Webinar events and virtual events both involve online interactions, but they differ significantly in their scope, format and purpose. A webinar is an online presentation or workshop that typically involves a speaker or a small group of speakers delivering content to an audience – whereas a virtual event encompasses bigger online get-togethers like conferences, trade shows, expos, awards ceremonies and more. For this reason, webinars are primarily educational or promotional, with virtual events more focused on networking, business development and entertainment.

Structuring a good webinar involves careful planning and execution to ensure it’s engaging, informative and professional. The last thing you want is attendees feeling bored during your online session! Best practices for a webinar are to engage your audience early with polls or interactive activities, keep your message concise and focused so participants don’t switch off and make sure you don’t run into any technical issues to disrupt the flow of your webinar. Working with a webinar manager like Virtual Approval is a great way to guarantee success and get peace of mind!

Choosing the best platform for webinar events depends on your specific needs, such as the size of the meeting, required features, budget and ease of use. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of our favourites. Zoom – versatile, high-quality video conferencing and suitable for a range of webinar formats. Microsoft Teams – ideal for users of Office 365 who need integrated collaboration tools. Google Meet – simple and effective for Google Workspace users. Cisco Webex – feature-rich and suitable for large organisations with high security needs. At a push, we’d say Zoom is our favourite, but we’re well-versed in pretty much every online conferencing platform and are ready to help with any webinar management services you need!

To really nail your next webinar, we’d recommend starting the planning process a couple of months in advance. This is only a rough estimate and can be adjusted based on the specific requirements and resources available for your webinar. Smaller, less complex webinars might be produced in a shorter timeframe, but you will need to allow time for attendees to register and block out their calendar. While larger, more elaborate webinars may require more time. In any case, working with a webinar manager like Virtual Approval is a great way to take all the weight off your shoulders and ensure your session goes off without a hitch.

Don’t get too hung up on the live attendee numbers, what’s far more important is the relevance and engagement. Sure, a large crowd will be positive and affirming, but a small crowd may be more engaged with your content and able to ask questions, thus you build a better relationship with them. Remember, you’re not just producing your webinar for the live audience; lots of attendees will wait for the recording to be published and watch on-demand, while others will organically find the content and watch the recording way after the event via your website, YouTube or social media. The content will keep earning you reputation dividends long after your live webinar closes! The ideal number of attendees for your webinar should balance between achieving your goals and ensuring an engaging and manageable experience for your audience. Prioritise attracting the right audience over increasing their numbers, as engaged attendees are more likely to get value from your webinar and contribute to your objectives. A typical benchmark for attendee numbers is 50-100 for small-scale webinars (maybe focused on engagement or training) and 100+ for larger webinars (maybe focused more on education with minimal audience participation). Whatever your numbers, make sure your chosen webinar platform can handle them – and consider hiring someone to support you with webinar management!

Yes, making your webinar events interactive can be hugely beneficial – boosting engagement, retention and data collection. By incorporating various interactive elements thoughtfully, you can create a more dynamic and effective webinar experience. At Virtual Approval, we’re super experienced with making webinars interactive – using Q&As, polls, chats, breakout rooms, interactive whiteboards, quizzes, videos and more to keep your participants happy!