Webinars vs Meetings - Which is Best for Your Business?

Now that more companies are functioning remotely, online video platforms have helped team members to stay engaged, and have helped businesses to more easily reach their shareholders. Webinars and online meetings in particular have recently taken off in popularity. While the webinars and meetings may seem similar, and both can be handy for reaching a group of people from afar, there are actually some important differences. For any given event, one may be better suited for your business than the other.

In this article we will explain the difference between webinars and meetings, which one is best suited for each event type, and how you can go about hosting.

Webinars vs. Meetings: What's the Difference?

To decide whether your company needs to have a webinar or a meeting, you must first understand the differences between the two. While both are gatherings of people online, the two actually have two somewhat different purposes.

Company webinars are larger gatherings where a company leader or representative addresses the group to share information or provide an educational experience. Webinars can be internal - a means of communicating to a large group within a company - or they can be for the public, where your company shares information in an online event.

In contrast, meetings are usually smaller gatherings. In meetings, more people interact than just one host (or a small group of people hosting), and they often require more conversation and back and forth between participants. Meetings tend to have a leader or host, who facilitates conversation between all participants.

While having both online meetings and webinars requires live video streaming technology, webinars may require that only one person have the ability to capture and broadcast the video. Meetings often require multiple people to capture and broadcast video to other participants in real-time, facilitating engagement via the web.

No matter what kind of online event you are hosting, you can always record the video and upload via a host as video-on-demand, giving people who couldn't make it the opportunity to catch up on what they missed. With a hosting platform tailored for business like Viostream, you can present your videos in a branded gallery customized to your business. With advanced security options, you can be sure only those who should watch the video will have access. To see how Viostream is revolutionizing video hosting for enterprise,create your free account now.

Webinars vs. Meetings: How to Know Which Your Business Needs

Once you have a basic understanding of how webinars and meetings are different, you're prepared to decide which is best suited for your organization. Ask yourself these questions, so you can get a better sense of which type of online meeting will help you reach your business goals.

• Will you require a lot of back-and-forth conversation or engagement of many participants? If so, you'll want to hold a meeting rather than a webinar.
• Will you be hosting your team, or people who don't know you? When you're presenting information to strangers at an online event, you'll usually want to host a webinar. If just your team is attending and you want to converse with them, a meeting may be a better format.
• Will there be a host leading the experience? Will the host be sharing a great deal of information that an audience will need to consume? If so, you may want to host a webinar.
• How big is the event? If you have over 15 or 20 people attending, you may want to host a webinar in order to stay organized and controlled.

When to Host a Meeting

You should host a meeting instead of a webinar...

• When you need back-and-forth conversation in the event
• When it's just your team gathering
• When there is a host facilitating but not necessarily doing all the speaking
• When you have a smaller group

When to Host a Webinar

You should host a webinar instead of a meeting...

• When one person will be addressing an audience
• When you want to invite in strangers or non-employees
• When one host speaks to everyone, with little other participation
• When there are more than 20 people attending
• When you want people to pre-register so you have a list of who will be there beforehand

Host Your Webinars and Meetings with Viostream

It's the age of remote work, and there's a good chance you're going to have to host an online meeting or webinar soon. Once you understand the difference between webinars vs. meetings, and which one best suits your event, you can use Viostream to help you host.

Viostream gives you the capability to live stream company events or to hold webinars where you can invite a larger audience from across the globe. Besides a host of excellent live streaming features and capabilities, Viostream also offers video management technology - where you can host, organize, and share your videos online as VOD content.

If you want a solution that can help you with meetings, webinars, and harnessing the power of online video, contact our support team for more information. Or, if you're ready to try Viostream for yourself, start your free Viostream account now.

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