What Is a Webinar, 2022 New Easy Guide

What is a webinar and why does everyone suddenly need to know that? 2021 has been a chaotic year for everyone and WebinarSoftwareHub got you covered!

But out of the chaos has emerged several realities that, for better or worse, are here to stay. These include a surge in work-from-home jobs, more global connections, and the lack of an excuse to call your grandma every Sunday.

Underpinning these interactions is are two refurbished components of the digital age. These are webinars and videoconferencing software.

Webinars have been used to educate, inform, and generate leads since the start. Now, in the work-from-home era, they’re more vital than ever.

So, we thought it prudent to ask: what is a webinar?

What Is A Webinar?

What is a webinar? A webinar is an online event created with the goal of being visited virtually by a selected group of people. The term webinar comes from “web seminar”, and its meaning is an online seminar, online even. Individuals, companies, or organizations that organize webinars are called webinar hosts, and people who attend webinars are called webinar attendees.

Webinars are a powerful tool to connect people and share ideas in this modern age, especially during the pandemic. Schools, companies, and other organizations are using webinars to connect with their employees, business partners, students, and to share ideas and knowledge with people all over the world. To learn more about webinars, how they work, and what makes a successful webinar, keep reading this article!

Webinar definition

If we would define what is a webinar in just a few words, it would be an “online seminar”. A webinar is a type of online meeting which involves live discussion and presentation. So webinar definition is pretty simple!

What Is A Webinar On Zoom?

If you are looking for reliable webinar software, you should consider using Zoom. Zoom offers plenty of interactive tools, such as chat rooms, polls, surveys, screen sharing, and plenty others. To host a webinar over Zoom, one needs to purchase a webinar license. Depending on the chosen plan, Zoom webinars can be attended by 500 to 50000 attendees.

What Is A Webinar Presentation?

Webinars include video presentations that are interactive. The attendees can interact and ask questions via mail or chat. Webinar presentation slides are made in an effort to share an idea, provide information, and have a teaching value for attendees.

What Is A Webinar Class?

A webinar class is a type of educational webinar in which a webinar instructor or a teacher teaches a subject to the group of students or webinar attendees. Are the educational webinars effective? Webinars are certainly more effective than asynchronous learning management systems and more effective even than face-to-face seminars and classes.

What Is A Webinar Session?

A webinar session is a term for one webinar meeting, held by webinar hosts and visited by webinar attendees. One webinar can consist of more than one webinar session.

What Is A Webinar Interview?

Webinar interviews are a type of live webinars that require more involvement from the audience. Instead of simply listening to the webinar held by the webinar host, webinar attendees are required to ask and even answer questions. Webinar interviews are a perfect opportunity to create an engaging conversation about the subject.

What Is A Webinar Definition?

The shortest definition for webinars is that they are online seminars conducted over the Internet. Webinars are held using a webinar platform, such as Zoom, Webex, Livestream, Google Hangouts, Zoho, etc. Usually, webinar hosts send the invites to the webinar attendees in the form of URLs.

Following the URL, webinar attendees go through the webinar registration and they are allowed to attend the webinar and access downloadable files or any other webinar content.

What Is A Webinar Event?

A webinar event is an event that uses webinar software to host a class, training, meeting, or any other event type. Webinar events are held virtually, which means that webinar participants don’t meet face-to-face, but instead, they meet online for a live event.

Aside from webinar classes, webinar marketing is becoming extremely popular lately. Webinar marketing is aimed at promoting and selling goods and services, raising brand awareness, and helping generate leads.

What Is A Webinar Like?

What should one expect from a webinar depends on the webinar organizers and hosts. Webinars can be engaging, provide plenty of new information, and even change someone’s perspective on the subject. The level of interaction during a webinar may vary depending again on the webinar organizers/hosts and also on the webinar subject.

Can They See You During A Webinar?

When you attend webinars, you usually have the option to choose whether you will be seen and heard during the webinar, or you prefer to stay muted and unseen. Also, with many webinars, attendees can only speak when the webinar host approves, and until then, they use chat or email to communicate.

Do I Need To Be On Camera For A Webinar?

If you plan to host a live webinar, it is advised that you show yourself on camera, in order to engage with your audience more organically. The whole experience will be more personal and enjoyable. However, you can use some other forms of visual representation, such as profile avatars.

As already said, webinar attendees usually have the option to choose whether they want to be on camera, but some webinars can require them to turn their cameras on.

What Is The Purpose Of A Webinar?

