Hello Webinar Hosts!
Has anyone noticed that everyone is hosting webinars? That's because hosting a webinar is one of the most effect ways to deliver a message to audiences around the world. Our company hosts almost 100 webinars a year and we picked up on some interesting trends that can easily double and triple your regular webinar attendance. It's called Live Streaming.
Live Streaming your next Webinar is easy...
Live streaming your webinar to a destination like YouTube (the worlds #2 largest search engine) is a lot easier than most people think. All you need is a frame grabber ($299 from Magewell) and a second computer to live stream with. We have found that given the choice the majority of our viewers prefer watching our webinars on YouTube vs traditional platforms that require a download and installation process.
Why would webinar viewers prefer a CDN (Content Delivery Network) like YouTube over a traditional platform like GoToWebinar or WebEX? It's simple. YouTube just works. There is no application to download. No forms to fill out and new application icons left over littering the users desktop. Users can simply open an additional tab on their web browser and it fits with the busy work life of everyday business professionals.
No forms? How can we capture new leads? Don't worry. Just because YouTube Live and other CDN networks such as Daily Motion, CBS Interactive and Yahoo Live don't require registration to view your content doesn't mean you can't set up your own landing page and registration system. We use HubSpot and we actually prefer using our own user registration system for various reasons.
Taking advantage of multiple CDNs
So people like watching videos on YouTube. When your Webinar is available on YouTube you can expect increases in viewers, audience retention and chat participation. Now let's take things a step further. A innovative new service call Joicaster will take a single live stream and distribute it to multiple CDN's. Switchboard Live (the owners of Joicaster) claim this can increase live event audiences by up to five times the viewers of a single CDN. Our early test has confirmed that we can increase our webinar viewers by about 2X and the initial results are displayed on the chart below.
As you can see we have almost doubled our webinar attendance by streaming to multiple destinations which include: CBS Interactive, ConnectCast, Dailymotion, Yahoo Live and YouTube Live. If live streaming is a new technology for you, I would suggest starting with YouTube Live. Once you have hosted a couple webinars successfully with YouTube Live consider boosting your audience further with Joicaster.
Conclusion
If you offer your users the option to watch your webinar online you may be surprised how many users take advantage of the offer. YouTube will reward you with huge SEO benefits, instantly giving your recorded video views for all the webinar attendees. If your viewers arrive a 1/2 hour late they can simply turn back time using YouTube's recorded video feature. Plus YouTube now supports video up to 1080p 60fps and is currently using the most advanced adaptive bit rate streaming possible to reach the largest audiences even at the lowest bandwidth availability.
Interested in learning more?
Register for our webinar on live streaming webinars here: http://huddlecamhd.com/landing/live-webinar.html
Register for our Joicaster Interview with CEO Rudiger Ellis here: http://ptzoptics.com/landing/joicaster.html
Learn how to create amazing content with MicroStreaming here: http://microstreaming.io
