A webinar is a presentation that is frequently delivered to a group of people over the internet, much like an in-person workshop or seminar. To host interactive webinars that are interesting to viewers, the majority of companies and event planners employ online webinar platforms. Webinars, which are frequently free or paid, frequently feature a host who oversees the entire program to display it properly to viewers from across the world. These programs typically last 30 to 90 minutes and are meant to encourage interaction among participants. Viewers have the opportunity to pose queries to the host or other attendees during a webinar. They can also take part in chats, respond to surveys, click on links, and buy the goods or services being advertised.
There are various webinar types. The two types of webinars that are most popular are live and on-demand. You will discover the distinction between live and on-demand webinars in this session.
What is the live webinar?
Live webinars are precisely what their name implies: webinars that are aired live. The most successful sort of webinars is live ones, which generate up to 40% more B2B leads and 47% more participation than any other kind of online event. Because they took time out of their day to tune in live, participants are also more likely to watch your webinar examples through to the end.
When to use live webinars:
- Broadcasting a live demo or product launch
- When conducting live statistics and insights on user engagement and behavior When you want To facilitate live two-way connection with the audience
- For presenters wishing to have live Q&A with attendees
Pros and Cons of live webinar
Pros
- The opportunity to actually engage with individuals makes the event live through audience interaction.
- The organization has a deadline that is determined by the live event’s real date.
- As opposed to constantly intending to view an on-demand webinar that they never get to, a live event draws attendees who will mark it on their calendars.
- If everything goes according to plan, it displays your company as polished, competent, and on top of things.
- A 60-minute webinar with live viewing had a viewership of 55 minutes as opposed to 42 minutes for the on-demand version.
- The live webinar platform gives you the chance to find your most ardent supporter. You can recognize the regular attendees of your online events during live webinars and provide the devoted fan with a little extra attention, which may increase his/her commitment to you.
Cons
- Since it’s live, everyone will see and hear everything that goes wrong (such as your computer crashing, your speaker forgetting, or the doorbell ringing). There is always a chance of technical issues.
- Less individuals are attending live webinars now than in the past due to the continued fall in registration-to-attendance rates across all industries.
- Smaller webinars may have less engagement and may be obvious to other participants, which will reflect poorly on your company.
- On the day of the event, more internal resources are required because you need someone to answer chat inquiries, keep an eye on social media during the event, etc.
- A live webinar may require a little more work because the marketer must construct a registration form, update it (or create a new one), and then use that to gain access to the tape and slides after the event.
What is an on-demand webinar?
Simply said, on-demand webinars are previously filmed webinars. This implies that before they are published, they are captured, modified, and authorized by your team. As 30% of attendees will watch the on-demand version of your webinar, hosting your webinars on-demand makes them more available to audiences around the world and enables you to build evergreen content by lengthening the lifecycle of your content.
When to use on-demand webinars:
- When addressing international audiences in various time zones
- If hosting your webinar presentation live makes you anxious
- If you’re building a webinar training program, keep in mind that 70% of webinars are utilized for training reasons while setting up a webinar channel to host your pre-recorded webinar content.
- For those who want to keep their webinar active after the live event and increase its search visibility
Pros and Cons of on-demand webinars
Pros
- If something goes wrong, you can start over and edit the recording. Technical issues or other hiccups are not a possibility, making it a less risky venture for firms that are extremely risk-averse.
- On-demand webinar services draw viewers who know they won’t have time to attend during the day but will watch it later on.
- The audiences are busier and more knowledgeable than ever. To that end, they are becoming more and more interested in consuming content on their terms, at their convenience.
- For an on-demand webinar, fewer internal resources are required.
- Due to the fact that there is only one registration form, an on-demand webinar can need fewer employees.
- Pre-recorded webinars can be a lifesaver for you if you have trouble speaking to lots of people directly or are uncomfortable when you’re the center of attention. In order to avoid having to face the crowd, you can capture your video before the event.
- You can edit your mistakes in an on-demand webinar to fix them. You also have the benefit of having time to plan everything out afterward.
- A video that has been edited appears more polished. Because of this, you may enhance your on-demand webinar with transitions, special effects, noises, and other elements to engage your audience.
Cons
- There is no chance for audience engagement, or any interaction (such as a Q&A) has to be staged.
- On-demand events typically draw viewers for 13 minutes less than live webinars.
- Without a firm deadline, companies frequently skip a comprehensive promotion strategy, which causes registrations to slowly dribble in.
- If you exclusively do on-demand webinars, it could be challenging to experiment with cutting-edge technology such as Facebook Live.
- If your company has a tendency to lean toward the everything-must-be-perfect end of the spectrum, conducting an on-demand Automated webinar can be extra work.