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Webinar: Extended Entry

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Internet communication has become very important to individuals and businesses over the last several years.An insatiable appetite for technology and an every increasing demand for new and cool things will keep the internet alive for many years to come as well.Some of the most notable advances in internet communication have been in the mass communication of telecommunication areas.Webinars are becoming more and more common and people are using them for almost every purpose under the sun.Webinars have quickly become one of the most popular ways for people to communicate online.Here is some information about webinars that will help you know what you need to and if you should be using webinars too.

The word webinar is fairly simple in origin.It is a web based seminar.Seminars are similar to conferences that are held in person and usually involve several different people.The most important difference is that people view webinars from their own computer rather than all going to the same location and listening to a speaker or presenter.They often listen to the audio part of the seminar through their phone live while at the same time watching the live video feed over the internet.Of course there are variations on this theme and there are also many different ways to implement new technology into the system.One of the most important benefits of a webinar is that it is multidirectional, unlike a webcast, and allows other people to participate in the conversation as well.But limitations can be put on the interactivity of the other participants depending on what the objective of the webinar is and who is presenting.



Helpful Resources:
1. Definition
This site link provides three different definitions of the term "webinar" from online encyclopedia and dictionary resources.Read through these definitions and follow the links provided to the definition source sites.

2. Explanation
This site will take you to a webpage that describes what a webinar is and why a webinar is a valuable tool.What's interesting about this site is that the explanations are given in the form of an actual webinar example.

3. Concept
Although the basic concepts of a webinar are easy enough to understand, there are some elements of the webinar, such as what a webinar is primarily used for and the equipment needed to participate in a webinar, that are useful to know.

4. What is a Webinar?
Follow this link to read a slightly more lengthy definition of what a webinar is and why business use them and customers sign up for them.Also explained in this article is how you participate in a webinar.

5. Examples
First time webinar users often have questions regarding how they should get started using webinars, this site provides some examples of company specific webinar questions that may provide you with a better general idea for what kinds of things you should be asking.

6. Promote your Webinar
Through this site you will read about ten ways that you can promote your webinar.As a webinar presenter, you are trying to sell a product or service and the better your promotion of the webinar, the more sales you receive.

7. Advertising
Advertising your webinar is in many cases a matter of social networking to find the best group (ideal target market members) of potential buyers as possible.Read more about marketing here.

8. Basic Principles
If you want to be a successful webinar host there are several basic principles that you will want to keep in mind.By practicing and improving your webinar skills you can find great business success.

9. Become a Great Webinar Presenter
Follow this link to read even more tips on how to be a great webinar presenter.These nine tips help in the formation of the webinar itself, your duties as a presenter and the follow up information that can be used for improvement.

10. Provide Services
This site is a site that is designed to provide services to the customer that aim to improve the methods that they use to create and conduct webinars. The difference between a webinar and a webcast is also explained.

Hosting a webinar is the official term for conducting a meeting online through certain technologies.It is called hosting because there is always a host, or main presenter who is giving valuable information to the people that "attend" the webinar.Webinars do often require special computer software and special features on a phone system to be able to take full advantage of the features and benefits.There are many programs that can be purchased or used outright and other services that offer the webinar service through some sort of hosting site or other connection.Of course, it is necessary for everyone that wishes to participate to have an internet connection, and it must almost always be broadband or high speed to make sure all the data can be transferred live.Dial-up connections simply are not fast enough to meet the demands of webinars.However, this is rarely a problem because broadband internet connections are becoming more and more common and are being adopted by more people than ever before.The applications that are offered vary hugely from one another and from service to service to meet any and all expectations and needs for a webinar.

Some of the most common and most important features (and differences) of webinar software programs and hosting sites include the following items.Some use automated and integrated audio systems to make sure that the sound quality is the highest possible.Some services can even use the internet through a VoIP phone system to have everything done over the internet instead of relying on a phone and computer.Some services have a live video feed of the presenter and allow the audience to see what they are presenting along with supplemental materials that are transmitted through the hosting site to review or give additional information for the presentation.Some services can also show different animations depending on the needs of the presenter and the content of the seminar.Other webinar services allow the conference to be recorded to allow for playback and review later on.This is a convenient service for people who may have had technical problems or for people that simply couldn't make it to the presentation.Unlike a missed meeting, a missed webinar can allow people to view it afterward and see the same material in the same way that everyone else saw it.Inaccurate summaries are avoided and important information can be reviewed over and over again as much as needed.There are also many different kinds of poling and survey systems that are offered in conjunction with webinars.They allow people to pre-register and then offer comments and suggestions afterwards for improvements and suggestions to make the presentation better the next time.If people are not able to interact during the presentation, this can also be a good time to ask questions or request additional information that wasn't covered adequately or at all during the presentation itself because of time constraints or other limitations.Almost all services allow the presenter or host to manage the questions that are asked and to allow or disallow participation from certain members.There are also many other features not mentioned here that could make a service better for your needs and wants in a webinar.

So basically all you need to participate in a webinar or to host one yourself is something to present, a computer with a good internet connection and a phone or VoIP service, and audience, and some time.Sometimes you need to have special software installed on your computer but many services are getting away from this requirement and the whole thing can be done completely over the internet.

What are Webinars used for?

So why do people hold webinars anyway?Who uses them and what are the good for?Depending on who is in the audience, webinars can be used for many different reasons.Large corporations that have and international customer base and employees are likely to use a webinar for different reasons than a small company or start up that wants to gain access to more customers and to expand their business.One of the most important uses of webinars for large corporations and other organizations is to train large numbers on the same topic and for the same reason at the same time.Webinars are used for this reason mainly to cut down on costs.The costs that are associated with having hundreds or even thousands of people travel to a destination, pay for room and board and meals along the way can get very high very fast, especially when the event is to involve people that need to travel internationally.Webinars will still cost the company money but the amount will be a mere percentage of what it would have cost to have a face to face meeting or training session.This is becoming more and more important to large companies who need to have uniform training among their different regional and international offices to ensure stability and uniformity.The costs of travel are also rising at more than the rate of inflations and the cost of conduction business is decreasing in many different ways at the same time.Small businesses and start ups may use webinars to reach potential customers with product or service offerings to help them understand what they are buying before they make the transaction itself.Webinars make it easier to reach a larger audience and it is also easier to reach people from different places and time zones at the same time rather than having significant delays or repetition for different people at different times.Some other reasons that webinars are used may be to present some sort of corporate announcement or promotion, to manage a focus group or research study, or even to contact the media on a specific point, like a press conference, and to filter unwanted questions and to give the best information.

Webinars are typically ninety minutes long.This length allows enough time to address all questions that may be brought up.It gives enough time to adequately discuss a topic and to leave enough time for questions without leaving people feeling like they didn't get enough information or like they spent too much of their time online listening to someone talk about a product or service.Of course the length of the webinar can differ depending on the intent of it and the number of people participating.Most ninety minute webinars provide an hour for presentation time and the other thirty minutes for follow up and questions.

No matter what your objectives are for hosting a seminar, there are several things that should be considered in advance to make sure you and your listeners get the most out of it.You need to define your objectives and decide what you want to get out of the seminar and what you want the people listening to get too.So should also set expectations and estimate what the response will be and with what results.You will also want to have some sort of follow up system in place you can determine how effective the webinar was and decide if you need to make any changes.You should also make plans to understand your audience and maximize the attendance.There should be enough time to prepare for the webinar and for people to pre-register and manage their schedules to attend.It may also be useful to have a guest speaker and even better if they are high profile or have an easily recognizable name in the particular field you are working in.

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