and easy to use platform that even beginners will enjoy using.

Features

Very easy to set up

Allows for on-demand webinars

User-friendly interface

Live streaming to social media

Limitless attendees

Inbuilt analytics

DaCast is suitable for small business and meetings. It’s more suited for beginners since it’s elementary to set up and use.

Pricing packages

DaCast paying plans start from $19/month, which is billed annually. This plan allows up to 300 viewers per webinar. The highest plan costs $289/month for an hour’s webinar limited to 15000 viewers.

Demio

Demio is a sure easy webinar software to use. It does not require any technical knowledge to figure out as to comes with user-friendly features. The software appeals to both the eye and ear. It delivers HD video and audio functions. It also auto-records and downloads your webinar events and saves it to the cloud. The platform is also highly customizable and comes in an impressive design.

The webinar software also offers email support for sending reminders and doing follow-ups. You can interact with your users through the chat pop-up and polls, surveys and quizzes. The software provides unlimited webinars of all pricing plans and cloud storage for 100 recordings. The robust analytics are great for your business.

Features

Allows for customization per user’s preference

inbuilt analytic tools

Automatic recording and saving to the cloud

Comes with robust tracking options

Extensive automation

Demio is suitable for beginners who are looking to set up their first webinar effortlessly.

Pricing plan

Demio offers a free demo for beginners. The pricing plans start from $49/ month for up to 50 participants. The $99/month plan caters for 150 attendees, and the highest plan, which goes for $234/month covers 500 participants.

EasyWebinar

EasyWebinar integrates both webinar and marketing strategy. The webinar comes with powerful marketing tools such as email marketing, shopping carts and generation tools. It’s also compatible with payment methods to enable the user to receive payment for goods sold. It’s effortless to use and set up and incorporates mind-blowing interaction techniques.

Features

• HD quality video and audio
• Allows 100 attendees even for the basic plan
• WordPress integration, MailChimp and GetResponse
• Comes with chat features
• Screen sharing option
• Compatible with mobile devices
• Inbuilt analytics tools and automated email services

Pricing packages

The standard package starts at $59 per month. The pro plan foes for $90/month while the enterprise plan costs $349/month.

EverWebinar

EverWebinar is directly integrated with WebarJam though they are sold separately. It is a fully-automated software which is very easy to use. The webinar platform can be set up in under three minutes, even for a beginner. Some of the webinar software’s features include automated email services and user-friendly features. It also records all webinars automatically and backs up to the cloud so the users can listen at any time.

Features

Built-in quizzes, surveys and polls

Easy to set up

Analytics and performance statistics

Unlimited cloud-free hosting

One-click registration

EverWebinar is suitable for small and medium businesses because of powerful tools and analysis features.

Pricing plans

EverWebinar goes for $41/month, which is billed annually.

GetResponse

Email marketing is another mangey-making channel that has redefined online marketing. GetResponse is an email marketing platform that offers webinar marketing solutions. The main selling point of this platform is simplicity. Everything about GetResponse screams simplicity, right from the setting up. It takes a maximum of 3 minutes to set up a webinar using this platform.

GetResponse also comes with features such as autoresponders, landing pages, list segmentation automated email marketing. You can use the email feature to send invitations, reminders and do follow-ups. The email list generated in email marketing enhances sending invitations and doing follow-ups.

Key features

Highly customizable

Comes with preexisting invitations and reminder templates on email

One-click sharing option

Chat feature for interaction

Allows setting up autoresponders

GetResponse is suitable for all businesses because of the advanced marketing tools such as autoresponders and landing pages.

Pricing plans

GetResponse comes with 30-day free trails after which you can opt-in for the paid plans. The plans start from $49/month for 100 participants and extend to $1,199 per month for 500 attendees for the enterprise plan.

Google hangouts

Everybody is familiar with google hangouts even if they have never used webinar software. We love google hangouts since its compatible with Google, Chrome browser and Gmail. All you need to use this webinar is a google account. If you are looking for the cost basic webinar software, google hangouts is suitable for you. Hangouts come with basic tools to meet the size of every business, whether big or small. It also features necessary interaction tools such as polls and surveys.

Google Hangouts allows for screen sharing. You can speak several people at a time comfortably. It has a limit of 30 users but allows streaming to YouTube for on-demand webinars. The webinar software is perfect for a quick meeting on one basis. It lacks marketing tools or analytics, and neither does it allow selling products. We would not recommend it for business meetings.

