A moderator is: the Master of ceremonies, a traffic cop, the time keeper, and overseer of all things in universes known and unknown. (Okay, the last one was made up, but you get the point.)  A great web conference moderator sets the tone for the entire event, whether it’s a compliance training session or a shareholder meeting. Here are tips for taking on the role of moderator—and nailing it:

1. Get to know your web conferencing software. This sounds it comes straight from web conferencing 101—and that’s because it does. Knowing how to work all the features you’ll use, from chats to whiteboards, will make the web event run more smoothly. If you’re not familiar with the web conferencing platform at all, go through at least two test runs to be sure you know the what’s and where’s.
2. Consider a helper. Having an extra set of hands can be valuable because it gives you a chance to focus on the presentation. A helper might be on-call to walk participants through technical difficulties as well as monitor chat areas or Twitter.
3. Use a different computer than the presenter. The big advantage to this tactic is that if a presenter’s computer hits a technical snag, the moderator can continue to operate the presentation with little down time.
4. Put your best voice forward. You might be surprised at how much impact the greeting will make on the session. You can make the greeting sound like you’ve just gotten called to Federal jury duty, or you can speak clearly, confidently, and enthusiastically to set a positive tone.
5. Manage the Q&A. The question-and-answer session is sometimes the most information-packed and insightful portion of any web conference. Increase the event’s value to presenters and attendees by keeping questions and answers moving at a good pace. To save time, consider collecting at least some questions before or during the presentation.
6. End the web conference with a clear message and, if relevant, a call to action. What do you want attendees to remember? Perhaps they have follow-up activities they need to complete? Now is the time to set those expectations. The closing is also the time to deliver the call to action. And remember, the call to action doesn’t necessarily need to be a hard sales pitch. It can be as simple as “Follow my Twitter account for more tips on X, Y, and Z.”

From mobile-ready streaming to payment integration, RollCall TV from RollCall Business Conferencing gives companies the enterprise-level tools they need to share archived or live streaming content through one seamless platform.

Save money. Check. Boost employee morale. Check. Increase productivity. Check. Technology is making the virtual team an efficient and cost-effective reality that’s becoming increasingly popular among entrepreneurs and business pros. Check out these recent remote workplace stats from WorkSimple:

• 60% of office-based employees use virtual team technologies each day, including texting, instant messaging, and teleconferencing.
• 26.2 million Americans worked remotely in 2010.
• 56% of decision makers believe that virtual work makes employees more productive.

Here’s a quick review of the technologies you can use to build a productive work-from-home or remote team:

Teleconferences – Yep, conference calls remain a remarkably simple and budget-friendly way to communicate with employees. A good teleconferencing provider will offer a range of options, from reservation-free calls to collaborate on the fly to operator-assisted conference calls to handle the big teams.

Web conferences – Remote or virtual team members can also connect with each other and the home office via web conferencing services. Participants can share documents and presentations as well as engage with whiteboards and chats. Use web conferencing services to conduct online meetings, desktop sharing, training, or e-learning opportunities with the team.

Social media – Social media platforms aren’t just for reaching out to customers, clients, shareholders, or the media. Companies large and small can utilize social media to facilitate collaboration among remote team members. For example, websites like Yammer host internal social networks, where employees can securely and privately microblog (much like Twitter), send messages, and participate in work groups or teams.

Aside from teleconferencing, web conferencing, and social media, have you used other tools to empower a remote workforce?

Are you using live webinars to engage audiences and drive lead generation? If you are, then you know that a well-planned webinar shares targeted, relevant information, nurtures informative discussions, and allows attendees to get their questions answered real-time. But the value of that webinar doesn’t stop when the attendees log off. 

Use Social Media to Extend the Life and Value of a Recorded Webinar

Archived webinars and social media go together like mocha and latte. Not only does the webinar format lend itself to media-rich social media platforms, it offers an important added benefit: sharing and promoting archived webinars on social media boosts SEO. (For more info, check out this post from our partner company Social Strategy1: How Social Media Boosts SEO.)

