In the digital world the lines between different kinds of communication are shifting and increasingly blurry, which is probably why you’re asking yourself what is the difference between a webinar and webcast?
It's no wonder you may get confused, today we have video conference, hybrid learning, Twitch streams and Ted talks available 24/7.
That being said, there are some fundamentals that can help you know what a webcast is compared to a webinar - and you’ll know all of it by the end of the article!
No worries though, we’ll clear up that confusion and get it all sorted in this article! And in the process you can learn what works for you - webinar or webcast.
What does the dictionary say?
Webinar vs webcast definition
Let's start with the first thing you’re probably wondering, what exactly is the definition of a webinar and of a webcast?
In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary a webinar is defined as “a live online educational presentation during which participating viewers can submit questions and comments.” In other words, a webinar prioritises on the interaction between the presenter and the audience.
Which makes a lot of sense when you know the root of the word webinar is: web + seminar. Just like a seminar, webinars focus on creating dialogue via different engagement opportunities.
They do this by including options like chat boxes that encourage participants to chat with each other as well as the presenter. Webinar platforms often also have other components like screen sharing, file sharing and digital white boards, as ways to increase engagement with audiences during the webinar.
But it's not just the features! It's also the programme design and scheduling. Webinars often (81% of the time) have Q&A sessions. Q&A sessions directly facilitate dialogue between presenters and the attendees.
Engagement as a focus directly impacts the type of presentations that webinars host and the way they are presented. In this way, webinars can have a much more conversational tone, without losing a more structured, formal setting. Basically, the best of both worlds!
This type of two-way engagement is why webinars are often used for educational courses, product demos, training and meetings. However, learning can be a really broad term for different kinds of webinars.
For example, introducing your company to another can be a way to teach others about your company's value, while growing your brand equity and brand awareness. Basically, ‘educational’ is a broadly applicable word that speaks to the flexibility of webinars and their serious power as a communication tool.
Now let's see the difference between a webinar and webcasts definition.
Webcasts are defined as “a transmission of sound and images (as of an event) via the World Wide Web” by Merriam Webster. As you can see, the definition for a webcast is much broader. It is simply the transmission of sound and images, with no emphasis on education or any interaction.
Webcasts are like their roots: web + broadcast. Just like a broadcast, information is shared one way, without audience or attendee feedback. Good examples include Ted talks, television streaming, podcasts or online radio. All of these forms of media are one-way interactions where the audience observes, but do not participate in the event.
This makes webcasts great for large audiences where too much participation can make the event chaotic. Webcasts often include audio streams, presentation slides and video clips - and large audiences.
The wide availability of webcasts, both live and recorded make them a great draw for many people, which also means that technology hosting webinars needs to be able to handle large amounts of viewers.
Now that you know how webcasts and webinars differ in definition, let's break it down.
Since the differences between webinar and webcasts can still be hard to pinpoint, let's look at three key aspects that differentiate and define both. These aspects are size, timing, features and interaction/engagement.
Webcast vs webinar: audience size
A webinar can range from a on-to-one type meeting to a one-to-many type event. In fact, some webinars can have over 1,000 participants! That being said, one source puts the average amount of webinar registrations at 260. Often there is a host to help facilitate the entire webinar, helping move it along and facilitate engagement opportunities between attendees and presenters.
Webcasts, on the other hand, are better suited for large audience sizes, with the number of viewers sometimes exceeding 1,000. Usually there is a single broadcaster. If a webcast is live, it may be streamed on a media platform like Youtube, Facebook or a private hosting site. On-demand webcasts may also end up on accompanying social media sites as people tune in to watch it after it's already aired.
Webcast vs webinar: Timing
While both webcasts and webinars may vary in length, they often hover around 60 minutes. Although, the flexible nature and push for engagement in webinars means that they may run over time.
For example, a Q&A session at the end of the webinar may push the webinar to be longer than 60 minutes because many people have questions. In contrast, since a webcast has no audience interaction it has no reason to be delayed, making it easy for a strict schedule to be observed.
For both webinars and webcasts attendees can be located anywhere in the world. However, because webinars rely on two-way engagement, it is best to host a webinar at a time that best suits your intended audience. In fact there are actually tips of what times and what days are best for this! But as a general rule you should take into account the different time zones and work schedules of attendees in order to maximise the amount of people that are able to attend your event.
In comparison, since webcasts are less reliant on a live audience, many people may simply choose to watch the recorded webcast. While webinars are also often available on demand, since they are designed for interaction an attendee may feel like they missed some of the value by not attending live. For a webcast, live attendance is of lesser value.
Webcast vs webinar: Features
Webinars offer a lot of different features to create and start two-way engagement. Webinar platforms can offer chat boxes, multi-window video streaming, content sharing, digital boards, survey and polling integration and breakout rooms. These types of features help to kick-start conversations and create dialogue between your company and attendees.
Whether it be an industry talk, a meeting with a potential client, or inter-company dialogue , webinars are a great way to communicate. Plus, you get bonus points if you integrate your brand into your webinar since it's a great way to grow brand value and keep brand consistency!
On the flipside, webcasts do not need all these features because their service is pretty simple, broadcasting imagery or video. Webcasts are the vessel of communication rather than a tool of communication.
Webcasts often have limited, if any, features to interact with. Maybe they offer viewers the ability to like the webcast as it's live but generally they do not actively encourage participation. Instead they focus on making sure that they can host and serve as many viewers as possible to cater to their larger audience size.
Those bonus branding points still count here! If you plan on hosting a webinar, definitely try to integrate branding into the presentation as more eyes on your brand can grow brand recognition and trust.
Webcast vs webinar: Interaction and Engagement
We’ve talked about this quite a lot already, but the BIGGEST difference between webinars and webcasts is the focus on interaction between attendees and presenters.
Webinars actively create opportunities for engagement and encourage dialogue between attendees and presenters, sparking two-way communication. They also offer the opportunity to support your lead generation efforts with integrations and following up on qualified or warm leads. Webcasts broadcast their presentations to an audience with no or little feedback, so the flow of information is one-way.
However, both can offer on demand availability meaning that a webinar can act like a webcast after its live event. Depending on the information both can also serve as evergreen content communication. In the same vein, both can be used for other marketing content within a company, creating different types of interactions - with different types of consumers.
Hopefully we’ve answered all your questions around the difference between a webinar and webcast. Now that you’re armed with knowledge and (hopefully) invigorated by all the opportunities available for webinars, you can jump right into being a webinar host!
Here at Tame, we offer free demos tailored to your webinar needs and personalised support so you won’t have to dive into this alone. Reach out to us and we’ll help you every step of the way.
References:
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “Webinar”
- 99 Firms: “Webinar Statistics”
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary: ”Webcast”
- ReadyTalk: “Cost of a Webinar”
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