Features

Allows a max of 30 people per webinar

Several speakers can be used per webinar

Simple to set up

User-friendly tools and features

Allows screen sharing

Integrates with YouTube for video sharing

Hangouts are ideal for beginners since its very user-friendly. It’s also ideal for people on a budget.

Pricing plan

Google Hangouts is completely free.

GoToWebinar

The webinar software is actually a go-to option for many thanks to its feature-rich nature. The webinar software platform organizes the webinars for you so all you need to focus on is reaching as many people as you can. GoToWebinar requires you to choose a date for the webinar, and everything else will be taken care of.

The webinar software also comes with business-oriented features such as webinar invitations, automated email reminders and a high conversion registration page. You can interact with your audience through quizzes, polls and surveys. The webinar is automatically recorded and stored on the cloud.

Features

Integration with email for sending invitations and reminders

Automatic recording and sharing or storage

In-built quizzes and polls

Excellent customer service

HD quality video and audio

Allows sharing of prerecorded events

GoToWebinar is best suited for large organizations and businesses.

Pricing packages

GoTowebinar offers a free plan for 100 people per webinar. The starter plans to go for $89/month and allows 100 participants. The $199/month package is limited to 500 participants while the $429/month allows 1000 people. All packages are billed annually.

JetWebinar

JetWebinar is a real-time simulated webinar software platform which hosts live webinars. It’s a master in driving conversion rates. Being a cloud-based platform, you can rest assured of the security of your data and that of your users. The webinar software also integrates engaging tools such as quizzes, polls, serves and a chat feature. It also integrates with leading marketing platforms making it a viable option for business meetings.

Features

HD video and audio

Supports screen sharing

Powerful marketing tools

Host control is impressive

Supports live chat and on-demand webinars

Allows multi-hosts

Customizable branding

Pricing plans

JetWebinar pricing starts at $79/month per use. The platform does not offer a freemium, but there is a free trial period after which you need to opt-in for a payment plan.

LiveStorm

LiveStorm comes with three hosting options the pre-organized, on-demand and automated webinars. You can, therefore, create content and upload to your webinar software beforehand or present everything live. You can also hold a webinar event with a combination of the two. LiveStorm also allows the attendees to interact with the presenter, ask and answer questions and participate in surveys and polls. All events conducted on the webinar can be conducted to future reference or to share with your socials and website.

LiveStorm is recommendable for your business. It comes with analytic tools which analyze the data and traffic to your webinar events.

Features

• Comes with high-quality webinar themes
• Offers interactive chats with attendees
• Inbuilt Q$As, polls and surveys
• Multilingual customer service
• One-click invitation and registration forms
• Unlimited recording storage
• Offers freemium pricing package

The outstanding feature of LiveStorm has to be its emailing feature. You can send promotional emails, send reminders and follow-up emails, send automated emails, check email status and even personalize all emails.

Pricing plans

LiveStorm comes with three pricing plans;

• Webinar and meet basic- this is a free plan which limits webinar to one meeting, 4 participants and a max of 10 registrants. The meeting has a time limit of 20 minutes.

• Meet premium- costs $31/host per month. It allows up to 8 participants.

• Webinar premium- costs $99/month and allows for 4 hours per webinar.

Livestream

Livestream is another webinar software that has been turning heads in digital marketing. We absolutely love Livestream as it’s packed with features that are designed to grow your business. The software has no limit to the audience number. You can host as many attendees as you can with the software. It also gives access to unlimited cloud storage.

Livestream best feature is that it automatically backs up data to the cloud. It’s also records and stores all webinar events for you. The software also carries out analytics on the traffic to your webinar and analyses all data collected for better results. You can also stream the webinar event to Facebook live and YouTube. Livestream encourages interactions between the audience and conductor through question and answer sessions, audience chat and polls and surveys.

Features

• Unlimited cloud storage
• Automatic recording and data back up
• Built-in analytics
• Allows you to privatize your events
• Streaming to Facebook Live and YouTube
• Excellent customer care services

Livestream is ideal for big companies and institutions that have already established a relationship with their audience.

Pricing packages

Livestream offers a single package which goes for $75/month which is billed annually. You can also opt for the enterprise package for additional bucks. The enterprise package offers additional features such as advanced analytics, dedicated account manager, auto-archiving and the pay-per-view option.

