What are webinars and why. Webinars - what are they? Online seminars

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A webinar is a conference, seminar, presentation that is broadcast via the Internet.

Let's look at an example of what webinars are and why they are needed.

Allokom company - sells Cell phones and everything for them in 9 stores operating in large cities of the Komi Republic. In an industry where new products go on sale almost every day, sales knowledge is important. What are the parameters of the new model, why is it better than others, how to set it up... - questions from clients are very different. Continuous training is required. For This is why the company has a trainer who is engaged in staff development. But travel takes time, and it’s not always possible to get everything done on time. We found a solution - conduct a training webinar twice a week. An hour before the stores open, all employees attend this online training at their computers. All clear, simple, you can ask questions. Saving money and time is obvious. At the same time, all the necessary information is conveyed to the staff.

It is not surprising that the company owner began to sometimes hold online meetings with store managers, instead of constant personal trips.

How are webinars conducted?

The webinar is held online. The speaker can tell something, show presentations, communicate with listeners - but only via the Internet. This is different from offline events.

There are special platforms for conducting webinars. Each event is a separate “room”. Typically access is via a special link.

There are options when the format is audio. In this case, the presenter can only be heard. But usually speakers sit in front of the camera and conduct their story. Depending on the service portal through which the transfer is organized, users can see each other or be hidden.

To conduct a webinar, you must have an Internet connection with a speed sufficient for downloading. streaming video. In most cases there is no need for any additional programs or settings - an Internet browser for participants is sufficient.

The online seminar consists of:

• presentations, slide shows, documents;
• communication between the lecturer and the audience via chat (common for everyone, private for selected visitors);
• displaying files from the presenter’s computer;
• recordings - for re-viewing in the future.

Advantages and disadvantages of webinars

The growing popularity of this format of management is understandable due to its advantages:

• Interactivity – you can ask questions along the way.
• Record – saved video can be watched later, returned to key points the required number of times. A common practice is that after completion, the recorded material is sent to all users who have shown interest.
• Time saving – participants are in places convenient for them. At the same time, they can even do other things while listening. One webinar is held for a large and diverse group, regardless of location.
• Affordable cost – organization requires much less expenses compared to conventional events. There is no need to rent premises, equipment, sell tickets, or feed participants. The audience can be several thousand people, which is very difficult to do offline. These factors directly affect the cost of participating in online training. It is always lower than attending offline trainings.
• Analytics – you can collect a large amount of analytical data: how many participants there were, what the audience’s reaction was to the lecturer’s words and other information.
• Anonymity of participants - users do not see each other, as happens in regular trainings.

However, there are also disadvantages:

• Lack of emotional connection - the emotions and energy that exist in the hall during live communication are felt less in this form of conduction.
• The job of a presenter is as a lecturer, a trainer, even with extensive experience in public speaking, must learn to work in front of the camera so that it is interesting to listen to him.
• Time zones – if participants are in different countries, the timing may not be convenient for everyone.

What are webinars for?

They are carried out for different purposes. Among the main ones:

• Sales – introduce a wide range of people to a company or person. By sharing their knowledge and telling them how to act in a given situation, they receive the status of an expert. They continue to resort to their help and advice, even if it is paid. For example, a nutritionist might talk about general rules nutrition. It is offered to develop an individual diet for an additional fee.
• Formation of a need - a correctly conducted presentation will encourage a person to use a product or service. Only the topic should be chosen not about the product, but about the consumer and his capabilities. For example, when selling cookie cutters, the headline “Delighting the Household - Quickly and Affordably” will be more interesting than “New Baking Molds.” Talking about what benefits the customer will receive from the purchase encourages the desire to buy.
• Training - a clear demonstration of use will help convince the client that the product is useful and will make life much easier. There is much more time to talk about the merits of the product than in commercial. Moreover, there is no negativity with which advertising is usually perceived.
• Opportunity to try - to sell something, let it be tested. This is especially applicable to intangible goods: trainings, programs. How does it work? Will you like it? Will it be clear? When a person knows how the training course will be held, who the trainer is and whether he knows how to interest people with his style of presenting the material, it is much easier to decide on a purchase.
• Creating a database potential clients– in the process of recruiting participants for an event, contact details of people who register for it appear. All of them are target consumers of goods and services. In the future, you can and should work with them using mailings and other methods.

