Imagine you're about to launch a new product and need to train your team fast. There’s lots of moving parts. Emails. Calls. In-person training. And confusing documentation on top of all of that. It’s a lot, right?
What if there was a way to train everyone in real time, answer questions on the spot, and make learning fun?
That's where webinar training software comes in. It makes training interactive, effective, and scalable - both for customers and employees. In this guide, we'll explore the best webinar training software options. We’ll show you what to look out for and how to pick the best one for your team.
What is Webinar Training?
Webinar training is online education that lets you teach and engage your audience in real-time. You can do it live, record it, and then offer it on demand. It’s flexible and helps you reach people without being in the same place.
You can use it for both customer and employee training.
- Customer training: Helps users understand and get the most out of your product or service. For example, onboarding webinars for new software users.
- Employee training: Keeps your team updated on new skills, company policies, or tools. For example, training webinars for a new expense management tool being adopted at the company.
Benefits of Webinar Training Software
Webinar training software has lots of benefits:
- Flexibility and accessibility: Participants can join from anywhere. This is perfect for remote teams and global audiences.
- Cost-effective: Saves money on travel, venues, and printed materials. Plus, many platforms like Contrast offer free or affordable plans.
- Interactive learning: Features like polls, Q&A, and chat keep everyone engaged. This makes learning more dynamic and enjoyable.
Webinar training software like Contrast also lets you repurpose training content. You can turn one session into multiple formats, like highlight clips, SOPs, or product documentation, to extend its reach and value.
Features to Look for in Webinar Training Software
Here’s what you should look for in webinar training software:
- User-friendly interface: A simple, intuitive interface. Let’s be real. If it's hard to use, your team won't bother. Look for drag-and-drop functionality and easy setup.
Our platform lets you set up training webinars and registration pages in minutes without any technical skills.
- Interactive tools: Engagement is key to effective training. Features like polls, quizzes, and Q&A sessions make the experience interactive.
With Contrast, you get all of that plus a modern chat with emoji reactions and on-screen widgets to keep your audience engaged.
- Integration capabilities: Webinar software for training should connect to your other training tools. This includes CRM systems like HubSpot and your learning management system (LMS) if you have one. This is so that all your data is synchronized.
- Analytics and reporting: You need to track training attendance and engagement to measure success. Look for detailed analytics that show viewer profiles, watch time, and interaction levels. This helps in refining future training webinars.
Contrast provides in-depth webinar analytics on all of our plans - including the free one!
- Customization options: Branding is important. Especially for customer training webinars. Your webinar training software should let you customize the look and feel to match your brand.
How to Choose the Best Webinar Training Software
Do the following when choosing webinar training software:
Assess your training needs
Start by identifying what you need. Are you training customers or employees? What is the end goal of the training? Different goals might require different features.
Evaluate user experience
Always test the webinar training software with a trial or demo. This helps you see how easy it is to use.
You should also take a look at user feedback and reviews. Websites like G2 and Capterra offer insights from real users, which can guide your decision.
At Contrast, we’re proud to have a 4.8 rating on G2. Here’s what a recent reviewer said:
Compare pricing and value
Analyze the cost versus the benefits. Some platforms offer free plans or trials. Others might only provide their main features on a paid plan. We’re happy to offer all of our best features on our free plan. We think that everyone should be able to host great training webinars, no matter their budget.
Support and resources
Good customer support is crucial. Check if the platform offers 24/7 support, tutorials, and resources to help you get started. A responsive support team can make a big difference when you run into issues.
Top 7 Webinar Training Platforms
OK. Let's look at the 7 best webinar training platforms now. We’ll cover their top features, pros, and cons.
Contrast - The Best Webinar Training Software
We’re obviously a bit biased, but we really think Contrast is a great platform for running training webinars. It doesn’t matter if you’re using it for internal or external training. We make it easy to run high quality webinars that people actually want to watch.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons.
Pros:
- Unlimited users: Invite as many people from your team as needed to collaborate on the back-end of the training webinar.
- High-quality video: You get full HD video to make your training webinars look professional.
- Custom branding: Upload your logo, pick your colors, and customize backgrounds and layouts. Every training webinar looks and feels like your brand.
- Engagement tools: Features like on-screen Q&As, a modern chat, and live polls keep your audience engaged.
- Repurposing content: After the webinar, create highlight clips, transcripts, and other types of content easily.
