In the marketing arsenal of most businesses, webcasts remain an important resource. Apart from being a powerful marketing tool, webcasts can also come in very handy when it comes to education and communication. In this article, we’ll learn about the main principles of how webcasts work. We’ll also discuss some key points about monetization and webcast pricing strategies that can really help your business make the most of the webcast format.
Also Read: What Is the Difference Between a Webcast and a Webinar?
How does a webcast work?
A webcast is just like a telecast of an event or meeting, just over the web. By leveraging the internet, webcasts can be served to thousands of participants at once. This is a salient way to facilitate and enhance participation in large business events. In addition, webcasts can also be used to conduct training seminars, product demonstrations, and company-wide meetings with multiple offices. And don’t forget remote employees.
To create a webcast, you need the means to record audio and video. This is often accomplished through the use of one or more cameras and microphones. The better the quality of the capture, the better the quality of the finished webcast. This audio-video feed is then fed into a computer where your chosen webcast platform encodes it into a stream which can then be accessed by your audience.
Usually, your chosen webcast platform would encode multiple streams with varying qualities, bitrates, and resolutions. This makes it easier to serve the webcast to multiple devices operating in areas with varying internet bandwidths. And on top of this, let’s not forget without a significant loss of quality of experience.
Webcast pricing: what is the cost of webcasting?
When you plan on starting to use webcasts, there are two webcast pricing components to consider. The first is the equipment you need to record your event. This can include cameras for video capture, microphones for audio capture, one or more powerful computers for processing and encoding the feed, and other types of hardware. This type of hardware can be capture cards, stands, and lights.
The other cost component would be your webcast platform of choice. Depending on the platform you choose, you might have to make an outright purchase of a webcasting solution. Or you could select a managed subscription model.
Monetization and pricing
Webcasts can be monetized and made a part of your revenue stream. You can charge a flat fee per webcast from your audience, or offer them access to all your webcasts as and when they come out in lieu of a monthly subscription. Perks like exclusive Q&A sessions and virtual meet-and-greets can be offered as add-on purchases.
Pros and cons
Webcasts can bring in a large online audience for your events. Since you won’t be limited to set locations and timings, you can serve a truly global audience with your webcasts. This also works across a variety of devices, screen sizes, and internet bandwidths. The versatility of the platform also lends itself well to multiple use cases. On the flip side, webcasts offer little in terms of interactive elements. If you are looking to engage a smaller audience with an interactive experience, webinars might be a better option for your organization.