WebEx

WebEx is a production of the cisco company, and it does not disappoint. The webinar software packs quite impressive features. WebEx offers HD video and audio for all host rooms. The webinar event can also be accessed from a multiple of devices. The software is cloud-based guaranteeing security and speed for the users.

What we love about WebEx is that it packs several themes that allow for full customization. The webinar software can be customized to suit any user’s business requirements. WebEx allows you to offer online and offline training for attendees. You can also provide support and invite guest speakers and specialists.

Features

• The webinar software platform is cloud-based
• Impressive customer service
• Limited to 40000 attendees
• Excellent HD video and audio
• Compatible with a mobile app
• Integrates advanced marketing tools such as salesforce
• Comes with built-in polls and surveys and Q&A sessions

Pricing plans

WebEx comes with various pricing packages. The lowest is the basic plan which goes for $13.5 per month, billed annually. It allows up to 50 participants.

WebinarJam

WebinarJam is a great webinar software platform if you are completely clueless about webinars or you have no technical skill. The webinar offers an automated option which allows you to use prerecorded data on your webinar. The webinar software is cloud-based and compatible with all browsers. It uses the latter’s technology such as RTMP, WebRTC and HLS to create universal signals.

You can stream your webinar straight to YouTube and Facebook live through the software. The software also comes with basic features such as in-built polls and surveys, HD video and audio for enhanced webinars and user-friendly dashboard. The connector can customize the webinar to their preference with the different themes.

Features

• Supports multiple presenters
• Intuitive and user-friendly interface
• Highly customizable
• HD video and audio
• Customer-facing interfaces
• Automatic recording of webinars
• Built-in autoresponder

The most impressive features of WebinarJam include pop-ups during the webinar, which allow the audience to purchase products. The webinar software also offers excellent two-way communication via a 1:1 live chat video with the participant.

Pricing plan

WebinarJam comes with three pricing packages;

• Basic plan- goes for $499/year and allows up to 500 participants per webinar. It also supports three presenters.

• Professional plan- costs $699/year, allows 1000 attendees and four speakers.

• Premium plan- costs $999/years. It’s ideal for businesses and allows an audience of 5000 attendees and six speakers per webinar.

WebinarNinja

Are you looking for variety? WebinarNinja comes with four webinar options, including Live, which is the standard webinar type, automated, hybrid and series. The automated webinar allows you to use prerecorded content on certain dates or time. The hybrid webinar lets you run the prerecorded content parallel to a live webinar. The prerecorded data while running the live webinar, for instance in chats or polls. Series webinar gives you the capability of running an online summit webinar. There is no limit to what you can do with WebinarNinja.

Features

• One-click registration
• Cloud-based
• Advanced notification and reminder settings
• Comes with four webinars options
• Built-in polls and surveys
• Connects to favourite apps through Zapier

The unique feature of WebinarNinja is the offer widget. This feature allows you the conductor to advertise or display offers to your attendees during a webinar.

The webinar software is suitable for companies who run a lot of webinars. It also suited for marketers as it comes with impressive marketing features to boosts sales.

Pricing plan

The starter pack costs $39/month and allows u to 1000 attendees.

WebinarsOnAir

The affordability is the very first feature that will draw this webinar software platform to you. If you are looking for basic yet affordable webinar software, WebinarsOnAir is definitely the right choice for you. The features that come with this software are excellent for the price. What’s more, the user-friendliness of the software will blow your mind.

WebinarsOnAir, which is a software offered by G-suite, allows you to set up a webinar session on your won. However, the setting up process couldn’t get simpler. The features on the software such as polls, surveys, and built-in webinar Q&A make the setup process simple. The software also allows for customization to allow the user to create a webinar that feels good. Your business can benefit immensely from the webinar due to the analytic tools and high conversion rate.

Features

• Allows for up to 50,000 attendees per webinar
• Live question and answer sessions
• Cloud-hosting for security
• Built-in registration and opt-in forms
• Allows for ten moderators at once
• One-click registration feature

The best feature of the WebinarsOnAir is the tracking pixels. The feature allows the host to create laser-targeting audiences after a webinar session for retargeting purposes.

Pricing packages

WebinarsOnAir comes with a 30-day freemium package. The lowest pricing plan costs $19.97/month, which allows for 25 viewers per webinar. The $99/month plan allows for unlimited participants per webinar.