- Comprehensive analytics: Track attendance, engagement, and viewer profiles. Understand how effective your training webinars are and where you can improve.
- Seamless integration: Integrate with popular tools like HubSpot and Zapier.
Cons:
- Free plan limit: Our free plan is limited to 50 active contacts per month. If you need to train more people than that each month you’ll need to upgrade to one of our other plans.
- No native integration with LMS platforms: At this time, we don’t have any native integrations with LMS platforms. You can always connect to them through tools like Zapier or Make in the meantime though.
If you’re serious about running training webinars that people like showing up to, Contrast is the best option.
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Start for freeWebinarJam
WebinarJam is a good option if you're looking for an affordable, basic webinar training platform. It offers solid features to get you started but may lack some advanced tools and ease of use.
Pros:
- Affordable pricing: WebinarJam starts at $39 per host for up to 100 attendees. This makes it a budget-friendly option for small businesses or those new to webinars.
- Basic features: You get all the essentials like automated webinars, landing pages, and email notifications. This helps streamline the setup and management of your webinars.
- Ease of use: The platform is designed to be user-friendly. Even if you're not tech-savvy, you can easily create and manage webinars.
Cons:
- Clunky user experience: Some people find the interface a bit outdated and tough to navigate.
- Limited video quality: Video quality isn’t as high as other platforms.
- Complex email and landing page builder: While you can customize emails and landing pages, the tools can be tricky to use.
Livestorm
Livestorm is a user-friendly, browser-based webinar training platform with good engagement tools. It is ideal for small businesses and startups.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface: Like Contrast, Livestorm is 100% browser-based, which means there's no need for downloads. This makes it easy for both hosts and attendees to join and participate.
- Engagement features: The platform offers essential tools like chat, polls, and Q&A sessions. These features help keep your audience engaged and make the sessions interactive.
- App marketplace: You can add more functionalities through their app marketplace. This allows you to customize and enhance your webinar experience based on your needs.
Cons:
- Limited customization: While Livestorm covers the basics, customization options for landing pages and emails are limited. This can be a drawback if you want a fully branded experience.
- Video quality: The video quality is basic and might not meet the high standards needed for professional presentations. This can impact how your audience perceives your webinar.
- Expensive advanced features: Some CRM integrations and advanced features are only available on more expensive plans.
Demio
Demio is an easy-to-use, browser-based webinar training platform with basic features. However, it lacks the advanced tools and modern viewer experience that other tools offer.
Pros:
- Ease of use: Demio is designed to be straightforward. You can set up and run webinars directly from your browser. This means no downloads for you or your attendees, making it convenient for everyone.
- Engagement features: The platform offers various engagement tools such as polls, Q&A, and chat.
- Basic webinar essentials: You get features like landing pages, automated emails, and analytics.
Cons:
- Outdated viewer experience: The video quality and overall viewer experience can seem a bit outdated. This might affect the look of your webinars.
- No free plan: Demio does not offer a free plan, and the free trial is limited to 20 attendees. This might be a drawback for businesses looking to test the platform before committing.
Zoom Webinars
Zoom is obviously a household name when it comes to webinars. It's a good choice for basic webinar needs, but it lacks the advanced features that many other platforms on this list offer.
Pros:
- Widespread use: Zoom is a familiar platform for many. This means less time spent on onboarding and training your team. Most people have used Zoom for meetings, making the transition to webinars easy.
- Engagement features: Zoom Webinars includes features like virtual backgrounds, polls, and Q&A sessions.
Cons:
- Expensive: To run branded sessions with their event management tools, you’re going to need to get an annual Zoom Webinar plan. Spoiler alert: it’s really expensive. On the low end you’re paying ~$975 /year/license for less than 100 attendees.
- Security concerns: Zoom has faced issues with security in the past. While many have been addressed, it's something to keep in mind, especially for sensitive training sessions.
- Download requirement: For the best experience, both hosts and attendees need to download the Zoom app. This can be a hurdle for some participants. Especially those at organizations that don’t allow employees to download software.
- Lack of advanced video production tools: Zoom’s focus is on video conferencing, so it lacks some advanced video production tools found in dedicated webinar platforms. This can limit the quality of your training sessions.
Crowdcast
Crowdcast is an affordable webinar platform focused on community building. It offers essential engagement tools and multicast capability. However, it faces accessibility and reliability issues.
Pros:
- Affordable pricing: Crowdcast offers budget-friendly pricing plans, making it accessible for small businesses and startups. It’s a good option if you’re looking to save on costs.