The main purpose of webinars is to educate, instruct, demonstrate, and communicate. Some webinars can be used to promote a service or good to the target audience or to achieve other business goals. There are many free webinars out there, but some webinars require participation fees.

With the constant rise of the popularity of social media and other forms of virtual communication, webinars are getting more and more users each day. They allow people to share ideas with participants all across the globe, while still maintaining direct communication just like in the traditional face-to-face meetings.

Three Types of Webinars

While there are several ways to distinguish among webinars, there are three essential “types.” Each of these has its pros and cons, as well as a time in which they may work better than the alternatives.

Live Webinars

To get more inside into what is a webinar, let’s have a look at Live webinars. Which are one of the most popular webinar types. Live webinars are often used by digital marketers who want to drive conversions.

Live broadcasts are beneficial because they give presenters a chance to build engagement. In turn, this can increase trust in building a beneficial buyer-seller relationship over time.

Plus, real-time events often have higher audience numbers – and why wouldn’t they? Humans are social creatures, and we want to know that when we’re listening to someone talk, they’re talking to us, not a generic audience.

The main downside of a live webinar is the amount of time you have to spend planning and preparing.

Live events require more work (and practice beforehand) to ensure everything is perfect. This includes not only the presentation itself but any technical issues or merging software. But without proper preparation, you increase the risk of your presentation going wrong in front of your audience.

A secondary concern for live webinars is the potential cost.

Most hosting platforms limit the number of attendees per event based on your pricing plan. Thus, if you have more signups than seats, you’ll have to shell out extra cash to hold your event. (Or turn away some of your audience, which presents its own risks).

Evergreen Webinars

Evergreen webinars, also known as automated webinars, are great for maintaining consistency. This makes them ideal for those who are perfectionists or nervous in front of a camera. Plus, since you can schedule them anytime, they’re perfect for digital marketers who lead busy lives.

One of the biggest benefits of an evergreen webinar is that you can spend less time focusing on a single webinar. While you may spend extra time planning and filming, once it’s ready to broadcast, all you have to do is add it to your replay calendar.

Done the right way, an evergreen webinar can look live without you spending hours a week in front of a camera. Not to mention, you can still keep a firm handle on your broadcast.

And of course, the ability to play to your audience on their time is a big bonus. Whether you need to contend with time zones or different time slots in the day, scheduling to the needs of your consumer base is a popular option.

The biggest downside of evergreen content is that they often come at a conversion cost. This is in part the result of not having a moderator present to close sales.

Furthermore, some viewers may drop out of a webinar if they realize it’s not live. Thus, the primary challenge of curating perfect evergreen content is building an event that drives conversions and keeps your audience engaged.

Hybrid Webinars

Hybrid webinars are a combination of live and evergreen content. There are several ways to mingle live and recorded content depending on your needs.

Typically, the introduction of a hybrid webinar is a chance to come on camera live. In this time, you introduce yourself to the audience and hype them up for your content.

Once you’ve proven to your viewers that you’re present, you can transition to the prerecorded part of your webinar. For digital marketers, this often includes a combination of content and sales pitch.

But because you’re not live on camera doesn’t mean you’re not present. While your content is playing, you can interact with the audience via chat, text, and polls. Plus, you can moderate offers, timers, and more to push conversions.

And if at any time you need to stop your presentation and jump in line, it’s easy to do so.

The conclusion of a hybrid webinar can either be live or recorded. In this section, presenters can answer questions, address concerns, and encourage viewers to invest in the product. This further reaffirms the “live” feeling of the webinar.

The downside of hybrid webinars is that they’re more technically challenging than live or evergreen content. Thus, you may need more planning and practice to get through the process without a hitch.

What is a webinar: How Does a Webinar Work?

Webinars are built-in and hosted on various webinar platforms, such as On24, EasyWebinar, or even Zoom. Using a dedicated platform, you can share videos, images, and documents with your viewers.

To get started with a webinar, you first have to sign up with a webinar hosting platform. Then, using their tools, you build your webinar, add content, and decide which features to use.

But before you go live with your presentation, you need to curate your audience via advertisement. Most platforms have a feature to build landing pages where your audience can sign up. Or you can integrate with a third-party platform if you don’t like the tools available.

After that, you blast your upcoming event to your mailing list and social media pages. Pretty soon, you should see the sign-ups start rolling in.

Then, when the time comes, all you have to do is go live with your presentation!

Of course, it’s not as simple in practice as this article makes it sound. To build a good webinar, you’ll need to spend hours designing your content from top to bottom. This includes knowing your topic, planning the timeline of your presentation, and knowing how to market yourself.

But those are lessons for another day.