Webinars are an excellent option for promoting products on the market, increasing sales volumes and finding new customers.

How to conduct a webinar

So, we’ve figured out what webinars are and how to participate in them. All that remains is to figure out how to organize a webinar.

You can organize it with minimal time and completely free, if you know the main points.

Conducting webinars includes the following stages:

• target selection;
• organizing a platform for holding webinars;
• invitation of participants;
• advertising;
• work program.

Let's look at each of them in detail.

Target

Before planning an online meeting, you need to understand why it is being held. Possible options have already been discussed above. The expectations of the organizers directly affect the entire work: who to involve, what to talk about. It is important that the goal justifies the money and time spent.

Organization of a platform for holding webinars

What does a webinar need to be successful from an organizational point of view? Various services and programs have been developed to carry them out. Paid and free with a different set of features and functions offered. Among the paid ones, popular services are WEBINAR.FM, Webiring, webinar.ru, WebEx, GoToMeeting, Ruweber and others.

Their capabilities are great:

• broadcasting what is happening online;
• saving the recorded presentation in the computer memory;
• support for files of different formats;
• chat and two-way voice communication;
• possibility of moderation;
• collection of statistical data;
• simple and clear user interfaces.

This and many other features offered will help you easily conduct an online conference. However, there are also free options.

One of them is the Hangouts service, available to any user after registering with Google+. It has many features: a large number of participants, direct transmission to YouTube, chat with saving correspondence history, photo exchange, determining the location of users.

Technical requirements to conduct a webinar: Chrome browser, operating room Windows system or Android, iOS.

Invitation of participants

The webinar is for people. Invitees will be able to access it using a special link. And simply posting it on your website with the announcement of the event is not enough. Someone will forget, make a mistake with time, and will not find it. To keep your virtual audience full, you need to be able to remind people about the meeting. Registration is required for this.

In a special form, the content and design of which can be customized individually, everyone leaves their contacts (name, email address, phone number), to which reminders and access links are sent.

The Justclick service or other similar programs (for example, Google Forms). Addresses saved using any of the services can be used later for webinar reminders and other mailings.

Advertising

How more people participates, the better. Need advertising.

Main attraction options:

• Posting an announcement on social networks (on the pages of the presenter or the company conducting the seminar).
• – user likes and reposts will spread information throughout the network.
• Messages in thematic communities in social networks.
• Sending out an announcement to the existing customer base.

These options are free. In some cases, you can resort to paid advertising campaign. Its size will depend only on what we are talking about.

Thus, when selling distance learning courses from well-known experts in their industries, expensive programs, advertising costs can more than pay off from further sales.

Webinar program

To successfully conduct an online seminar, you need to create a plan. The presenter must clearly understand what he will do and in what sequence, and what conclusions the audience should come to. The average duration is 1.5 hours. Enough to give listeners information. It is important that it is interesting and understandable.

The following scheme is often used for a sales presentation:

• interest participants in news and intrigue;
• gain trust - present yourself and the product from a favorable perspective;
• create a need - show the problem and the importance of its solution;
• present a product with advantages and differences from competitors;
• voice special offer shopping (here and now);
• summarize, focus on the problems that are solved by the proposed product;
• audience questions and purchase reminders (here and now).

The choice of the person who will lead also matters. He must have good public speaking skills and be able to act fluently in front of the camera. Otherwise, listening to him will be uninteresting, and uncertainty will negate all the advantages of the product. Who to choose for this role? There is no clear answer. If training is being sold from experts in their field, then they will be the best ones to talk about their programs. But when it comes to selling specialized equipment, the developer will not always be able to clearly explain everything necessary. In such cases, it is better to bring in an outside speaker. A couple of days to study the features and presentation program - and you can start.

