You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Find all the information you need about webinars, webcasts and virtual events in one place with our Frequently Asked Questions.
A webinar is an online seminar that allows you, or a presenter, to connect with your audience and share information online. Simply put, webinar means: web + seminar = webinar.
Webinars are either live or on-demand events and take place on the internet in the form of a presentation, discussion, lecture or conference. Using a combination of assets, webinars use PowerPoint slides, webcams, a screenshare, pre-recorded MP4s and accompanying audio.
Webinars can be used for corporate communications, lead generation, product demonstrations and more. They reach audiences ranging from one person, to thousands of people. Audiences sign-up using a registration form, then attend either a live or pre-recorded event.
When it comes to hosting your own webinar, you can create a webinar from scratch in 10 easy steps:
People often ask: “What’s the purpose of a webinar?” Webinars are powerful tools for marketers and present many advantages. The top 3 benefits of webinars include the following:
1. Increase your engagementWebinars allow you to interact with your audience and have meaningful two-way communication, rather than just talking at them. Your audience can ask questions, answer polls and engage directly with you in real-time.
2. Supercharge your lead generation
Webinars are an effective way to increase your lead generation. By presenting on a topic relevant to your industry, you’ll not only position your company as a thought leader, but you’ll also introduce new leads to your business.
3. Awesome brand experienceWebinars help you to make your brand stand out. Great webinars should be fully customizable, so you can create a fun and engaging brand experience for your audience.
“Are webinars effective?” The short answer: yes. Measuring the ROI of webinars can be difficult at times, however, webinars increase audience engagement, boost your lead generation and create awesome brand experiences for your attendees. You’re essentially building trust with your audience and creating value for lead prospects throughout the entire customer journey - from awareness to closed deal.
Webinars are effective as they help to generate sales for businesses by generating high-quality leads that your sales team can later use to initiate personalized outreach.
As long as marketers understand how to best utilize webinars, then companies can continue to use this cost-effective B2B marketing tool successfully in the future.
A webcast is a live video stream of an event or conference. Webcasts are polished, high-quality videos that bring your event to life on the internet.
One of the biggest benefits of a webcast is that it allows you to extend the reach of your event to thousands of people from around the world, rather than being confined to your physical event space.
Wondering how webcasting works? Essentially, it’s broadcasting over the web. Webcasts can be streamed live or on-demand and require your audience to tune in, watch your webcast video stream, and engage by submitting questions and participating in polls.
If you’re wondering what the difference is between a webinar and webcast, you’re not alone. Although both webinars and webcasts are referred to as online events and help presenters connect with audiences, there are some key differences.
A webinar is a web-based seminar (web + seminar = webinar), which often takes the form of a presentation and utilizes PowerPoint slides, webcam, screenshare, video and audio. The defining feature of webinars is their interactivity and audience engagement, as they are all about two-way communication and allow for audience contribution via polls, Q&A and more.
Whereas, a webcast is a live video stream of an event or conference and is designed to reach large audiences of thousands. Think of webcast more like a television show than a seminar - as it has a TV/studio-like quality and allow you to bring a psychical event to life.
So, there you have it. When it comes to webinars vs. webcasts, webinars are online seminars that allow for a two-way flow of communication and webcasts are live video streams that provide one-way flow of information.
If you’re wondering how to do webcasting, you can rest assured that you can create a webcast video stream in 10 simple steps:
Webcasts are no longer reserved exclusively for global sports events and large-scale conferences, which is due to webcasting equipment becoming more readily available and inexpensive. As the use of webcasts grows, the more people want to know how to do a live webcast.
When it comes to live webcasting, whether you’re streaming a small event or conference, the 9 steps for running your webcast are the same:
Virtual events are large, multi-session online events that can feature both webinars and webcasts. Ideal for industry conferences, virtual open days, expos and trade shows, virtual events are suitable for any event that features multiple presentations, discussion rooms or brand experiences to engage your audience.
The most basic definition of a virtual event is an online event that involves people interacting in a virtual environment, rather than a physical location. They are highly interactive and give a similar look and feel to a physical event.
Virtual events have been growing in popularity in recent years, as businesses want to extend the reach of their events to audiences worldwide. But how do you host a virtual event?
