Posts Tagged ‘webcast’

How Webcasts Can Increase Your Marketing Reach and Reduce Your Costs

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This article gives you good insight into how to use the power of the internet through webcasts and webinars, to gain valuable market research, reach your market in different ways, and also give you the ability to expand your market.  It is also a great do it once and repeat it over and over again strategy that will allow you to market your expertise in various ways.

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The globalised internet economy has effectively reduced barriers to markets in all parts of the world. It is now possible to converse with partners, suppliers and customers seven days a week, 24 hours a day with practically no time and distance barriers.

As a result conventional methods are no longer sufficient to reach potential customers. Companies must adapt their marketing methods to include communication tools, such as VOIP, opened up by the Internet.
One very powerfull method of reaching customers and prospects is organising regular Web Events in the form of live online presentations and seminars, also called Webcasts or Webinars.

With the technologies that are now available on the Internet, you are now able to present content in a compelling way by using audio, video, animation and graphics. This cannot be matched in any way by printed materials or a phone call.

The advantages are obvious. In comparison to Trade Shows, locally held Training Workshops and Seminars, a Webcast is set up in a shorter time span, with much less reliance on resources and manpower, resulting in a improved cost effectiveness.

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By repeating the Webcast at various dates and times you also allow your prospects and customers to choose a presentation which can better fit their schedules. It will also allow you to reach more potential customers.

A positive side effect, is the use of audio and video recordings to enable you to reach other prospects once the Webcast has been held. By posting the recording on your website, you can further profit from the Webcast. For example, you can use it as an on-demand product to build an opt-in list, improve your customer service or even to generate an additional profit stream.

Now consider the choice you offer your customers and propects. By just comparing having to travel to an event location and waste precious time in traveling, as opposed to attending a Webcast at your own PC, at a time they can choose, the latter choice wins everytime.

This means you are able to reach a targeted audience and interact with a maximum number of people regardless of time zone, location or other restrictions you would have, by traveling or meeting the person face to face. You are able to do this at a fraction of the cost that a normal event would incur.

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At Conferentia, uses VOIP Conference System to host regular Webcasts to show their prospects just how they can use Conferentia to do the same with their own products and services.

They have found that once the Webcast concept is set up, with a little practice, people easily slip into the role of moderator and presenter. Someone who is used to doing live presentations has no problem with the change to using Conferentia.

You can practically take your PowerPoint presentation, generate HTML-files out of it. Put it online and you can use it in your Conferentia VOIP conference room within minutes. You send an e-mail to customers and prospects and can have them attending your Webcast within the first 24 hours.

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Make Own Webcast – 2 Methods of Webcasting Explained

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This article, 2 Methods of Webcasting Explained to Ensure the Best Business Decision, goes into good detail on the 2 main ways you can make your own webcast.  Using your own computer and using an online service.  Both methods have their plusses and minuses to them.  In any case, once you have decided what you want to do, your solutions are set for you.  For instance, if you have a Mac, then most of the time an online option is more appropriate because much of the webcast software that runs on computers is made for PC’s only.  Read on for more about how you can create your own webcast.

Webcasting is affordable even for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The beauty is that even with a free service your reach is unlimited. (Although the number of viewers in your audience will have limits).

Now there are 2 types of live webcasting methods:

  • Using a software on your computer that allows you to webcast live.
  • Using an online service that requires really no need to install a webcasting software on your computer. (I am not referring to a player plugin like Flash)

Software on your computer — For most entrepreneurs and small businesses installing another piece of software on your computer is like gambling… will it work or not? In all fairness, the experience I have had with installing these types of software, requires an IT person or you must have a good knowledge of setting firewall proxies and not opening a port to allow the webcast software broadcast out.The advantage to using a computer based software is:

  • You decide who will stream (broadcast) your webcast. ex: Akami, Rogers, etc…
  • It can be a top end quality in that you can even get TV broadcast quality, stand alone hardware that makes this a real pro-HD production

The Cons:

  • Cost (can be very costly for the equipment and staff)
  • Need IT expertise
  • You will also need to know the ins and outs of the industry for suppliers and contacts to get it right.

Using online services — For the individual and SMB, this is the easiest. You just need:

  • to setup your webcam and microphone.
  • get an account with a webcasting service. (The one I use is JustIn.TV)
  • plan the webcast
  • and invite your audience.

Now one of the nice features that you want to make sure you get in a service is a login as a viewer option. With this option you can make your webcast private or public viewing.For example, I have set up an account for a promotional items company that needs to have a sales meeting once a week with their sales team in 4 different locations.

The main office holds the meeting at 9 AM on Mondays. The sales offices login at 9 AM and they see and can interact with the meeting by chat, email or phone. (They use skype for the calls) Attendees from the sales office really benefit because they can brainstorm with there counterparts and save the time and expense of travel.

The advantage to using an online service are:

  • You do not need to install any extra software on your computer
  • Other than accepting the flash player to connect to the online service (a pop up that asks if you accept), there is nothing else to do to get started
  • It’s quite simple to use.

The Cons:

  • You will be limited in the number of viewers at any given time. (Although I noticed that Dvorak, a well known IT guru, has several hundred at one time. So unless you have thousands of viewers, this won’t be a real issue
  • If you don’t pay to upgrade, the your channel page, where your audience goes to view the webcast, will have some ads.