Here are a few ways to use social media to share webinar clips or an entire event on social media:

• Tweet the playback link so the live event attendees and followers can share the webinar with others.
• Embed the full webinar or a clip on your Facebook Page.
• Share the webinar on a site like YouTube or Vimeo.
• Upload the event presentation to a sharing site such as Slideshare.
• Post clips on the corporate blog with a link inviting viewers to watch the full archived event.  
• Remind live event attendees and archive viewers to follow you for updates on Twitter or Facebook. If you created an event hashtag ask followers to use it when asking related questions or commenting on the event. Remember to monitor the hashtag—and respond to followers!

Extend the life of your webinar by using social media to share and connect. RollCall Business Conferencing provides the live streaming and on-demand webinar platforms you need to engage audiences and drive lead generation. Contact us to learn more.

To find out more about using social media to build your brand, chat with the team at our partner company Social Strategy1.

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Want to live webcast a convention panel or keynote speech? Of course, you do. A live webcast expands your audience well beyond the four bleak walls and hard concrete floor of the hotel, giving you the opportunity to engage attendees globally. But how do you make it work? Rest easy, because you don’t need a degree in broadcasting. Here are 5 tips for live webcasting from a convention:

1. Plan the lighting. If you’re in a conventional convention room, lighting for a webcast is always a concern. Back lighting or dim lighting will make the speakers appear shadowy. Make sure there is adequate lighting from the front and both sides.
2. Check the audio. Nothing will get viewers to click off faster than poor audio. Test the sound system beforehand so you can work out the kinks before you go “live.” Remember, if you’re taking questions from the audience, you’ll need a good handheld mic or, if that’s not possible, ask the speaker or a facilitator to repeat the question for the web audience.
3. Identify the speakers. Use easy-to-read name tags (no fancy fonts, please!) on the table or podium so viewers can easily identify speakers or panelists.
4. Consider speaking style. Are you a presenter who likes to move around the stage? Is the speaker you’ve tapped the kind who clings to the podium? Consider how the speaker will move (or not move) onstage so the camera operator will know what to expect.  
5. Remind them it’s live. One of the advantages of live webcasting from an event is the audience’s ability to interact with speakers. When you’re marketing the event, emphasize that web viewers will be able to ask real-time questions—an opportunity attendees lose when they view an archived broadcast. And, at the start of the live webcast, remind the audience how to submit questions.

When it’s time to broadcast a live webcast from a convention, get the reliable and scalable technology you need to share your message. Contact the team at RollCall Business Conferencing to learn about our affordable live webcasting services.

In business, the buzz is usually about what’s new, whether it’s building a presence on Twitter or adding gamification to an engagement strategy. And as important as new tech tools might be, there’s one super-simple, super-affordable, old-school tool that too many businesses overlook: the teleconference.

This isn’t your dad’s party line, with bad connections and high costs. In fact, conference call providers now offer affordable, seamless service that makes it a no-brainer way to communicate with customers, buyers, team members, decision makers, or employees. Check out these 4 reasons savvy businesses utilize conference calls:  

Communicate—No Travel (or Reservations) Needed

Trying to pull a team together from various locations for a meeting is inconvenient and time-consuming.  But you know that business happens fast. Whether a catastrophic storm has shuttered your biggest distribution center or you need a last-minute strategy session before a huge sales meeting, a reservation-free conference call allows you to connect quickly and without hassle.

Offer Low-Fear Tech

Even if you practically live on Twitter or always have the latest smartphone model, your employees and customers may not be so well connected. In fact, a few of them may not even want to be connected. But everyone has a phone, and everyone knows how to use it. Teleconferencing allows you to update, train, and connect with those who don’t need to or want to communicate through social media or email.

Maintain Security

Those old party lines were low on security. But a quality conference call provider will offer secured connections that ensure your sensitive meeting information stays private.  During a secure teleconference, each participant receives a unique PIN that grants access and allows you to monitor and manage who is on the call.

Tap New Ways to Work

More employers and workers are choosing work-at-home arrangements to boost productivity and build employee satisfaction. Teleconferencing is an ideal way for remote workers to get in touch with their teams easily.

When it’s time for your business to start saving money and communicating more efficiently, contact RollCall Business Conferencing. From our reservation-free Meet Me Conference to our Meet Me Secure Conference, we offer the tools you need to make the most out of your meetings.