Zoho meeting

Zoho Meeting is not your typical feature-packed webinar software. It offers basic webinar features, but it gets the job done. Zoho meeting uses chrome and Firefox browsers to conduct webinars. Seeing its browser-based, it’s completely safe for users. Zoho meeting interacts with Zoho CRRM and Zoho campaign for promotions and connection. It’s, therefore, a great channel to drive sales.

It also comes with features such as inbuilt Q&A sessions, polls and surveys. The webinar software also supports email notifications and follow-ups and phone dial-ins. The software can support several presenters per webinar. It also provides post-webinar reporting for the user.

Features

• One-click registration
• Zoho integrations such as CRM and Zoho campaigns
• Basic post-webinar reporting
• Compatible with phone access
• Supports a max of 250 attendees
• Inbuilt Q&A session, polls and surveys
• Supports multiple presenters

Zoho meeting is suited for small businesses and small casual meetings. The video feature is the strong point, and many would conclude its a video conferencing software rather than a webinar. It also comes with business tools such as project management and tools to drive the same.

Pricing plans

Webinars on Zoho meeting are charged per attendees. Up to 25 attendees are priced at $15/month billed annually. The maximum attendees of 250 are charged at $63/month billed annually.

Zoom

Zoom is one of the most popular webinar software today. Zoom is especially known as a video conferencing tool but also passes for a webinar. The webinar software is especially intuitive with a user-friendly interface. It is completely cloud-based to make things simpler for users. The webinar software allows the host to feature 100 panellists who are invited through a link. The software allows you to host scheduled and unscheduled meetings. You can also back up all the sessions to cloud for feature reference.

Zoom comes with features such as;

• HD sound and video
• Desktop and app options
• Back up every meeting on the cloud
• User-friendly dashboard
• Side by side video views
• Efficient host controls
• A pop-up window where attendees can ask their questions
• Free access to up to 100 participants
• Exactly forty minutes limit on group meetings

What makes zoom stand out from other webinar software is the side by side feature. You can run a demonstration while your video is still running. Zoom is also available as a desktop app. The webinar software is suitable for high-quality video conferencing and businesses which need to showcase high-quality images of products.

Price packages

Zoom is free to sign up. It’s one of the webinar software that offers great freemium package. The free plan is limited to forty minutes and 100 participants. The basic paid plan, which starts at $14.99/month offers 1GB cloud recording, among other features. The business package starts at $19.99/month. It’s suitable for small and medium businesses. If you run a large enterprise, the enterprise package which goes for $19.99 will be more suited for your business.

Zoom does not come with advanced marketing tools like other webinars, its more suitable for simple meetings that don’t require any advanced features.

What are the benefits of using webinar platforms?

As we mentioned, webinars are like seminars or conferences. While you cannot reach every one of your product targets physically, you can surely reach them virtually. Here are some of the reasons you should be using webinar software platforms we have mentioned above.

Wide audience

Webinar software is designed with tools to help you reach an expensive audience. Webinar solutions can reach a bigger audience than any social network platform. Webinars are accessible to a worldwide audience. You can reach potential customers across the globe effortlessly. Instead of having to send sales representatives across the globe to close business deals, webinar software allows for one on one or one to many meetings. You can sell your products and services to anyone as long they have the required internet enable devices.

• A great way of generating leads

The best part about webinars is every one that is attending has some personal or professional interest. Although not everyone will end up as a customer, you will have generated more leads than you would have on social media. Then you can also turn your webinar into an automated machine with the intention of generating leads over time. A webinar also allows you to collect information such as email addresses of your attendees to be able to target them in product sales and offers.

• Webinar platforms are more engaging.

You cannot compare webinar platforms to traditional marketing videos or similar platforms. Webinar software is purposely designed for digital marketing with the right tools for interactive sessions. We say that webinar software is interactive since they allow for live video. The attendees can follow a meeting or event from beginning to the end without missing any single moment. The best part is that the conductor and attendees can interact one-on-one through questions and answers. The conductor can make live sales and auctions since both parties can engage each other.

• Gain an understanding of your audience

Webinar software is a big deal in digital marketing since they enable the conductor and attendees to interact and engage each other. The conductor or business person can, therefore, use the opportunity to learn more about their audience. The conductor can do so through question and answer sessions on live webinars, carrying out a poll or survey of using other tools provided by the webinar. A business that knows there audience properly is able to tap into this knowledge for their benefit.

• Give a chance to invite experts.