After the work is done, all that remains is to process incoming orders, analyze analytics, and remind those subscribers who did not take advantage of the offer about themselves and the product. And you can cook new program, because it’s simple, affordable and effective.

Webinars are one of the tools that are applicable to solve a wide range of problems in sales, training and other areas. This is effective and simple communication between people, regardless of borders and income.

A webinar is a seminar held online via the Internet.

How is the webinar going?

The webinar presenter is at his computer, and the participants are at their computers anywhere in the world. You can be at home, at work, or anywhere else that is convenient for you during the webinar. No special programyou don't need to have it. Webinars are heldnot via Skype. Special websites have been invented to conduct them.

The presenter can be seen if he turns on the video broadcast. Also, instead of his image, the presenter can show you slides with a presentation of material on the webinar topic.

You can write your questions, comments, communicate with the presenter and other webinar participants in a special chat. Webinars are usually interactive, the presenter asks questions to the participants, reads their questions and comments, and communicates with the participants.

What you need to participate in the webinar.

1) To participate in the webinar you need. This is enough to participate in the free webinar.

If the webinar is paid - . All this can also be done via the Internet.

2) The day before the start of the webinar to your email. You will receive a special link to the website where the webinar will take place.

3) 10-15 minutes before the start of the webinar, you need to use this link to go to the site where it will be held. This site is also called a “webinar room” or “webinar platform” or “online broadcast page”.

4) The webinar will begin at the appointed time. You will hear the presenter's voice, see his image (if there is a video broadcast) or see a presentation.

That's all. As you can see, everything is very convenient and simple. There is no need to go anywhere or waste time on the road. You can be at home, sitting comfortably on the sofa with a cup of tea :)

Usually, having tried it once, many parents who participate in our webinars appreciate the new opportunities of this type of training and participate in them again and again.

We invite you .

All the best!

Once the Web became inexpensive and fast, it became possible to conduct training not only through the exchange of documents, but also using tools such as podcasts and webinars. What it is? Podcasts are recorded video or audio content, while webinars are conferences in the form of live video.

Direct and Feedback

Conducting webinars is possible if both users and the creator have the opportunity to work in high speed network. To enable feedback, chat is usually used. The webinar host answers questions in the chat as they arise. The main advantage that webinars provide is interactivity. What does it mean? An opportunity for the host to respond to the needs of the audience and an opportunity for the audience to get answers to the questions that matter most to them.

Prices can't be beat

What are the benefits of such training? The webinar is quite inexpensive compared to a regular seminar. After all, if information is broadcast on the Internet, listeners do not need to travel, they do not need to spend money on hotels, they can eat familiar foods at home without spending money on restaurants. Therefore, any special computer programs to host webinars end up being cheap compared to the opportunity costs. In addition, a ticket to such an event turns out to be much cheaper than a real seminar.

Everyone participates

So, you have chosen webinars as a training tool. What does this mean in practice? Much greater involvement of everyone than with real training, because you can ask your question at any time, unlike in a real seminar, when only one person can speak. The webinar host can see several similar questions in the chat and answer them, placing semantic emphasis in each case. As a result, the presenter sees what exactly interests this audience the most.

Repetition and teaching

The opportunity to access archives is also very important in educational practice. As a rule, audio and video recordings are still available online for some time. Therefore, users can refer to the recording and pay attention to the nuances that are important in practical activities. And you don’t need to rely only on your notes!

graduate School

In the West, webinars have become a common practice in online learning. There is a certain time convenient for many when the teacher goes online and answers the most difficult questions from students. This form of training is relatively inexpensive, and people who value their time and money have begun to prefer it to all others. Thus, students can watch a lecture late at night before going to bed when it is made available in webcast or screencast mode. Online broadcasts are in great demand in the programming learning environment.

