Technology Corner: Leveraging The Power Web
Conferencing
By John Heineman
The web conferencing market is expected to grow to US $3 billion by 2005. The
continued growth and adoption among Fortune 500, non-profit organizations
and small businesses alike is the result of just how powerful, diverse and
useful this rich, interactive communication and collaboration medium has
become.
Web conferencing today is a general communication platform,
used for both personal and professional purposes, and requiring
very little technical know-how. On the battlefields of
Iraq, video conferencing incorporates features to coordinate
troops, manage intelligence briefings and provide remote
medical support. In corporate boardrooms it's become a
critical bridge supporting everything from human resource
management to training, technical support, product development,
customer service, marketing, PR and sales. And in our personal
lives it's found its way into weddings, funerals and various
social events.
Web Conferencing What is it -
A Simple Example
On the simplest level web conferencing is about using
the Internet's instant global access and visual communication
and collaboration capabilities to support richer, more
interactive remote meetings.
For instance IABC uses web conferencing to deliver seminars
offering useful information and best practices on a variety
of business communication topics. When you attend an IABC
web conference you simply visit a designated website and
call in by telephone to a designated number. Once connected
the web conference speaker(s) or presenter(s) may combine
oral presentation, visual presentation (video, PowerPoint
slides, research, a demonstration of a website or software
application) and collaboration (Q&A, polls and joint
screen control - which allows attendees to share control
of what appears on the screen).
Uses of Web Conferencing for Communication
Professional
The growth of web conferencing is the direct result of
the productivity gains that come with improved knowledge/information
transfer and the elimination of distance barriers. Through
web conferencing organizations are able to:
- Reduce communication costs (as expensive, timely travel
becomes less necessary)
- Shorten and improve learning curves (as clarity and
retention of information increases due to richer visuals,
sharing and collaboration).
A broad tool and medium, web conferencing is an enterprise
solution used by communication professionals across all
departments.
Human Resource Management & Internal Communications
Used to train new hires, inform existing employees on
new initiatives and create training libraries on everything
from company workforce policies, to intranet usage, to
new enterprise resources. Human capital and communication
departments are finding web conferencing offers a logical
way to centralize training and communication, in a decentralized
global organization, and simultaneously create re-usable
training tools (web conference libraries).
Marketing & Sales
From free public web conferences (promoting your product
or service, in an informational an educational way) to sales
training (getting sales personnel up to speed on a new product
or best practice) to an actual sales presentation (demonstrating
a software application to a prospect a 1000 miles or kilometers
away) marketing and sales departments are using web conferencing
to lower costs, improve presentation, support integrated marketing
and increase bottom line results.
Customer Service & Technical Support
Even customer service and technical support are taking
advantage of this rich communication platform, to provide
training and live support. The next time you purchase some
software package don't be surprised if web training is
part of the deal. Or if you contact the support department
about a problem and you find yourself directed to a website,
where a support representative takes control of your computer
desktop (to help solve the problem).
The uses for this tool and medium are vast and diverse.
What to Consider When Selecting
a Web Conferencing Solution
Getting started with web conferencing requires little
more than having an idea on how you wish to use web conferencing,
and selecting a web conferencing solution (a software package
or service that provides the technology you need to run
your web conferences). However with so many solutions available,
choosing the right one can seem daunting. To help you get
started here are our 4 easy points to consider when selecting
a solution, and a link to a more detailed consideration
checklist.
1. Stability - Find out how long the vendor has
been in business, how many customers they have, and if
they are financially stable. You do not want to select
a vendor that may go out of business the day before your
event or who doesn't have adequate infrastructure and security
safeguards.
2. Support - Ask questions about the support that
will be available. Make sure you will have a specific person
assigned to your account. Also, make sure their support
hours match the hours you will be using the tool. If you
plan to hold events with a global reach, all day, every
day support is essential.
3. Pricing - Make sure you know exactly what is
included in the price you are quoted. For example: is audio
included? Is support included? Are other functions such
as registration and email invitation distribution included?
4. Your Needs, Features & Functionality - make
sure the solution offers the features and functionality
that are necessary or desirable to you. Is this solution
going to be used by a large or small organization? How
many users? How Often? Does the product offer tight integration
with Outlook so scheduling and managing web conferences
is a one step process? Does the product tightly integrate
voice with web technology? The questions depend on your
situation and what's important to you.
For a more complete review of what to consider when selecting
a web conferencing solution visit Choosing
a Web Conferencing Solution. ConferZone offers
a detailed review of what you'll want to consider, provides
research on most of the major web conferencing vendors
and offers a FREE
Newsletter with useful tips, techniques and info on
web conferencing.
Best Practices of Web Conferencing
While web conferencing can be incredibly useful, ultimately
it's only as powerful as the person presenting and/or producing
the web conference. Here are 4 best practice tips that
will go a long way in helping you produce effective web
conferences, and maximize the potential of this tool and
medium.
1. Structure meetings carefully, in the planning stages consider
the number of expected participants, the style of meeting
(lecture style, open forum, etc.), or if extra help will be
needed to facilitate the conference.
2. Start your marketing at least 2-3 weeks in advance of
the event. After someone registers, send four reminders and
a post event email - confirmation email immediately after
they register, reminder note one week before the event, reminder
note with dial-in information the day before the event, final
reminder note the morning of the event and post event evaluation
survey.
3. To keep people's attention it is essential to offer
an interactive program. Often, people associate web conferences
with exclusively showing slides. To encourage more audience
interactivity, use more than one speaker, have male and
female voices if possible, use polling and sharing applications
such as web pages or software.
4. Record your meetings --- both on voice and web conferencing
-- to make them available to people who cannot attend or who
need to review notes. This is also a good way to build a library
of training tools.
John Heineman is the managing partner at The LeadGen Group,
a Marketing and Communication Agency based in San Francisco,
CA. His career spans more than 15 years, working with industry
leaders like Microsoft, Adobe and Guerrilla Marketing International.
To learn more about the LeadGen Group visit www.leadgengroup.com,
or to learn more about presentations, on this, or other e-communication
topics, visit LeadGen
Group Presentations.
To submit a Technology Corner idea, contact John at jheineman@leadgengroup.com
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