If for instance, you are carrying out staff training, webinar software gives a chance to invite industry experts to the meetings or online events. You can also invite experts to address your audience on sensitive matters in your field of operation. For instance, if you run a skincare line, you can invite an expert to address skin problems that are common to your audience. These experts usually have the upper hand since they have knowledge and expertise in a certain area.

• Helps in creating a domain

Webinars are attended by people who want to access your content. A webinar can, therefore, help in building your domain. As you continue to create webinars, more and more people will continue to attend and get the word out. You can, therefore, scale-up in sales as well as brand recognition. You can also use it as a chance to build presentation skills and webinar management. As long as your audience finds your webinar educative or to add value, you will establish authority for your brand in the market. You need to ensure that you are creating webinars that are insightful and bursting with value to build your domain. Every time your audience will be searching for such information, your brand will pop up.

• Cost-effective

We saved the best for the last! Webinars don’t entail expenses such as hunting down a suitable location, renting a physical room, arranging chairs, providing water or meals and other expenses that come with a physical meeting. Webinars also don’t require a physical location like webcasts for everyone to join in. A webinar is attended by people who are interested. Some do not require attendees to pay anything to attend the meetings. All that is required for a webinar is a webcam, good internet connection, an engaging script and good webinar software. An internal computer microphone will do if you don’t have a budget for a microphone.

What are some tips & strategies for using webinar platforms?

Statistics have shown that webinars have a 35%-45% registrant to attendee conversion rate. Even though most companies are holding webinars today, not all can close the sales or achieve their goals. Most companies are not able to turn attendees into customers. So, what’s the trick? How do you ensure that you close at least 90% of the deals and convert prospects into customers? Here are a few tips and strategies to give you a competitive advantage over your competitors.

Know your audience

It’s easier to sell to a friend than a stranger. The reason is not that the friend has a lot of money but because you know what they want. A webinar session will have ended in vain if you fail to get the attendees to purchase your products. To do so, you need to study your attendees before a webinar session. The research you conduct on your audience enables you to know what your audience is looking forward to getting from you. You should research about their demographics, profession, industry and expertise to be able to meet their expectations. You can conduct your research through questionnaires, polls and surveys or collecting customer survey. You can also do a simple research online, especially when you are hosting a small group of people. Important information about the audience can also be collected on the registration form. Gaining in-depth knowledge about your audience is a great way of ensuring you are delivering the right content.

Visual branding

Sight is the most powerful sense. People are likely to retain only 10% of what they hear after a couple of days. However, whatever they see remains in their minds forever. It’s important to include visuals in your webinars. For instance, you can add your company logo to the webinar. Also, you can include any branding that hints your company or service to pre-event emails and webinar waiting rooms. Ensure to do the same branding for a couple of webinars to come. With time, the audience will begin to associate the branding with your business.

Avoid long webinars

Studies have shown that 41% of attendees prefer webinars that are 30 minutes longs, 44% prefer 45 minutes, while only 10% prefer one-hour long webinars. A webinar should basically be short and value-packed. Nobody wants to come and listen to you for hours on end like it’s a lecture. Keep your webinars succinct as possible. Also, focus on things that are easy to understand and demonstrate to build on the attendee’s concentration span. Ensure to take no more than 45 minutes for the best results of your webinar.

Capitalize on analytics

Analytics like google analytics and Facebook insights are tethered towards your webinar alone. Analytics provide a detailed, customized and personalized breakdown for your webinar. It helps to understand the kind of audience you attendees are to be able to provide better services and products. Webinar analytical basically provides data that is specific for your business and not that of competitors. You should employ analytics to collect data from your webinars traffic to be able to understand your audience better.

Timely promotions are everything!

If you intend to host your webinar over the weekend, the promotions should be done two or three days prior to the D-day. If the promotion is done too early, people are bound to forget. You will even forget a flash sale or a great discount if it’s done way early.

Summary

With all the webinar software platforms we have identified for you, it can be difficult to pinpoint to the absolute best of them. However, we have a few guidelines that may help you in identifying the best for you. You need to start by accessing the size of your audience. You should also identify the tools you will require to engage them appropriately. You can then check the best software that offers those tools and any other that you will need for the event. It’s critical to choose a webinar software platform that offers the exact tools that meet your business goals.

Good thing is most webinar software platforms offer a free trial window. Others even offer a money-back guarantee if you don’t get what you were looking for. Take advantage of such features. Once you are positive you found the perfect match, then you will have found the best webinar software. So, what are you waiting for?