Webinars - what are they? The opportunity to study in comfortable conditions and maintain live contact with the teacher, the opportunity to feel like a citizen digital world, the opportunity to develop and help others. Participate, create, try! This type of training is the future.

The development of the Internet has provided users with ample opportunities for virtual communication. One form of this type of communication is webinars.

Webinars allow several remote users to communicate simultaneously via the Internet.

Moreover, as a rule, only the webinar presenter speaks, while other participants can communicate via text chat.

The word "webinar" is borrowed from in English– webinar, which means holding an online meeting via the Internet. Webinars are also called online seminars, web conferences, online meetings, etc.

At the time of the webinar, each of its participants is at their own computer, and the connection between them is maintained via the Internet, and some platform (site) is used to conduct the webinar.

Why are webinars needed?

Using video conferencing, you can undergo training, for example, starting with mastering curricula. You can also go through. The advantage of webinars is that they are easy to conduct regardless of the distance between the teacher and students.

Webinars are also held for meetings of employees of a certain company. This method is the only one possible option communications if employees work remotely.

Video conferences are also held in cases where employees work in different cities.

How is the webinar going?

Let's start with what is needed for a webinar? In order to take part in the webinar, you must have (or a device that replaces it), if possible with sound speakers(to control the volume) or headphones, and also be sure to have good, fast Internet.

You usually need to register for a webinar using your email address. The webinar presenter sends the link required to attend the webinar to this e-mail in advance.

The organizers warn potential participants in advance about the time and topic of the webinar on thematic resources. At the agreed time, all participants receive the coordinates of the virtual room (most often this is a link that must be followed) and gather in it.

Usually, after clicking on the specified link, you need to indicate your name in Russian or English. This name will be used when chatting on the webinar, if such chat is available. After this, the user enters the webinar room, where they can listen to the presenter and, if desired, write messages in the chat.

Typically, a webinar is hosted by one person, while other users can ask questions in the chat using text messages. The presenter informs necessary information using a microphone and webcam.

In some cases, the presenter may demonstrate his computer desktop (when mastering a program, for example). At the same time, the presenter sometimes says that “now I will share my desktop” - this means that he will remove the webinar picture and show some moment directly on his computer.

If during a webinar you lose sound, the image disappears, or a similar problem occurs, the first thing you need to do is update your browser. If this does not help, you can exit the webinar, and then re-enter using the link that the presenter sent you.

What are the benefits of a webinar?

The advent of webinars has made it possible to make a qualitative leap in distance learning. Now you don’t need to travel thousands of kilometers, spending a lot of time and money, to listen to a mentor. Using a web conference, you can study right at home, sitting in your favorite chair and sipping your favorite drink.

If a participant is late for the seminar, he can join it at any moment. In addition, all participants can subsequently save the recording of the webinar to their gadget and review it.

By the way, a favorite question at all webinars is the question of whether participants will be sent a recording of the webinar.

It happens that you are lucky, and at the webinar.

Attending seminars is beneficial due to the ease of organization. After all, you don’t need to rent an expensive office in a location convenient for all participants. In addition, there is no need to spend money on renting expensive equipment.

Disadvantages of webinars

Unfortunately, many webinars are conducted for the sole purpose of selling a course, training or other service. For this reason, it often happens that the topic of a free webinar sounds very tempting: how to set up advertising on social networks for free, how to learn to sew in 5 days, how to learn English from scratch in 21 days, how to lose weight in a month, etc.

But in fact, at such webinars they talk around and around for 1.5-2.5 hours, and at the end, when everyone is waiting for something relevant to be said, the presenter begins to sell his course, training, program and etc.

Autowebinars

There are also auto-webinars, when you can choose a convenient day and time for webinars from the proposed list, and then listen to the recorded webinar. At the same time, the presenter uses various “cunning” techniques to ensure that those present at the webinar have a strong feeling that this is a live webinar.

For example, the presenter asks users to write down what cities they are from. Or give pluses that they understood some point, etc. But often it is at such receptions that one can understand that in fact the presenter is not on the air.

