The Benefits of StreamYard as a Webinar Platform

Written By: Ashley Virnig, IDA Certification & Event Specialist

You may have noticed that the IDA recently switched from using Zoom as our webinar platform to live-streaming. Going forward, all of our webinars will be live-streamed to two locations: the members-only IDA Facebook Group and YouTube (via private link). While Zoom offered a user-friendly location to cast and record, StreamYard offers the same ease of use and the following additional benefits:

• As long as you are part of the IDA Facebook Group, you will still be able to view the webinar on the group page even if you didn’t register! Non-members and those that don’t have Facebook will be able to watch the webinar by following the link to the YouTube page provided with the event reminder emails, the same way you would follow a Zoom link.
• If you miss the webinar, members of the Facebook Group will still be able to watch it afterward on Facebook, even before it is added to the webinar archive on the IDA website.
• Non-members will now be able to access specific webinars after-the-fact through a private YouTube link provided by the Central Office (for the same $25 fee as watching live).
• Now only the speaker(s) and moderator have access to their mics so there won’t be any accidental audience audio interruptions, making for a better overall experience and improved recording quality.
• Questions/Comments can be pulled from the comment section and added to the video as a banner so everyone can reference it.
• Livestreaming has no attendance limit. You don't need to worry about missing a live webinar because it's "full!"
• StreamYard also has a “shorts” feature that reorients the webinar vertically. The webinars can be easily adjusted to post featured clips to various social media.

As we continue to grow as an organization and our webinars reach a wider audience, we strive to make our webinars educational, professional, and accessible. If you have any questions or feedback about our switch to StreamYard or the webinars in general, please reach out to us at info@the-ida.com.