Meeting Tools vs. Webinar Software:
The Zoom and Webinar.net Case Study
Want to see the differences in action?
Quick One: What’s the difference between a webinar and a meeting?
I’ll give you a minute. Take two, even...
Are you still scratching your head? It’s ok - there are many different interpretations for online meetings, web conferences, webcasts, webinars, virtual events.
The thing we’d like to highlight here is there’s a marked difference between webinars and meetings. And why should you care? Well, choosing the right tool for the job allows you to run your business and professional life more effectively.
Today, we'll help you understand the difference between web meetings and webinars using two examples -- Zoom Meetings (an online meeting tool) and Webinar.net (online webinar software).
Let's dive in!
Web Meetings (Zoom)
When to use Zoom?
Picture this – you’re in a meeting. It could be a status update meeting, team meeting, or a problem-solving meeting. You and several colleagues are in the same room, sharing ideas and brainstorming and everyone needs to speak. You can interact with anyone in the room and even interrupt the person speaking midstream. A web meeting is the same way. Only this time, you’re having the meeting remotely in a virtual shared space.
Zoom is a group calling and online meeting app. It helps small to medium groups of people to speak to each other in real time. It makes you feel like you’re all in the same room. Using Zoom feels a lot like making a conference call, only this time you don’t have a phone.
Webinars (webinar.net)
When to use Webinar.net?
Have something you want to present to a larger audience? Say, a pitch for a product. You’ve set aside a specific time and prepared for it. You even have slide decks ready to wow your audience. The picture in your mind is you on a podium talking to a multitude of people. The only time the audience gets to say something is during the Q&A session after you have finished.
This is where webinar software comes in. A webinar tool allows a host (you) to present to a larger audience. On a webinar platform, your audience can see you, but you can’t see them unless you make someone a presenter. It’s telling that the name “webinar” is a play on the word “seminar.” Webinar tools even include a registration page to help you follow up with your audience after the event. A webinar tool gives you control of your online presentation and audience, unlike an online meeting tool. You have control over commenting, screen sharing, and even chatter. This is particularly handy in situations where you don’t know the participants.
webinar.net is a webinar software that allows you to deliver presentations online. You can run the presentation live, have it prerecorded and rebroadcast,, or make it available on demand. It works just like presentation slides, only better. You can add video and audio clips, images, web pages, forms, transcripts, documents, links, and social media feeds into a single interactive user interface.