- Modern engagement features: The platform includes polls, Q&A, and chat.
- Multicast capability: You can stream your webinars to multiple platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitch. This helps you reach a broader audience and increases your visibility. That might not be a useful feature for webinar training though.
Cons:
- Accessibility issues: Crowdcast allows mature content, which can sometimes be flagged by firewalls. This might prevent some participants from accessing your webinars.
- Limited CRM integrations: The platform has fewer CRM integrations compared to other webinar software for training. This can limit your ability to manage leads and follow-up activities effectively.
- Reliability concerns: Some users have reported reliability issues. This includes problems with streaming quality and platform stability.
GoToWebinar
GoToWebinar is one of the oldest players in the webinar market, trusted for simplicity and reliability. Although it meets basic webinar training needs, there are new options with much better customizability.
Pros:
- Basic engagement features: The platform includes essential tools like chat, polls, and Q&A.
- Affordable pricing: GoToWebinar offers competitive pricing, especially for small audiences. It’s a cost-effective solution for businesses looking to start with webinar training.
Cons:
- Limited customization: The interface and features are basic, which limits customization. This can be a drawback if you need a more branded and personalized webinar experience.
- Outdated interface: The platform’s design can feel a bit dated compared to more modern alternatives.
- Limited advanced features: GoToWebinar lacks some of the advanced features found in newer webinar platforms.
Why Contrast is the Best Webinar Training Software
Contrast is the best choice for webinar training. Here’s why:
- Dynamic engagement tools: Other platforms like Zoom and GoToWebinar only offer basic engagement features like polls and Q&A. Contrast takes it further with live annotations, on-screen widgets, and dynamic layouts.
- Advanced customization: Livestorm and Demio offer basic customization. Contrast lets you personalize your entire webinar environment. You can customize registration forms, attendee interfaces, and even the webinar room itself.
- AI-powered repurposing: Most platforms let you record webinars. Contrast takes it a step further. We use AI to help you edit and repurpose webinar content into other formats like podcasts, articles, or video clips.
Contrast Testimonials
Customers love Contrast.
O. Sumpter said, "Contrast is easy to use and flexible. We use it for various training webinars, and the data and reporting help us gather insights and plan our next steps."
J. le Blanc, from a fintech startup says, "Contrast works seamlessly for our webinars, making setup and integration effortless."
Competitive Pricing and Value
Contrast offers great value. Unlike other platforms, almost all of our advanced features are available across all plans. The free plan includes features that other platforms charge for. We want everyone to have a great experience running and attending training webinars.
How to Conduct a Webinar Training
Conducting successful webinar training is all about careful planning and engaging delivery.
Planning Training Webinars
Start by setting clear objectives.
- What do you want your participants to learn?
- Define your goals and structure your content around them.
- Create an engaging agenda that outlines each segment of your webinar.
- Create your actual training content. Use visuals and different types of content like images, gifs, and videos to keep your audience’s attention.
Running Training Webinars
Get your audience engaging with the training material by using interactive elements. Polls, quizzes, and live Q&A sessions can all be used. Speak clearly and keep your content concise. Make sure you save enough time to answer questions through the training webinar or for a Q&A at the end.
Follow-up and Feedback
After the training webinar, collect feedback from participants. Use surveys to understand what worked and what didn’t. Analyze the results to identify areas for improvement. Follow up with attendees by sharing the recording link and additional resources. This helps reinforce the training.
FAQ
What equipment do I need for webinar training?
You just need a computer, a camera, and a microphone for basic webinar training. For better quality, think about your lighting and use an external microphone. These improve the clarity of your video and audio.
Should I record my training webinars?
Yes, recording your training webinars is important. It allows participants to revisit the content and helps those who missed the live session. Most platforms offer built-in recording features. Contrast automatically makes the on-demand recording available at the same link as the registration page so that people can find it easily.
How do I measure the success of my webinar training?
Measuring the impact of employee or customer training isn’t always straightforward. It’s hard to tell exactly how much the audience learned. But you can track metrics like attendance, engagement levels, and feedback to measure success.
Conclusion
Good webinar training software helps educate customers and employees. The right tool can make or break a training session. If you can only focus on two things, look for a tool with the right interactive features that’s easy to set up. The goal is to get things done quickly but with high impact. Platforms like Contrast offer this. You can create a free account now to see just how easy it is to run engaging training webinars.
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