Since you have clicked on this article, you are probably standing in front of a very important, yet tricky and not so easy choice to make: picking the best webinar software for your business. Are we right? If the answer is “yes”, you are in the right place.
In this article, we will give you a hand when it comes to making this choice. The online meetings industry has experienced a surge in demand during the global COVID-19 pandemic, and we are not surprised at all. This can only mean one thing: more online meetings such as webinars.
Therefore, you are absolutely right for wanting to join the club and starting to run your own webinars. To do that, you obviously need reliable webinar software. If you want to learn how to find the right solution for you - keep reading. You are about to get richer in knowledge.
Webinars - All things… compared?
It is natural for people to compare things. We compare everything: clothes, cars, hairstyles, and more. Likewise, people should pay attention to comparing various options when it comes to making important business decisions. And yes, choosing webinar software is one of those decisions.
“Why?” you may wonder. Well, it is because there is quite a lot that comes with choosing how to make your webinars happen. Cost, quality, and audience satisfaction are just some of the factors you should take into consideration before fully committing to one provider.
Without further ado, let’s see what you should look out for before you say your final “yes” to that one company.
What to look at?
#1 video and sound capabilities
Webinars are all about video and sound quality - both for you and your audience. Imagine a situation when you are running a webinar, your video keeps freezing, and the sound keeps getting cut off. What do you do? Well, we know what your audience would probably do - leave!
For this reason, when making a webinar software comparison, pay attention to the sound and video capabilities of the various software solutions. There really should be no errors occurring at this level. What you should aim for is a webinar that is so captivating it feels like everyone is in the same room. Some of the features that are essential, but are not provided by every company include:
- turn camera on/off
- mute/unmute
- stop audio/video
- speaker view
- avatar picture
- screen and audio sharing
If your potential software lacks any of the above features, it is time to wave them goodbye before it is too late. Ensuring these features are in place will give you and your participants more comfort. They will be less likely to leave your webinar and you will be more likely to become a webinar master. Win-win, right?
#2 evergreen content
By now you probably know that evergreen webinars are a type of on-demand content that can be accessed anytime once it has been created and published. is a great tactic if you want to drive more sales and generate leads continually. Sounds useful? Then this feature has to be on your list of webinar must-haves.
When you are on the hunt for the best webinar software out there, make sure it offers features that allow you to give your webinars second lives. Why is this so important? Apart from driving sales and generating leads, with evergreen content you can:
- build your brand
- regularly upgrade your training
- make your events flawless
- get in sync with your audience, especially if it is international
- deliver timeless content with no limits
Consider checking with your potential software provider if this feature is available if you believe your business could benefit from it.
#3 set-up and implementation process
Let’s talk about some of the technical stuff now for a moment. Chances are you will not need to worry about it too much throughout your whole journey with webinars. However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore this aspect. Easy set-up and implementation processes should be important to you for various reasons.
First of all, let's be honest here: not everyone is a top tier IT specialist. Unless your number one pick offers free set-up and implementation services, you will have to deal with this on your own. Otherwise, prepare to add some extra fees to your final bill. Secondly, if both of these things are difficult and complex enough for you to not be able to do them, how are you going to use your chosen webinar platform?
The only worse thing than choosing a low quality webinar platform is picking a good one but not even knowing how to use it properly. Avoid making this mistake at all costs.
#4 data safety
When you are running a business, the safety of the data you store should be one of your top priorities. We live in a world where cyber attacks happen relatively often and are rather difficult to prevent. This is the case for those businesses that do not pay enough attention to the safety of their data, especially when they choose to outsource jobs or choose external tools from unknown sources.
When you compare webinar software providers, pay attention to how seriously they take data privacy. Check whether or not they are compliant with GDPR rules. After all, you will be sharing both your and your audience’s data with them.