Common Webinar Features

You can’t answer the question of what a webinar is without discussing the different ways to share your content.

While live, video-based webinars are the most common, there are many add-ons to make your presentation pop. These tools help to keep your audience engaged in your content. In turn, this increases the likelihood of newsletter signups and even conversions.

For instance, to truly be a webinar, you have to have an element of audience interaction. While the tools vary from host to host, some common ways to encourage participation include:

Q&A functions
Surveys and polls
Live chat and text chat
Promoting an audience member to co-host
Interactive whiteboards

Aside from audience interaction, there are many other ways to spice up a webinar.

For instance, recording or linking videos in your presentation changes up the format. Including video of other speakers or content also gives the audience a break from hearing your voice alone for the duration of the webinar.

Not to mention, this is a great way to include and take advantage of audience testimonies for your product!

Slide decks are another great way to bring life to your presentation. When used in the proper way, a slide deck can enhance your talking points and provide a clear vision to viewers. Plus, you can include downloadable slide decks for your audience to “take-home” with them.

And let’s not forget about a fundamental component of many webinars: screen sharing. If you need to show what you’re doing, interact with your audience, or “throw the mic” to a co-host to enhance your point, screen sharing makes it easy.

Not to mention, sharing your screen makes it easy to show videos if your webinar hosting platform does not include video linking.

Common Uses for Webinars

The audience you address dictates the type of webinar you put out, as well as the materials that you include. While webinars can be used for entertainment purposes, there’s almost always a teaching or learning component. This is true even in business.

Depending on your industry, then, you may use webinars to:

Generate new leads through webinar signup forms and post-video marketing
Build a reputation as a voice of authority (thought leadership)
Educate an audience about your business, product, or niche
Onboard clients, customers, or employees

Typically, in digital marketing, webinars are a prime driver of lead generation and conversions.

But that’s not always the case.

Even (and especially) as a marketer, it’s important to be a thought leader in your industry. Clients won’t trust you if you don’t prove that you are trustworthy. While raking in the dough is your goal, you should also strive to build long-lasting connections.

Webinars are a great way to encourage this process – and they’re quite effective, too.

Why are Webinars Effective?

Since now you have a pretty good idea about what is a webinar, let’s discuss why are webinars useful. Webinars are a useful tool in part because they are cost-effective – and very convenient.

Think about it.

If you were to rent out a big conference hall – especially in the era of social distancing – you would immediately be out hundreds of dollars.

Then there’s the cost of renting or maintaining presentation equipment and the software on which it runs.

And, if your event is high-profile, you may be expected to offer food, drinks, or free handouts.

With webinars, that all goes out the window. Webinars are highly efficient and webinar statistics confirm that.

Once people sign up for your webinar, all you have to do is show up in front of the camera on time. Assuming you have practiced for your big moment, the webinar itself is a matter of talking and taking questions.

And, since modern webinar platforms are rich in features, no one will feel like they’re missing out on “the real deal.” You can present many types of content and interact with your viewers, similar to like an in-person event.

Then, after the presentation is over, there’s no more obligation on your end. Everyone can get up from their respective devices, stretch, and grab a snack from their own fridge. Those who want to sign up for your product or business are free to do so.

For everyone else, there’s no loss – other than time – for attending your event.

This combination of convenience and cost-effectiveness has made webinars an attractive idea for years. Now that the world is socially distancing and wearing masks in person, they’re that much better of an idea.

This is actually why people search for “what is a webinar”. They discover how great a sales tool can it be and they start looking for ways to record a webinar.

Pros and Cons of Webinars

Now that we have a better idea of what is a webinar, we can address its pros and cons.

Pros of Webinar Marketing

Online events that can be viewed from anywhere
Cheaper (and safer) than renting a venue
Convenient for both hosts and attendees
Can mix live, recorded, and hybrid events
Adaptable to any purpose, from digital marketing to education
Dozens of interaction tools to engage your audience

Cons of Webinar Marketing

Requires some technical understanding to execute effectively
You’re in charge of your own promotion and advertising
Engaging your audience is your chief priority – and easier said than done
You won’t know how well you did – or didn’t – do until the conversions roll in

Summary

So, now you know what is a webinar, what can you expect from it, and the basics of creating and attending webinars. Webinars are online seminars, held live in front of an audience that can be from all over the world. Webinars can have several or up to dozens of thousands of attendees, and they are hosted using various webinar software and platforms. Webinars have a high educational value, and some even say that webinars are the future of education!

Hopefully, this article was informative enough, and maybe you will be motivated to start creating webinars on your own!