By Dr. Jason McClain | December 19, 2016 | 0 Comment
If your business is at a point where you’re looking for a webinar tools evaluation, then congratulations on your leadership. Getting to a place where you are ready to lead and coach others is no small feat. Business webinars are a great way to help others while promoting your business at the same time. It’s never been easier to conduct professional online events to a global audience than right now.
Back in the day, these events were something you would have to attend live with hundreds of other people. You could expect to shell out thousands of dollars to the venue as well as for your own hotel and travel. Now you can host an event that is every bit of that huge from the comfort of your office, RV, home, or just about anywhere as long as you have a camera and an Internet connection.
You can do quick and dirty webinars through live streaming, but the best way to conduct business webinars is to use tools specifically developed to help you put on great webinars. I’ve done the research, and we’re going to take a look at the top five. Check it out.
Top Five Webinar Tools Evaluation
The less complicated you make your webinar, the better. All of these platforms have robust standard features including, but not limited to mobile compatibility, so we won’t cover what you need to look for in a webinar tool. I suggest you choose one and stick with it. Familiarize yourself with every aspect of how it works, and then jump right in.
- GoToWebinar – There is a clear-cut reason why GoToWebinar is among the best of the best. This platform allows you to practice your webinar so you can effectively learn how to handle situations during the real thing. GoToWebinar is not the cheapest option, but it’s also not the most expensive. You can engage your audience with poll questions and provide handouts for the event. In addition, you get access to all the leads you generate, and being able to record your webinar for later viewing creates a passive asset for your business. This is a solid choice.
- Cisco Webex – Webex does so much more than just webinars. You can use it for meetings and training in addition to conducting and recording professional-quality webinars. If you want to get the full experience, you can view several webinars on their website to see what it’s like, or you can hold meetings with up to 3 people at no charge. Go ahead, give it a try and see if it’s the webinar setup that will fit your needs.
- Adobe Connect – Adobe Connect is the most expensive offering presented here. Adobe has long been the industry standard in the graphic design and web development world. Their contributions in software are well-known and second to none. It’s no surprise that their offering for webinar resources would include a whiteboard. In addition, you can chat with participants which is a must for me personally. You can also share all types of media. Adobe Connect is a virtual conference center in every sense of the word with it’s virtual break rooms and backstage area. If you’re into tons of features, this one is a great choice.
- ClickMeeting – You can join the likes of Uber and Sony to name a couple brands using this platform. Formerly ClickWebinar, ClickMeeting allows you to run branded webinars and record them for later viewing. It also has a robust feature set that includes chat, whiteboard, polls, screen sharing and more. Here, you can engage users and share information in your unique style. ClickMeeting is a mid-priced platform that delivers.
- Onstream – With Onstream, you can conduct training and meetings like a pro. Chat and collaborate with tools like a whiteboard, screen and app sharing, and event recording. You won’t want for anything on this platform that you’ll be sharing with big names like Stanford University and Honda. Our most cost-effective offering in this list, you can get real-time reporting with this platform. It’s an excellent choice all around.
Wrap Up
No matter which one you choose from this webinar tools evaluation, it will kick your business up to the next level. Sure you can do those quick and dirty business webinars like I mentioned above, but using a solid webinar setup is like wearing a nice suit to a job interview. Which one did you choose? Let me know in the comments.