Much like any event, running a virtual event involves a lot of planning and preparation. Regardless of whether you’re running a virtual conference or a virtual open house for a college, you can follow these simple steps to ensure the success of your virtual event:
If you’re attending a webinar for the first time and you’re wondering whether the presenter can see you, then the answer is no. The presenter cannot see or hear the audience throughout the duration of the webinar presentation, however, you may be able to submit questions to the presenter during a live session and answer polls.
Absolutely. You can attend any WorkCast webinar on your phone. With no downloads, no plugins and no barriers, our webinar platform allows you to watch your webinar on any device, including mobile devices operating on iOS and Android. This means you can attend a webinar on your mobile, wherever you are - whether you’re commuting to work or on your lunch break.
For those of you asking if you can record a webinar, the simple answer is yes. However, this answer is two-pronged, as it applies to both webinar presenters and attendees.
For presenters and hosts who are wondering how to create a recorded webinar, you can rest assured that the Workcast platform records all presentations that are broadcast in the Auditorium, which means all recorded content will be on-hand to use at a later date.
Presenters can then create an on-demand version of their webinar by uploading the recorded live event, which clones the live event, so that users can access the webinar at their leisure.
If you’re an attendee that is looking to record the webinar for your own reference later, then the best means of doing so is to reach out to the webinar host and request a link to the on-demand version of the online event. However, if for whatever reason you wish to record the webinar yourself and share it with your team at a later date, then there are free screen recording tools, such as SnagIt, that allow you to record presentations to save for later.
If you’re wondering can you record a webinar on a Mac, then the simple answer is yes. However, this answer is two-pronged, as it applies to both webinar presenters and attendees.
Presenters can record their live webinar event on the WorkCast platform, as the webinar software is compatible with all devices. When it comes to how you can record a webinar on your Mac computer, then all you need to do is broadcast your live webinar in the Auditorium and the recording will begin as soon as you press the ‘Broadcast’ button. You can then create an on-demand version of the webinar post-event by clicking the ‘Create On-Demand’ button within the platform.
If you’re an attendee who wants to know if you can record a live webinar on your Mac, then absolutely. If you want to create your own recording of the webinar, you can download a free screen recording tool, like SnagIt, to your Mac, set up your recorder and then save the recorded file to your computer for later. However, this probably won’t be necessary, as you can simply reach out to the presenter to request access to the on-demand version of the webinar post-event.
People often ask: “Can I record a webinar on my computer or laptop?” The answer is absolutely. As WorkCast’s platform is compatible with all devices, both presenters and attendees can record live webinars onto their computers and laptops.
Presenters can rest easy knowing that all live webinars are automatically recorded the second they click the ‘Broadcast’ button in the Auditorium of the WorkCast platform. This recorded webinar can then be used to create an on-demand version of the webinar post-event by clicking the ‘Create On-Demand’ button within the platform.
Attendees can also record live webinars on their computers and laptops by downloading a free screen recording tool, like SnagIt, to your Mac, set up your recorder and then save the recorded file to your computer for later. However, this will likely not be necessary, as you can simply reach out to the presenter to request access to the on-demand version of the webinar post-event.
No, you don’t need to sign up for a free trial to attend a webinar from WorkCast or one of our customers (unless the webinar requires a fee, and then you will need to pay to attend when you register). To attend a webinar, all you need to do is register to attend via an online registration form.
It’s only users who would like to try the WorkCast Stratus platform for 14 days that need to sign up for a free trial. Alternatively, you can get a free demo with one of our webinar experts.
If attendees have a question to ask during a webinar they can submit their question using the 'Ask a Question' function within the Auditorium. This function allows users to simply type their question into the questions module, so the presenter can respond in a timely manner. When the presenter answers your question they have the option to respond privately or publicly, however, the presenter may decide not to answer all questions to avoid repeating themselves.
If you’re wondering what plugins you need for WorkCast webinars, the answer is none. Our webinar platform requires no plugins or downloads, which is why our webinars work on all devices.
What webinar software do you need to download to use WorkCast’s webinar platform? None. Our webinar software requires no downloads or plugins, so you can watch your webinars on any device, wherever you are in the world. We offer webinars with no downloads and no limits.
