What is the difference between a webcast and a webinar?

Several decades ago, if you were looking to market your product, printed ads and TV/radio broadcasts would’ve been your best bet. Those days, however, are long gone, and marketing has since come a long way. Now, there are a thousand different media you can use as marketing assets to reach a massive audience.

Video content is one such medium that has gained unparalleled popularity over the years. Companies are incorporating webcasts and webinars, the two main forms of video content used for marketing, into their marketing strategies at an increasing rate. If you’re looking to do the same, it’s important that you first know the answer to the much-debated question: what is the difference between a webcast and a webinar?

Let’s take a deep dive into these two forms of content marketing, what they entail, and how they’re different.

What is a webcast?

To understand the difference between a webcast and a webinar, let’s start with a definition. A webcast is a format of web conferencing. In essence, it’s a method of presenting information to a large live audience through a virtual platform.

As web conferences go, there are one or more presenters delivering their presentations without much engagement with the audience. Think of it as a TV broadcast — a unilateral flow of information with its primary focus being content delivery rather than interaction. A large audience can access a webcast from any device of their choice, but they can’t necessarily communicate with the speakers.

A webcast may be a pre-recorded video or a live event and may comprise audio clips, slides, and videos.

What is a webinar?

Next, we come to the topic of webinars. Webinars are another variety of web conferencing similar to webcasts. As suggested by the name, a webinar, at its core, is a web seminar, that is, a seminar that takes place in an online virtual space.

Webinars involve a speaker, or multiple speakers, presenting in front of a virtual audience hosted on dedicated webinar platforms. They are highly interactive in nature, with attendees actively participating in polls, Q&As, and discussions.

Webinars are, by definition, live events, but hosts can record the live event and make it available for on-demand viewing.

Webcast vs. webinar—Key differences

Now that we’ve discussed what webcasts and webinars are, it’s time to address the question: what is the difference between a webcast and a webinar? Although apparently quite similar, the difference between these two formats of web conferencing is threefold.

1. Size: The first and most obvious difference between a webcast and a webinar is their scale. While both are one-to-many events, designers want a webcast directed at a much larger audience than a webinar. The number of attendees in webcasts is usually well over 1000, but in the case of webinars, it typically doesn’t exceed the 1000 mark.
2. Engagement and interaction levels: Webcasts and webinars also differ greatly in terms of their levels of engagement and interaction. Since the number of participants in a webcast is huge, any interaction between speakers and participants becomes difficult. With webcasts, the goal is solely to present information to as large an audience as possible. Engagement and audience participation, therefore, take the back seat in this form of marketing.
   
   With webinars, however, it’s the complete opposite. The very idea behind webinars is engaging with your audience and building a rapport with them. You can manage content delivery in this form of web conferencing through a two-way communication process, rather than a one-way flow of information. To this end, webinars incorporate a host of interactive and engaging elements like quizzes, polls, audio/video clips, Q&As, and chat functions.
3. Timing: While there’s some debate regarding this, the most commonly held belief is that webcasts may be live or pre-recorded while webinars are strictly live events. You can record a webcast in advance and then you can broadcast it to the audience on the scheduled date and time. On the other hand, hosts always stream webinars live. In some cases, you can record the live event may be recorded and archive it for on-demand viewing later.

What is the difference between a webcast and a webinar—Pros and Cons

Webcast

Pros

• Can accommodate a large audience
• Content-focused, i.e., ideal for conveying a substantial volume of information at one time

Cons

• Lack of flexibility
• Attendees may lose concentration due to a lack of engagement

Webinars

Pros

• Highly interactive and engaging
• Participants remain attentive
• Two-way flow of information
• Fewer attendees allow for greater control over the event

Cons

• Limited number of participants
• Only a small volume of content delivered at one time

Which do you need?

Now that you’re familiar with the practical details of the difference between a webcast and a webinar, it’s time to make your choice. Carefully assess your use case and weigh the pros and cons of each format before coming to a conclusion.