Webcasting is now truly affordable and it is an excellent tool for both promoting and training. Certainly, getting started with a free service is a great learning tool and the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Bernie Landry is a website MacGyver. http://www.websitemacgyver.com. He has 27 years of audio communications experience, played on BBS’s and has been doing new media websites and marketing since the net started. The term website MacGyver was given to him by his clients because he fixes web site problems and marketing situations with what ever is available on hand at the time to get the problems resolved quickly.

http://www.bookwebcasts.com

Create and manage your webcasts easily and effecctively -you can simultaneously have a webcast and a teleseminar.

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A Brief Outline of How to Do a Webcast

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With all of the terminology of webinars, teleseminars, teleconferencing,  webcasts, and web conferencing, a small business owner caould get lost and confused as to which one would be the best for their business.  There have been many articles on webinars and teleseminars.  This article focuses on what is a webcast and how to put on a webcast.  Read on for more on what equipment is involved and when would be the best time to do one.

A webcast is simply a broadcast over the internet. The term was coined in the 1990s when the internet first started to dominate the lives of individuals throughout the world. Today you can see a webcast just about everywhere you look on the internet. Most news outlets are now using video to report their news stories instead of print.

If you want to do this, it is relatively easy to do. You can simply get a digital camcorder and film your webcast. Then you can download the video into the computer and even display it free on places like You Tube as well as a number of other outlets. You can even use a webcast to promote a product or conduct an online seminar.

Some people use this technology to teach a class. More and more colleges are using this technology to teach certain classes so that students can learn from their computers. This is the wave of the future and as camcorder prices have reached an all time low, as have computers, we can expect more video stars to come out of the woodwork.

In order to create a webcast, you first need a script. You should also practice the script several times before filming. You want to make sure that it looks professional. While you may not want to look stiff and rehearsed, you also do not want to be stumbling over words with “uh” and “um” every few seconds because it will turn off a viewer.

You should have the camera on a tripod or some other stationary area. Someone holding it and filming you is going to give you shaky images and make your viewers dizzy. The camera should be stationary.

Backgrounds should be neutral and background noise non existent. There are sound stages that you can rent or you can make your own. You want the webcast to look professional. Unless it is part of the video, noise and other distractions should be eliminated.

Get yourself some good video editing software. This can help you actually eliminate any noise or any other problems with the video. Video editing software is a must if you are going to do your own web casts in the future. You will recoup the cost of the software in no time flat, especially if you are paying someone to edit your film.

A webcast can be used just about anywhere on the internet. Anywhere you can put text, you can put film. You can use it on your website to advertise your product, you can put it on free video sites such as YouTube for self promotion or you can also use it as an instruction tool. It stores like text and is easy to use. Video editing software is not expensive and is, for the most part, user friendly.

You no longer have to be a computer expert to webcast on the internet. And there are so many different things you can use the videos to promote, even yourself. Just get your script ready and away you go.

For more information on Webcast Technology visit http://www.webcast-home.com

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The Difference Between Webinars and Webcasts

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This article discusses the difference between a webinar and a webcast for those that may not know the difference.  Each one does have it’s pluses and minuses, and what I like about this article is that the author does discuss this topic so the reader can get a better idea of what their next step should be in using this kind of technology for marketing their business.  While the author does seem to promote webcasts over webinars as far as marketing goes, I think that there is a place for webinars in terms of marketing your business.  Read on for more on this topic.

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The main difference between webinars and webcasts is that webinars are usually intended for a specific audience and number of people while a webcast is visible to everyone who chooses to watch it. Webcasts are often used in business to try and attract new clients and get them to buy your business or service.

Although webinars can also be used to promote a business to outsiders this is not their primary function. Webinars are mainly used by companies who need to bring training and development to their workforce and also for business meetings that includes people from many different places. While some businesses may make use of a webcast to advertise their services when it comes to business meetings and staff seminars, webinars can be used to inform only those people who are part of the company.

Webcasts are often used in viral marketing because it gives the business person access to a much bigger audience of prospective customers. Webcasts are more useful for promoting a business to a wider audience that is not necessarily business minded. Webinars on the other hand are generally available only to invited participants who may all use the same password to access the seminar as this makes the webinar more secure.

Webcasts are meant to be shared online and can be accessed by the general public. You might recommend someone to watch a webcast to learn something about your business but a webinar is not meant for the general public as the person running the webinar may be lecturing on sensitive information that is not meant to be accessed by anyone who is not a company member.

You can set up a webcast yourself with just a few clicks of the mouse whereas a webinar is often hosted by a vendor and companies pay either a monthly fee or a fee for individual lectures and participants. You can access a webcast when you are surfing, just a few clicks and you can see whatever the seller is trying to get across to the public. Most webinars are pre-booked with an invited audience only, if you have not been invited to attend a webinar then you will not be able to see the lectures or attend the business meetings. Most of the content of webinars is meant only for the members of a company, who may be privy to sensitive company information that, in the wrong hands, could harm a company.

If you are a small business or a sole trader then webcasts give your business greater visibility. Most people access a webcast because they have already landed on a site that makes use of this technology – they are on your site and one more click for the webcast doesn’t make much difference. Although webinars and webcasts use similar technology they are meant for entirely different audiences and purposes.

If you are looking for a reliable and affordable webinar provider we recommend Go To Webinar. For a detailed review as well as more information on the cost of webinars, visit BestForWebinars.com.

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