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Think pay per view is just a platform to showcase bare-chested men dressed in tights? Think again. Pay per view webcasting is a powerful tool that allows you to share branded content with a target audience while generating another revenue stream.

Who can utilize pay per view webcasting? A more appropriate question is: who can’t use it? From providing compliance education for regulated industries to broadcasting fundraisers for non-profit organizations, pay per view webcasting opportunities are limited only by your imagination.

Here are a few tips for pay per view webcasting success:

Don’t go it alone. One way to establish creditability for the event is to partner with a relevant brand. As you approach potential partners, you’ll want to share the advantages participation offers them, including:

• Developing inroads into new audiences
• Building positive brand awareness
• Sharing in webcasting event revenue (if you decide to split revenue)

Gather great guests. During a free online event, the attendee is investing their time with you. But with pay-per-view, the attendee’s investment becomes time and money—so you need to make it pay off. Consider including at least one A-list guest from your industry.

Crank up the promotion machine.  People can’t attend the event if they don’t know about it. Let potential attendees know what you’re doing and why they need to be there. Post the announcement prominently on your website or blog, and share it on relevant social networks, whether it’s LinkedIn or Facebook.

Walk participants through the process. Pay per view webcasting might not be a familiar platform for many audiences. Make them more comfortable with it by providing tips for participation, from how to log in to how to ask a question.

Give your pay per view webcast the best chance for success and profit by choosing a reliable webcasting provider. RollCall TV gives you the all-in-one power to broadcast to mobile devices, gather data, stream live or share on-demand, and accept payments. Contact the RollCall Business Conferencing team to learn more about adding va-va-voom to your video strategy by monetizing pay per view.

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Companies with an eye on the bottom line are increasingly turning to webinars to provide training. But there’s more to a training webinar than simply putting together a few slides. You’ll need to plan, plan, and plan some more. Here are tips for being a fab facilitator for training webinars:  

• Create learning objectives. Ask yourself: What do attendees need to be able to do when this training webinar is complete? Understand compliance guidelines? Navigate a new POS system? Do not move forward until you answer that core question thoroughly because the answer will guide everything else you do.
• Categorize learning content. Make the most of limited webinar time by figuring out the where’s and when’s of what participants need to know. Identify three content categories: 

1. Material attendees should read or complete on their own. Some of this might be material you designate for pre-webinar reading; other content might be better suited as supplementary material.
2. Info that is best presented during the webinar. This is often the material in which the presenter can offer insight or material that is most likely to generate questions or discussions.
3. Material or learning experiences that are best shared with fellow trainees. Encourage interaction by planning collaborative exercises, such as brainstorming, research, sharing experiences, or reacting to webinar content. 

• Be a facilitator. Learning is about creating experiences and interaction—not forcing material on an audience. Instead of lecturing attendees into oblivion, facilitate the experiences that create knowledge. Use single learner and group activities to get attendees engaged with the material. And if you don’t know an answer, provide the resources so the trainee can get the answer they need.
• Solicit feedback. Use webinar features, such as polls, to get feedback from participants. Use the answers to tweak future training webinars.

It’s time to bring out your inner fab facilitator—now get out there and start planning!

RollCall Business Conferencing is an industry leader in reliable and secure webinar solutions. Our RollCall TV service is a feature-rich way to offer training; it offers mobile viewing compatibility, payment integration, and more. Contact us today to get the tools that make training webinars successful.

Are you ready for the benefits of a virtual team? From how you’ll communicate (web conferences? teleconferences?) to how you’ll nurture team spirit, building a virtual team takes planning. Here are pre-launch tips for making the virtual team a productive and profitable unit in your company:

• Collaborate with HR and other necessary departments. Consult with internal stakeholders to hash out issues such as potential liabilities, firewall or other security installations, etc.
• Choose reliable technology. Most virtual teams rely on a range of communication tools, from conference calls to web conferences, to ensure a smooth and fast flow of information.  Whichever tools you use, always invest in conferencing vendors who offer the technology, features, and security needed to collaborate reliably and securely.
• Set goals and define results. Outline organizational and team goals and tie those to performance-oriented outcomes. Build the team by making sure each remote employee understands how their performance supports the goals of the company and the other team members. 
• Assess regularly. Ask virtual workers to document their experiences via email, online survey tools, or survey tools available through web conferencing systems. Use the data to pinpoint trouble spots and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Plan together time. While web conferencing and conference calling are smart tools for virtual teams, there is always value in face-to-face time. This can be challenging if the team is geographically dispersed; but for teams who are closer, invest in a regular get together, such as a monthly meeting at a local coffee shop. Group volunteer activities are another way to schedule face time and build team spirit, so dish out food at a local shelter or assist a community in need.
• Relax! Yes, easier said than done. But if you haven’t utilized virtual teams before, there are guaranteed to be slip-ups, miscommunications, and “Gee, I didn’t know that’s.” Mistakes are opportunities to learn and transform, so greet the new virtual work arrangement with excitement and flexibility.