We are often asked what web browser you should use for your webinar. The first point to note and one of the main features that puts us ahead of our competitors, is that there are no WorkCast downloads or plugins. Our Auditoriums work across all major platforms, in all major browsers, using a standard web-based technology.
The webinar experience will be tailored based on the viewer’s platform and features available within the viewer’s browser, including HTML5, flash, and other attributes.
The WorkCast webinar platform can be configured to deliver content using secure (HTTPS) or unsecure (HTTP) communication protocols. HTTPS requires TCP port 443 and HTTP requires TCP port 80 to be opened through your firewall for both inbound and outbound traffic.
In order to enable our full feature-rich viewing and interactive experience, we advise that JavaScript be enabled. Cookie support is an added bonus to help enrich the experience, but is not essential for viewing.
WorkCast doesn't require downloads or plugins to join the event, but some firewalls will block live streaming. If your company isn't able to allow WorkCast, don't fret! You can join the event on your mobile device (wifi recommended), switch to a public wifi connection or catch the on-demand recording at a later date. The on-demand version of every webinar will be sent out following the initial broadcast, so you can watch it at your leisure.
Yes! WorkCast offers a wide range of Single Sign-On Solutions (SSO) to provide that extra security to your event that you need. The WorkCast Customer Success Team can provide additional details upon request.
You can restrict and open access to your webinar or online event within the WorkCast Studio by using the ‘status lock session’ pod. This allows you to manually open or lock access to your main webinar page prior to the event, without restricting users from registering for the event. So, if users click the ‘Join Event’ button when the event is locked, they will be directed to a holding page, with a customisable holding message.
However, you can use the ‘lock bypass’ key to allow hosts or presenters to manually access the page. Alternatively, you can open and limit access to the event by utilizing the ‘lock schedule set up’ function, so you can schedule the specific date and time in which the main event page is available to users.
So, you want to know how much the WorkCast webinar platform will cost? Whatever your business goals, or budget, we have a price and package to suit your needs.
Firstly, we have the Present+ self-service webinar package, which costs £95 (approx $116 USD) per month and allows you to run up to live and on-demand webinars using our platform for up to 500 attendees. Features for this plan include having access to 3 events experiences per month, embedding events on your website, webcam & screenshare, polls, event reporting and HubSpot workflows.
The second tier of our webinar packages is the Producer package, which costs £395 (approx. $480 USD) per month and enables you to run live and on-demand webinars and virtual events for up to 5,000 people. You’ll benefit from the ability to host on-demand recordings and upload video content with this plan, as well as having access to 5 event experiences, 1 custom experience, embedding, polls, webcam & screenshare and more.
The third tier of WorkCast’s webinar plans is the Enterprise plan, which is considered the “full white glove experience”, as it is fully managed and supported by our Events and Customer Success teams. It encompasses bespoke requirements, allows you run live and on-demand webinars, virtual events, live video streams and webcasts for up to 50,000 people. Features for this webinar package include multiple event experiences, custom experiences, advanced reporting and polling, integrations and much more.
However, the cost of this plan depends on your business requirements, so for a quote you will need to contact WorkCast to speak to one of our experts.
If you’re still in the deciding whether WorkCast is the right webinar platform for you and your business, then you’ll be happy to know that you can try WorkCast for free with our 14-day trial.
With our free webinar trial of WorkCast Stratus, the most powerful webinar platform on the planet, you’ll be able to run live webinars with no plugins, no downloads and no barriers for attendees, create custom, branded webinars and create bespoke landing pages and event emails.
With our webinar trial you can supercharge your lead generation, increase audience engagement and grow your business - all completely free of charge.
Want a free demo of WorkCast's platform before you purchase? No problem. You can request a free demo of WorkCast Stratus to receive a free customized webinar demo for your project with one of our webinar experts.
You’ll also receive case studies that are relevant to you and your sector and insight into webinar success, best practices, prices and packages.
WorkCast has multiple webinar packages to suit your business needs. The short answer is yes, you can pay per use. If you wish to purchase a one-off managed webinar you can speak to one of our webinar experts to discuss your individual webinar requirements, so that we can give you a quote.