In addition, in fact, users will not hear a real answer to their questions asked in the chat, because they are simply listening to the recorded auto-webinar, without the presence of the presenter.

Of course, there are also good, useful auto webinars, but unfortunately there are not many of them.

I ask you to make one click to vote for one option below. Thank you!

Thanks to the development of computer and information technologies It has become easier for large companies to organize their work activity, and also convey to people detailed information on topics that interest them. Knowing what a webinar is, any company can conduct various seminars, conferences and interviews remotely, without worrying about choosing a room for participants.

What are webinars?

The concept of “webinar” (or web conference) implies the holding of various events (seminars, lessons, conferences and presentations) online. It is no secret that the first real-time conference call session was held in the late nineties of the 20th century, and since then the popularity of this type of communication between people has been increasingly gaining momentum. Today, more than a thousand webinars are regularly held on the Internet on a variety of topics, thanks to which millions of users study and learn something new without leaving home.

A web conference brings together people interested in discovering and studying a common topic, for example: “?” or " ". During the webinar, communication occurs both between the presenter and participants, and between listeners.

Reference: The web conference process itself is very similar to a regular seminar. The only difference is that everything happens through a computer monitor using information technology. Listeners can also view the webinar recording at any time convenient for them.

The web conference provides participants with a number of technological options:

1. online video;
2. audio communication;
3. presentations with slides;
4. electronic board for comments and clarifications;
5. managed and private chats, allowing text communication;
6. surveys and polls that help collect user opinions in real time;
7. demonstration of the desktop and applications open on it;
8. recording and multiple broadcast of the webinar.

Advantages

Web conferencing has undeniable advantages before standard events:

• Significant monetary savings. Online seminars help reduce costs for travel, accommodation of participants, rental of premises, etc.
• Save time. In ordinary life, people often do not have enough free hours for self-education. Many work, and therefore can only attend training events in the evening, which is not entirely convenient. In turn, webinars allow you to gain knowledge right at home, in a familiar and cozy environment.
• Combining several functions in the learning process. Users can not only watch a demo recording, listen to and absorb information, but also chat, participate in polls, and visit other websites, which is not possible in regular classes.
• Unlimited number of listeners. If the scale of the audience or conference room often does not allow to accommodate everyone, then the limits of the Internet space know no boundaries, which means that any number of people can attend the webinar.
• Large geographical coverage. You can watch the online seminar anywhere in the world if you have a computer and the Internet at your disposal.
• Maintaining anonymity. Users can hide their personal data, which is especially important for shy participants.
• Possibility of watching a recording of a training or conference. This is a clear plus. After all, the recording allows you to consolidate the material, and, if desired, you can view it at any convenient time.

Flaws

Of course, webinars provide a lot of opportunities and advantages, however, conducting online seminars can pose some difficulties:

• There is a risk of technical problems during a web conference (unscheduled shutdown of the Internet, lights, device breakdown, etc.), which threatens to disrupt classes.
• The quality of broadcasts sometimes leaves much to be desired.
• There is a risk of fraudulent actions on the part of event organizers (poor quality of services, difficulties with mutual settlements, etc.).
• Lack of emotional connection that is achieved through face-to-face communication.
• Time zone difference. If for the organizer the seminar starts at 15:00, then for some listeners it can start at 1 in the morning, which is not entirely convenient. However, this is better than traveling to regular seminars across several time zones. That's why this disadvantage can be considered relative.

What are webinars for?

