Do you know the dangers of bad web conferencing software? You probably don’t because you think your online meeting service is working fine. I’ll tell you here what to learn about the best web conferencing software from my perspective.
Choosing the Right Video Conferencing System
Video conferencing has been around for some time in various proprietary formats. Companies specializing in enterprise solutions generally built these systems to connect meeting rooms. Connections were over a local area network and then leased telecommunication lines if the link was between different buildings. Network traffic was handled using proprietary protocols and codecs, which is still the basic architecture used today.
The protocols handle traffic streaming while the codecs encode the audio and video images into digital bits and bytes on the transmitting side and then back to video and audio on the receiving side. This usually required proprietary cameras, microphones, dedicated servers, and client-side applications that were also proprietary.
Today’s cloud video services use TCP/IP as the primary network protocol and a small list of standards-based codecs to do the conversion work. Also, their hardware support is generally open, meaning you can use whatever webcam or microphone works with your computing device. Unlike older proprietary systems that needed a PC or dedicated meeting room smart screen, these new services often support an entirely web browser-based experience without the need to install any app (though a proprietary app is usually the best experience). Additionally, there’s support for all kinds of mobile devices, though these generally work best after you install either an Apple iOS or Google Android app.
Best Web Conferencing Software
1. Demio
About: Demio has positioned itself as a “smart webinar platform” with powerful tracking options. Tracking, retargeting, and conversion pixels can be added to the webinar registration page, the thank you page, or even to the webinar room.
Demio is great because it has an automation rules feature that allows you to do things like send the webinar recording to those that joined a bit late. Creating these rules will allow you to segment your audience based on the actions that people take – a very useful tool when you start retargeting your webinar participants.
The final thing to know about Demio is that it is an incredibly simple tool. It is perfect for webinar beginners and advanced users alike.
Ease of Use:
- Takes only minutes to set up
- Easy-to-use interface
- Reliable
- Helpful customer support
- Easy to learn
Features:
- Automation rules and tracking options
- Invite others as collaborators during events
- Upload and share materials and downloadable resources
- Create a customized registration process
- Manage and export contacts
Pricing:
Pricing for Demio is $49/month for the Starter plan with 50 attendees, $99/month for the Growth plan for 150 attendees, and $234/month for the Business plan with 500 attendees. There is also a 20% discount for annual billing, as well as 14-day free trial.
I think: Demio is great for beginners or anyone who feels uncomfortable with numerous settings and clunky interfaces. It only take minutes to schedule your first event, and less than that to set up recurring webinars.
More experienced users still choose Demio as well due to its extensive automation tools, such as automation rules that include sending the recording to attendees who joined after the 30-minute mark. This makes it easy to segment your audience in real time.
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2. WebinarJam
About: WebinarJam is a flexible webinar conferencing software designed to produce a complete live stream event, from registration to replay. Compatible with all operating systems and devices, and supporting multiple languages, you can host live webinars with thousands of attendees from anywhere.
If you’ve read pretty much any of my webinar posts, you probably know that WebinarJam is one of my favorite webinar software.
Ease of Use:
- Quick and easy to set up webinars
- Works in all browsers, OS and devices
- Automatically records the webinar
- Training videos available
- Excellent video and audio quality
Features:
- Advanced chat
- Push to YouTube or Facebook Live
- Landing page templates
- Pop up buttons, offers & countdowns
- One-click registration
Pricing:
Pricing for WebinarJam starts at $475 per year for the Basic plan, which comes out to almost $40 per month. The Pro plan is $783 per year and the Premium plan is $997 per year.
I think: WebinarJam is possibly the most intuitive and simplest webinar solution available for anyone wanting to sell a service or product online via webinar. The software allows for pop-up calls-to action during webinars, so your audience can make purchases with ease.
Another highlight of WebinarJam is the ability to communicate with views through live chat, along with all of the other bells and whistles, such as a slick interface, multiple presenters, HD video, and live broadcast to Facebook or YouTube.
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3. Livestorm
If you regularly facilitate product demos and training sessions, Livestorm is a great option for companies at any stage. You can get sessions up and running in a matter of minutes and the tool takes care of most of the planning with auto-generated registration pages and event reminders.
Livestream is great for when you have multiple people collaborating on a presentation and you can easily invite any of your peers to join you on screen. Data and insights collected from sessions can be viewed in Livestorm’s dashboard or in your CMS which can be connected to your account. This lets you keep an eye on visits, registrations and attendees so teams can improve and optimize your strategy.
Host live product demos and customer training or record and automate training and onboarding videos for internal use. Livestream is a strong webinar tool with all the staple features you could want like polling and Q&A during presentations.
Pros
- Great for live training and product demos
- Generates complete registration pages and sends email reminders to people who have registered for your webinar
- Invite teammates so you can collaborate on building presentations
- Fully customizable branding lets you create presentations that are unique to your business
- Easily lets you invite moderators and attendees to join the host on screen
- Automate different moments to happen during your webinars like videos and messages so you don’t need to fumble around with them during the presentation
- Connect Livestorm with any of your marketing tools like Salesforce and HubSpot so you can collect contacts and data from your webinars
Cons
- Since it’s a browser software, video and audio can be affected by the host’s internet connection
Livestorm Pricing Livestorm offers Webinar Basic for free so you can test the platform with up to ten live attendees. The Webinar Premium plan costs $99/mo and you get 100 live attendees.
Designed for meetings, Livestream’s Meet Basic plan is free and includes all Webinar Basic features as well as one meeting room with up to four participants. Meet Premium used to cost $31/mo but as a form of COVID relief, this plan is now offered for free. With this plan, you get all Webinar Basic features along with unlimited meeting rooms with up to 12 participants.
Link Livestorm
Companies All sizes
RingCentral Video
Office video conferencing software
REASONS TO BUY
+Comprehensive features+Integrations+Strong analytics+Solid performer
RingCentral Video offers the full range of industry-standard features across all of its plans. These include, among many others, video call scheduling and recording, screen sharing and annotation, and in-built chat functionalities.
Undoubtedly, however, RingCentral’s greatest feature is its integration of Slack, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365. This means users can schedule and begin calls directly from these 3rd party platforms. Users are also able to integrate their calendar with the RingCentral platform, and easily visualize their schedule for the day. This cross-platform integration also makes RingCentral ideal for businesses that already use Slack, Google Workspace, or Microsoft 365 for digital collaboration.
RingCentral’s analytics dashboard is another powerful feature enabling administrators to monitor the usage of the service, and pinpoint performance issues down to the exact location, ISP, network, and endpoint. Such in-depth analytical analysis is uncommon and makes RingCentral particularly appealing for organizations where video quality and performance is a priority.
Overall, RingCentral Video is a solid performer that offers high-quality video conferencing software for businesses. It is loaded with features, offers a high degree of administrator control, and is optimized to work on web browsers, minimizing the need for additional applications and software.
Conclusion
Imagine this, you’ve got a client to pitch an idea to. Now imagine, your client (or you) could be in the next room, the next country or even on the other side of the planet. That’s what Web Conferencing Software aims to accomplish. Allowing people with different ideas to gather around a single platform and talk through their thinking.