In the meantime, you can get a free demo of WorkCast Stratus to determine whether our platform is suitable for your business needs.
Yes, you can purchase an annual license for WorkCast. Whether you’re opting for our Presenter+, Producer+, or our Enterprise webinar package, each of these plans is offered as an annual license, which customers can pay per month. For more information about what features and capabilities are available within each of our packages, you can visit WorkCast’s full list of prices and packages.
No, there is no limit to the number of webinars you can run in a month with any of our webinar licenses. So, regardless of whether you’re using our Presenter+, Producer+ or Enterprise webinar package, you can run as anywhere from 1 webinar a month to 3 webinars a day if you like.
There is no limit to the number of webinars you can run, but there is a limit to the number of live webcasts and virtual events, so in these cases we suggest you speak to one of our experts about any additional costs required to run these.
The number of webinar attendees you can have at your WorkCast webinar depends on your license. With our Present+ package you can have up to 500 attendees, so this is more suitable for smaller events, whereas the Producer+ plan enables you to have up to 5,000 attendees and is better for larger-scale events. Our aptly-named Enterprise package is for just that, enterprise-level events, so this plan license allows you to have up to 50,000 attendees join your webinar at any one time.
Although this is the standard attendee count for our webinar packages, we are always happy to accommodate our customers if you wish to increase the number of attendees at your webinar. However, this will come at an additional cost, so in this instance we suggest you speak to an expert at WorkCast.
A common question we get here at WorkCast is how to promote a webinar online. When it comes to webinars, the days of "build it and they will come" are long gone, so you’ll need to spend as much time on promoting your webinar, as you have spent on creating it.
With so many resources in the marketer’s toolkit, the best way to promote a webinar is to approach it like a mini campaign with a multi-channel approach. If you want to maximize the success of your webinar and generate as many leads as possible, then you should promote your webinars in the following ways:
Charging for webinars and online events is one of the easiest ways to generate revenue from your webinars or webcasts. As such, the WorkCast platform offers a number of solutions to integrate payment facilities to your event, such as WorldPay, so you to activate payment on a session by session basis and add a value in different currencies.
You also have the option to integrate our platform with your own CRM platform for various registration options. If you have an existing registration process, this can be linked to the WorkCast platform - allowing you to use your own payment option before passing the registration automatically to us.
WorkCast offers a holistic approach to product demonstrations, including but not limited to standard webinars, screenshares, a resource download section and with post event audience redirects direct to your product page.
We understand that hosting a live event can be nerve-racking, which is why we offer a pre-recorded, or Simulive, webinar option. With our pre-recorded webinars, you can record your live presentation from anywhere, without specialist equipment and you can redo audio, transitions and more if you’re not happy with them.
The only restriction with pre-recorded webinars is that if you want to do a live Q&A, you will need to dial in to the phone number provided by the platform when the slideshow finished playing to answer answer the audience’s questions.
To view any webinar on our platform, your attendees will need good internet connection. If your attendees have poor internet connection, then they could experience buffering, or pauses, in their event experience.
Generally, this could be because your attendees are sharing bandwidth with other devices or are connecting to your internet router via Wi-Fi and the signal quality is poor.
In this instance, we suggest attendees test their connection using WorkCast’s Connection Checker to ensure their computer’s compatibility for viewing webinars. Alternatively, they can disconnect other devices that are connected to their internet, move closer to the router, or try another browser - different browsers perform differently. Also, attendees should ensure that they close all unused windows, as they could be affecting the browser’s performance.
Yes, you can share your screen, or even your webcam, with attendees during your webinar presentation to enhance the event experience. Screenshare within the WorkCast platform uses your browser to share your desktop, application or browser tab. However, the function uses WebRTC, so it needs to be used in conjunction with the latest versions of Google Chrome.
If you haven’t shared your screen in an event before, you’ll be prompted to add the Google Chrome WorkCast screenshare extension once in the WorkCast Studio, Media Hub and 'My Connections' tab in order to share your screen with the audience during your webinar.
For presenters who are looking to connect to a webinar within the WorkCast platform, you can do so
By sending your presenters their login details directly from the WorkCast Platform. Simply click on the 'Email Login Details' button above the presenter information in your session and choose the presenters you wish to email.