Various types of meetings are held through webinars. Among all the diversity, there are six main types of web conferences:

1. Video trainings. Today this is perhaps the most popular type of online meeting. Video trainings allow you to learn something new and benefit from it, as well as communicate with interesting people. They are intended mainly for the personal development of listeners.
2. Online conferences. First of all, it is an exchange of experience. Topics for communication can be very different, for example: “” or “”. The determining factor is the target audience, as well as questions that interest her.
3. Project presentations. The organizer of this web conference is a person striving to convey the essence of his thoughts and demonstrate his work to the audience. The main goal is to make a presentation and get an assessment of a particular object.
4. Marketing events. They are a kind of advertising carried out by one participant for his audience. Allows you to present the product a large number users, while reducing costs for advertising projects.
5. Meeting in real time. Convenient for large companies whose representative offices are “scattered” across different regions of the country and even the world. Allows you to discuss current work issues with all participants, for example, plans for the next year, etc.
6. Video interview. An online meeting between an employer representative (or committee) and an applicant. The best option for people planning to get a job in another city.

How to organize a webinar?

When a person organizes a webinar for the first time, it always seems to him that this is a difficult task that requires a lot of effort and money. In fact, a web conference can be held completely free of charge. As for strength, to conduct an online seminar you need the following:

• area;
• listeners;
• plan.

And about everything in more detail...

Site selection

There are a lot of different services and programs for conducting webinars. Their main differences are the set of functions and the price tag. The choice of site must be approached with full responsibility. It should be easy to use, multifunctional and intuitive. All preparation for an online seminar can be ruined if, at the peak of the presentation, problems suddenly arise with the sound, presentation of slides, etc.

You can also choose a free platform to host a webinar. But, as practice shows, it is precisely such services that are characterized regular failures and work delays.

Advice: To conduct your seminar, it is better to spend time and energy searching for a high-quality and proven site.

Attracting people

Regardless of the topic of the seminar, you will need to use several methods to ensure yourself an audience. A lot of time, effort and money are spent on attracting people. And you need to be prepared for this. In order to receive a large flow of people, you must use:

• your own website (a blog is ideal);
• social networks (VKontakte and Odnoklassniki);
• e-mail newsletters;
• forums (the topic of the site determines the target audience);
• advertising networks;
• partnership programs;
• mutual PR;
• competitions.

Creating a webinar structure

If the platform is already ready and a certain circle of listeners has been identified, then you can move on to the next stage - creating a webinar plan and rehearsing the speech.

Reference: on the Internet you can find advertisements of people specializing in training to conduct online seminars. Such trainings will be useful to those who decided to build a business through webinars and get theirs. If a person plans to hold a one-time promotion, then he can cope on his own, especially when the main goal of the online seminar is to arouse interest in the product, and not to sell directly.

The typical structure of a sales webinar looks like this:

• greeting and introduction;
• Briefly about yourself;
• about the topic and plan of the speech;
• listener motivation;
• main part;
• summarizing and answering questions.

To whet the audience's interest, you can tell Interesting Facts from your biography, omitting everything unnecessary and leaving data confirming your competence in the stated topic of the online seminar. It is very important to make every effort to make the story more emotional, this will win over the audience and earn their trust.

How do online webinars work?

During the seminar, the organizer and his listeners are located at their monitors, and communication between them is provided through a web application. To get involved in the process, you need to follow the link to the webinar, and then provide your username and password to enter.

Participants receive this data by email or when logging into the online seminar page. It is best to follow the link five minutes before the start of the webinar. Each web conference is dedicated to a specific topic and has a clear plan that all participants must adhere to. During the session, the presenter provides the audience with material, makes a presentation, talks, explains, conveys the necessary information to the audience, and asks about something. Viewers, in turn, receive answers to questions, make comments, write reviews, and communicate with each other in the chat. Sometimes the organizer can delegate the right to conduct practical lesson to one of the listeners.

Webinars usually feature polls and voting, as well as active and emotional discussion of information, which creates a spirit of full interaction between the host and the audience. At the end of the lesson, the organizer answers thematic questions from the audience. Participants in online seminars receive material in their hands in the form of presentations, videos, text and graphic files.

Save the article in 2 clicks:

Today, webinars are slowly replacing regular seminars. And this is quite natural. Web conferences give users great opportunities to learn and develop in a comfortable environment, maintain live communication with people, feel like a citizen of the digital world, self-realize and help others.

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