As a bit of a self confessed tech geek, I have trialled and researched many of the webinar platforms available. With so many platforms available all with different pros and cons, it really depends on your objectives for webinars as to which platform will be the best option for you. The best overall webinar solution that I find suits most people’s needs is Webinar Jam Studio, and this is what I personally choose to use for my business and the majority of my clients.
So what is Webinar Jam Studio?
WJS is essentially an ‘app’ for Google Hangouts on Air. The webinar itself is conducted from GHOA, but is inside a Webinar Jam skin, which adds extended functionality. GHOA can be broadcast to unlimited audience and allows you to easily conduct your webinar via one or a combination of: video, screen sharing and presentations, as well as up to 9 co-presenters. The session is automatically recorded and upload straight to YouTube.
What are the functions of Webinar Jam Studio?
WJS extends the functionality of GHOA by managing the entire webinar process from registration pages through to email notifications and the replay. This includes:
– 21 Registration Page templates
– Email Notifications
– Integrations with your auto-responder and Leadpages (if using)
– Chat box, polls and pop-ins that can be displayed at any time during the webinar (pop-ins display your offer for people to click on and view on a separate page, for example your sales page, freebie download etc)
– Replay
– Analytics – all important stats of how many people attend your webinar live, watch the replay and how long they watch for
Specifically, the new version Webinar Jam Studio was released in April this year, and the new functionality is awesome. New features include:
– The ability to play pre-recorded video’s seamlessly as part of the webinar
– Invite attendee’s to speak during your webinar
– Segment post webinar notifications depending on whether registrants attended or didn’t attend, and even if they only watched part of your presentation
– Live Control Panel for presenters/moderators – a separate window that can be opened on another screen, tablet/iPad etc that allows you to easily monitor and moderate chat, questions, polls and offers – great for managing large audiences
– Replica Replays – An exact replay of the actual live session including chat, polls & pop-ins
Overall, these are what I see as the pros and cons:
Pros:
– Affordable at $397US for an annual licence
– Easy to set up and use
– Great added marketing functionality to manage the entire webinar process from registration to replay
Cons:
– Upfront annual fee is not as flexible as other options that allow monthly payments
– A couple of extra steps are required if you are running a private webinar, as posts automatically go out on your Google+ page (there are ways to manage this)
– Google Hangouts do have a delay of anywhere between 10 – 40 seconds between what you say/do as the presenter and what the attendee’s see/hear, which some presenters find difficult
If you are looking for a webinar solution for running live webinars that are easy to set up, easy to manage whilst live and includes marketing features, then WJS is a great option for you. Whilst the payment is an upfront annual fee, they do offer a 30 money back guarantee – so there’s not much to lose by trying it out.
If you have questions about the best webinar software to use for your webinars, I’d be happy to chat with you. Book a free consultation here