Remote work has been a scorching topic in recent days. For some companies, switching to remote work mode is part of everyday life. But for a large number of both employees and managers, facing this new challenge is a complete novelty. However, there are some useful tools that allow you to work efficiently from home. If you operate remotely, one of your must-haves is reliable webinar software.
In the times of COVID-19, webinar software is becoming more and more popular. Above all, these intuitive and functional applications allow you to conduct online training, meetings, and activities in the form of an online broadcast. They can be used not only for business purposes but also for private purposes. Therefore, they are an excellent solution for both business and purely social meetings. Now, let’s check what functions webinar software offers that help increasing the effectiveness of remote work.
Breakout rooms
Creating rooms for virtual meetings is already a standard. Even Facebook itself decided to introduce this function. Training several groups at the same time during a live session can be a real challenge that many coaches face. Especially in times of restrictions, it is impossible to conduct training or live meetings for employees, and everything has moved to the online world. This is the part where breakout rooms come in handy.
The division of participants into virtual rooms allows you to conduct online workshops and group work. You can start by meeting with everyone in one room to discuss the topic together and then divide the webinar participants into groups. Thanks to the breakout rooms function, each group can work independently in their own room. At the end of the group work, you can easily bring everyone back together to discuss the results and summarize the meeting.
Recording a webinar
The ability to record a webinar is one of the most desired and practical functions. Recorded video material is a ready-made piece of content that can be used repeatedly. The footage of the webinar can be shared with other employees as instructional material. The recording can also be sent to clients as a confirmation of the arrangements made during the meeting.
What is important, the webinar software should allow you to set the layout of the recording. Thanks to the possibility of choosing your own template and recording view, you can immediately decide whether you will record the presentation with just the audio or with the additional video, with or without menu bars, with or without chat. You have full control over the recording view, and you can be sure that the video will contain whatever you need.
Assign roles to participants and multiple presenters
With multiple presenters, you can schedule large online events and conferences. In addition, thanks to the possibility of assigning roles, you can prepare descriptions for each speaker so that participants have clear information about who is leading the meeting. Regardless of whether the webinar is to train employees, is an organizational meeting, or a customer presentation, each participant will know who is talking to them. It is essential to be able to manage the rotation of seats available to presenters easily. This ensures that your online meeting runs smoothly and without unnecessary stress.
Presenting content and interacting with participants
All online meetings, apart from the undoubted benefits, also pose some new challenges for the organizers. One of them is keeping the participants’ attention. In the training room, speakers and trainers have direct contact with participants and a greater possibility of control. It looks a bit different during an online webinar. Also, by presenting a product or service to the customer during the webinar, you should make sure that their attention is focused on the content you want to convey. To get participants interested, you need to show them something more than a talking head. That is why it is worth reaching for dedicated webinar software that offers functions that allow you to attract recipients’ attention. What are these functions?
- Displaying presentations and video materials,
- Screen sharing of your desktop or selected program window,
- Whiteboard on which both the facilitator and participants can write or draw,
- Conducting surveys and tests, with the possibility of presenting their results to participants.
A free version
People who start their adventure with webinars most often look for solutions that burden their budget as little as possible. The software we decide to use must have a free version. With a free version, you can check your app in real-work conditions and see whether the given solution suits you and which program allows the most effective remote work.
Most programs offer a free trial version, which is usually limited to 30 days. However, there are quite a few completely free programs that you can use. For example, LiveWebinar offers a free trial with a webinar room for five people. As part of the free version, you can also display presentations, share your screen, or use the survey and test functions. For more information, see https://www.livewebinar.com/.