Start planning now! Learn more about the communication tools your virtual team needs. Contact the conference call and web conference experts at RollCall Business Conferencing, a leader in secure, scalable tools that will help make your virtual team a money-saving, productivity-boosting success.

No matter how well the presenter speaks, no matter how high quality the content might be, even the best webinars can be catapulted to Snoozerville with poor quality slides. Don’t sink your virtual event before it starts—check out our tips for creating webinar worthy slides that convey your message instead of distracting from it:

• Clutter alert. Does it look like there’s an entire research paper, complete with charts, crammed onto a single slide? Clutter is a big virtual event slideshow no-no. Avoid the urge to insert every single graph, chart, or factoid that supports the material. If the info is really that important to attendees, send the relevant links or content immediately before or following the event.
• The small print. We expect small print on social network privacy policies—not webinar slides. Use at least 24 point font for content and a minimum of 32 point for headings.
• Keep em’ moving. It’s the age of YouTube, and 3 slides just won’t cut it for a half-hour webinar. While you don’t want to cruise through dozens of slides at the speed of sound, you do want to engage attendees with a slideshow that keeps a healthy pace.
• Check thy spelling. Please. This is one of the easiest things you can do to keep your presentation from becoming fodder for a “Worst Slides Ever” article or blog post.
• Keep flow charts to a minimum. Whether you’re covering a workflow or another process, too many arrows and lines confuse attendees. Keep charts simple, and, if you need to share a more complicated chart, send it with pre- or post-event supplementary materials.
• Don’t get fancy-schmancy. Just because you can include sound effects and animation in a webinar slideshow doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Also avoid flowery script-based fonts because they’re hard on the eyes. Stick to simple fonts, like Arial or Times New Roman.

When you’re ready to sell, train, or share with an enterprise-level webinar platform, RollCall Business Conferencing offers reliable and affordable technology. Contact RollCall to learn how our webinars, web conferencing, and conferencing call tools will help you get your message across to the right people at the right time.

Virtual collaboration isn’t just for sci-fi flicks anymore. Web conferencing makes it possible to develop products, plan strategy, and train personnel—no matter where the attendees are. But when it comes to choosing the best web conferencing provider, you have pages full of search results to choose from. Our web conferencing provider checklist will help you make the right decision for your brand:

ü  Affordability. Invest in a provider who gives you what you need without breaking the bank account. The right company will offer a range of web conference options that allow you to work within your budget, making you (and the boss) happy.

ü  Features. Consider which features will make your online collaboration a success. Do you need video capability? On-the-fly recording? Will you need a service that handles a virtual conference for 6 employees or 600? Make a shopping list of the must-have features you need from a web conferencing provider.

ü  Growth Capacity. You likely have big plans for your company’s growth, so don’t limit yourself to a web conferencing provider unable to scale up service. A provider that offers several service options will be able to meet your needs now and in the future.

ü  Security. Whether you’re discussing a client’s legal case or planning a new social media campaign, a secure web conferencing service allows your confidential conversations to remain confidential. The provider should offer a minimum 128-bit encryption code to ensure the information you present is safe and secure.

ü  Compatibility. Are the web conferencing provider’s platforms fully functional on a Mac or Linux operating system? Will their services work on mobile devices? Don’t invest in a service unless you know that your attendees will be able to access and view the web conference without hassle.

Find the best web conferencing provider now so that when it’s time to collaborate you can focus on the meeting instead of why the chat feature isn’t working.

Let the solutions team at RollCall Business Conferencing help you find the right web conferencing platform for you.  Contact us today.