Next, presenters will need to select their audio (microphone or dial in via a bridge phone) and webcam options to connect to the platform in the ‘My Connections’ pod, where multiple presenters can connect simultaneously before presenting their webinar.
WorkCast provides a best-in-class viewer experiencing, including direct video and audio streaming to the audience experience as well as full mobile device support. Audience dial in isn't required for your audience to enjoy the event, but if it's a requirement for your business it can be added to your event. The WorkCast Customer Success Team can provide additional details. (cost variable based on number of dial ins, audience geographical location, etc.)
All events are set up with a presenter dial in number. This allows presenters to dial into the event from any global location. US and UK numbers are provided as standard and others are available. Presenters also have easy options to move to a breakout room to speak in private.
As well as presenting your webinar live, you can broadcast your webcam during your webinar presentation. When creating a new event, or modifying an existing event, ensure the 'Presentation Type' is selected as one of the following options before launching the WorkCast Studio to connect your webcam:
WorkCast employs Mailgun to distribute registration confirmation and reminder emails. This transactional email API service allows WorkCast to optimize your emails for company firewalls, spam filters and more. The emails will go to all registrants of your webinar.
The webinar chat function allows the audience to send messages or questions to the presenter via a webinar chat box, which can be seen privately or is broadcast to the audience. However, the webinar Q&A feature enables attendees to send text messages to the presenter via the Attendee’s Question pod within the WorkCast platform. The presenter is then able to monitor the stream of questions coming in and respond to webinar questions in real-time.
Presenters can set up and conduct polls in their webinars by adding a poll to your webinar navigation within the WorkCast platform. You must then submit the polling question you wish to ask the audience, along with the set of potential answers in any of the following formats:
You can make answering these polling questions mandatory by selecting the option ‘Is Required’. You can use polls during both pre-recorded and live webinars, however, if you’re using the function during a live webinar you just need to make sure that the Event Polls pod is displayed within the WorkCast Studio.
Yes, as well as running live events, Producer+ users can create scheduled webinar replay, or Simulive events. Simulive events use pre-recorded media to stream your webinar at a scheduled time, so you’ll need to set them up as a ‘live event’, but there is no real-time interaction between the audience and the event organizer or presenters.
Yes, WorkCast have an advanced data mapping engine that allows our webinar platform to integrate with your Marketing/Sales Platform. Our platform integrates with HubSpot, Eloqua, Marketo and Salesforce, which means that data, like event registration, attendance data and engagement metrics can be pushed directly to your marketing platform.
Once you’re logged into the WorkCast platform, you can connect directly to your Marketing/Sales platform and manage all your event connections.
Yes, WorkCast’s webinar platform provides all users with event and channel reporting for your online events. Our events reporting feature allows you to view your webinar metrics via an online dashboard, which is downloadable. Top-level event statistics you’ll receive from the events reporting include the following:
Channel reporting is only available on Producer+ and Enterprise licenses and allows you to group events into a single location (or channel) and then run a report to compile of list of statistics, which can be used for comparison reports. With our channel reporting feature, you’ll receive metrics for:
Yes, if presenters wish to speak amongst themselves in private, our online events platform allows you to move to a breakout room to do so, as the audio is not broadcast to the audience. Presenters can move to the webinar breakout room at the touch of the button by hitting * (star) on their phone.
During our virtual events and trade shows you can set up virtual booths for your sponsors. Webinar sponsorship is an effective way in which to generate revenue from your virtual events and the audience can access these sponsor booths from the Exhibition Hall. These sponsored booths allow users to access a mixture of content, including promotional videos, graphics, links and more. Sponsors can also interact with audience members via a live chat or Q&A function within their virtual booth.
Call: +1 206 259 2141
600 1st Ave, Suite 541-543, Washington, 98104, United States
Call: +44 (0)844 870 4912
Chase House, 4 Mandarin Road, Rainton Bridge Business Park, Sunderland, DH4 5RA, UK
Call: +44 (0)844 870 4912
Great Michael House, 14 Links Pl, Edinburgh, EH6 7EZ
Copyright © 2019 WorkCast Corporation. All Rights Reserved.