With globalization, business often times has to be done via the Web as the various parties may be scattered all across the world. More and more companies are relying on web conferences or webinars.
According to World Wide Webinars, most companies run more than one webinar a month. On average, people from two countries take part in a webinar. The most was 54 countries. The average?webinar has about 28 participants and runs about 65 minutes. Most experts say an online conference should run about 30-60 minutes.
“Besides the ability to interact with anyone with an Internet connection, webinars make it easier to create a one-to-many experience,” explains Eric Sun, product specialist at Zco Corporation, a custom enterprise app developer. “If the value proposition is compelling and the marketing is solid, webinars are a great way to influence key prospects at their convenience.” Since Zco has many developers and clients all over the world, the company actually does online meetings and webinars daily.
While they may be convenient, there are some disadvantages to online meetings. “With an online meeting, you can’t see their body language and facial expressions,” Sun points out. “With a live presentation, you can gauge interest and skip ahead if the audience appears disinterested. Most webinar solutions have a cap of 25 frames-per-second, so video or product demos can appear choppier than in reality.”
But as such meetings become a necessity for many companies, there are a few things to avoid when organizing a webinar. According to Sun, the major mistake is not being prepared. “No matter what online meeting client is used, it will be perceived as part of the company image. If anything goes wrong with the webinar, it reflects poorly on the company. On that note, expect things to go wrong! Have a backup plan, such as a recording that can be sent if an attendee can’t view the webinar,” he says.
Three Tips On How To Have A Great Webinar
1)? Rethink using video: “Videos may be choppy on the receiver’s end — stick to an array of visual slides and graphics,” advises Sun.
2)? Double up: “Have a second laptop nearby connected to the webinar, ideally on a separate WiFi or Internet connection. That way, you have a sense of what is being presented on their screen and can adjust accordingly,” says Sun.
3) Share, share, share: “If you want to display an iPad application during a web demo, you can use the software Reflector to mirror the iOS device to your computer screen, which can then be shared by others through the web meeting client,” suggests Sun.