To secure your data on software, you need an HTTPS connection, which can be achieved with an SSL certificate. SSL certs can be from certificate authorities like Comodo SSL Certificate RapidSSL certificate, AlphaSSL certificate, etc. The reason to choose reputed authorities is their customer service, strong security, and brand reputation.
#5 engagement tools
When it comes to engagement tools, it is all about your audience here. No one likes webinars that feel like lectures. As interesting as your talk may be, people can still get bored from just listening. This is not offensive, so do not take it personally. Instead, find a way to make your webinars more engaging and collaborative.
To do so, you obviously need specific features. These can include polls, surveys, a chat box, Call-To-Action buttons, and even a whiteboard to draw on. If you want your audience to feel completely present during your webinars, make sure you have these features up your sleeve.
Some other benefits can include effortless communication, increased audience engagement, and more sales from qualified leads. What is there not to like?
#6 integration and customization
The next on our list are integration and customization. A wide range of integrations can help you have a far more integrated and consistent experience with your overall marketing agenda across various platforms. Imagine being able to integrate your webinar platform with your email sending tool or your social media profiles. Nice, right? Look for a solution that will allow for effortless integration using an API interface.
Moreover, there is nothing better than being able to tailor your chosen software to your company’s needs. On one hand, you could avoid having features that you will not use. On the other hand, you surely would not want to pick a tool that lacks fundamental features. Therefore, one of the best choices you could make is to pick a provider that will allow you to customize your choice. That way, you will know what you are paying for and actually use the features that you pick.
#7 reviews
Of course we could not forget about reviews. This seems obvious, but for some reason a lot of people still forget to check out review sites before making purchases. There are plenty of software reviews and selection platforms out there, with the most known and commonly used one being Capterra.
For instance, you can visit Capterra’s website and look for webinar software that you are currently considering purchasing. After finding the tool there, you can see how it is doing according to people who have used it. Compare tools on this website in terms of their ease of use, customer support, pricing, value, and more.
Reviews can actually significantly speed up the whole process and quickly eliminate most of the options you decide to compare. Of course, that is a good thing. The faster you eliminate bad options, the closer you will get to the best one. The moral of the story: always read reviews.
#8 pricing
Last but not least, while you are lost in this vivid search for the perfect webinar software, do not forget about your budget. First of all, you undoubtedly want good value for the price you pay. Secondly, you can not allow yourself to either over- or under-pay for webinar software.
Being mindful of your budget is important. Otherwise, you may not be able to make your efforts profitable. Do not set your standards too low. Think of a budget and try to fit your choice around it.
Most professional and reliable webinar platform providers will have a few pricing plans in their offer. Those could include free, pro, business, and even custom plans! Naturally, the price for each of them will vary depending on what features you are interested in.
A great thing about custom plans is that you can always contact a chosen company and ask them to prepare an offer for you that would be consistent with your demands and, of course, budget.
Don’t know what to pick? Problem solved
Seems like a lot to handle? It is true, the whole process may seem overwhelming at first. Luckily for you, though, we have an idea of something that could meet all your demands. While a lot of available webinar software solutions out there may only meet some of the criteria listed above, LiveWebinar is a platform that meets them all while significantly outperforming all of its competitors.
Our rich variety of features has allowed us to distinguish ourselves from others. Our competitive advantage lies at the core of our customers, who are satisfied with their choices. Our webinar software has received various awards, for example for best ease of use and best value. We were also mentioned in the top 20 marketing software solutions in 2020.
Easier than you think
There you have it! Now you can confidently go out there and begin your hunt for the best webinar software. Follow this guide and finding one will not be a problem.
To summarize, make sure you always look at your decision from both sides - your and your audience’s. You want a choice that will be good not only for you, but also for the people who come to watch your webinars.
Doing this will ensure maximum profitability and satisfaction.
If you want to learn more about webinars, make sure you check out our blog. In the meantime, good luck with searching for the best webinar platform. Be mindful, though, that it may be closer than you think! ;)