Online Meeting Types and How to Choose Between Them

What is the most effective way to communicate online with your clients, coworkers, or business partners?

Event types

If you are still unsure, this article will help you understand how different types of online communication work, including online meetings, video conferences, web conferences, webinars, and masterclasses.

Difference between online meeting types

An online meeting is an event held over the internet, usually via a browser or a specific application. There are two types of online meetings:

• Web conference
• Video conference

Web conferencing

A web conference is an online meeting that involves audio and video communication between people worldwide. The three most cited types of web conferences are:

• Webcasts
• Webinars
• Peer-level web meetings

A webcast is a live broadcast over the internet, built around one stream going out to a large audience. Interaction is usually minimal rather than absent, because plenty of webcast tools do carry a chat or a question box, so read it as a matter of degree rather than a rule.

A webinar is an online event that provides limited options for communication between a presenter and their viewers: chat, polls, Q&As.

A peer-level web meeting is a virtual event where participants interact with each other and the host over audio and video. Any participant can become a presenter.

You can usually connect to a web conference from your desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile device.

Video conferencing

A video conference is a real-time virtual event with audio and video going both ways, built for group discussion rather than for a single voice. People generally join able to speak and be seen, although hosts keep controls for muting, admitting and restricting, so "everyone presents" describes the intent rather than a guarantee.

You can connect to a video conference from your desktop or a special huddle room in the office, because there are web-based and room-based video conferences.

In the latter case, video conferencing requires quite advanced hardware and software to function smoothly. Thus, not all companies can afford to organize them.

Let’s explore the differences between web conferencing and video conferencing in more detail.

Cost of video conference and web conference

Let’s be practical and begin with the most important thing, which is the price.

If you opt for a regular web-based video conference, the price won’t be much different from a web conference.

The costs can be higher, especially if you install a telepresence system for your colleagues’ or partners’ ultimate experience.

This may include expensive LCD screens, custom mics with noise cancellation, speakers with surround sound audio, 4K Ultra HD cameras, etc.

The audience of video conference and web conference

Here are some factors to take into account:

Audience participation

Web conferences, in general, tend to be less interactive than video conferences.

A webcast keeps audience participation to a minimum, while a webinar deliberately offers chat, polls and a queue for questions.

Peer-level web meetings sit between the two, and they suit quick working sessions better than large set-piece events, because their value comes from everyone talking rather than from one person presenting.

Video conferencing gives the audience far more freedom, because it is built around the group rather than around one presenter.

Some argue there is no audience at all, because the format assumes anyone may speak. How much of that is actually switched on stays the host’s decision.

What is more, everyone can see each other, so people are less tempted to get distracted and do something else.

Audience size

Even though video conferencing wins in terms of interactivity, it is not the case when it comes to numbers.

Web conferences let many more people join, since they need no advanced hardware or software to work.

Purpose of video conference and web conference

Due to a bigger outreach, web conferences and webinars are much better for marketing, product reviews and demonstrations.

Not only do you have a chance to reach out to thousands of potential customers, but you also ensure that nobody interrupts you in the process.

Read also: Benefits of Web Conferencing

If you want to target a very specific group of people, such as potential partners and investors, a video conference is a much better solution.

Of course, for life-changing negotiations, it’s best to meet in person. If it’s not possible, however, a video conference is as close as you can get.

Not only do you get to see their reactions and understand how well the negotiations are going, but you also let them express their ideas and concerns face-to-face.

What is more, if you go for room-based video conferencing, you get to emulate a real boardroom-like environment, often absent in a more casual web conferencing world.

As a result of these factors, you get to immerse your potential partners/investors into an office environment without having to sustain any travel or venue costs.

Presenters of video conference and web conference

If your goal is to portray yourself as a thought leader and grow your personal brand, then you should definitely lean towards a web conference.

Webinars put you in a position of power and authority. You talk the most, since you are an expert, and your attendees gather to listen to you and you only (unless you invited someone to co-host, of course).

Video conferences put everyone on an equal footing, thus, they are perfect for panel discussions and negotiations. Sometimes there is no presenter assigned, since the goal here is to listen to everyone and find a common denominator.

The format is a setting, not a product

Everything above describes how an event behaves, not which software you buy. Keeping those apart saves a lot of wasted comparison, because one tool usually covers several of these formats and which one you get is a choice you make while setting the event up.

Our own room works exactly that way. A single setting on the "General" tab of the event decides whether you are running a webinar or a meeting, and it is otherwise the same room with the same tools.

"Webinar" puts your audience in the role of viewers. They watch, they read, they write in the chat, and their cameras and microphones stay off unless a host invites somebody up to speak. That is what keeps a room of two hundred people from turning into noise.

"Meeting" gives everybody a voice from the start, which suits a working session where each person is expected to contribute.

One practical warning goes with it. You can move a room from one mode to the other afterwards, but only from the dashboard rather than from inside the room, and everybody already in it has to reconnect when you do, so it is worth deciding before you send the invitations. What is a webinar room sets out both modes and exactly what an attendee can and cannot do in each.

Choosing in one table

The rule underneath the table is short. Pick the webinar mode unless you have a reason not to, because a room that starts quiet can always be opened up, while a room that starts noisy is hard to settle once two hundred people are already in it.

Training, workshops and masterclasses

Training is the process of teaching practical skills, often run by companies for their own employees.

A workshop is usually a paid and interactive type of training for a small group of people with different backgrounds.

A masterclass is led by an industry expert for people who already hold qualifications in the field.

You can hold all three events in both web conferencing and video conferencing format. To choose the best format, you need to first establish your goals.

If you want the biggest audience and the most revenue from registrations, a webinar is the way to go. If your goal is to train ten or twenty people, a video conference serves you better.

Key takeaways on choosing between event types

Online meetings include web conferences and video conferences. Web conferences include webcasts, webinars and peer-level web meetings.

There are also trainings, workshops and masterclasses, which can be conducted as a web or video conference, and that depends on your ultimate goal.

Here are some key takeaways:

• Web conferences are better for outreach, while video conferences provide more engagement
• Video conferences work better for business negotiations, while web conferences are better for marketing
• Web conferences position a presenter as an expert, while video conferences often don’t even have a single presenter

FAQ

What is the difference between a webinar and a video conference?

A webinar is built around a presenter speaking to an audience, with interaction kept to chat, polls and a question queue. A video conference is built around group discussion, so people generally join able to speak and be seen. On most platforms, ours included, this is a setting on the event rather than two separate products.

When should I use web conferencing instead of video conferencing?

You should use web conferencing when you want to reach a larger audience for marketing, product demos or lectures, because web conferences are easier to scale and typically less demanding in terms of hardware.

Can workshops, trainings or masterclasses be held in webinar format?

Yes, you can conduct trainings workshops or masterclasses using webinar or video conference formats depending on your goals for interaction size and engagement.

What makes web conferences more scalable than video conferences?

Scale follows the shape of the event rather than the equipment. A webinar sends one stream out to many viewers and keeps their cameras and microphones off, so each extra person costs far less than another two-way video feed would. In practice the ceiling is whatever your plan allows.

Which format is better for negotiations and face to face interaction?

Video conference is better for negotiations and face to face interaction because all participants can contribute and the format supports more natural, real-time exchange of ideas.