How to (and Why) Host an Online Panel Discussion

In the never ending effort to find new and creative ways to engage your online community (or perhaps to engage your community online) RumbleTalk group chat just might have the answer for you: online panel discussions.

With RumbleTalk, you’ll be able to gather experts from all corners of the world in one dialog box for a discussion that can be watched by an international audience.

There are many advantages for your organization to benefit from hosting an online panel discussion. This post will go over these advantages and show you how to set up as well.

If you’ve already decided to host a RumbleTalk panel discussion, click here to skip directly to the ‘How to’ section.

First, what is an online panel discussion?

Picture this: within your website, a RumbleTalk group chat designed to match your theme, is embedded where you choose. In the left most column of the group chat, a users-panel contains a short list of the participating experts.

online panel discussion example

The moderator types out questions, posts videos, or shares documents for the experts to see and interact with. Once the information is dispensed, the experts type out their answers or share media in response.

While the discussion is unfolding, anyone visiting the site is able to watch, but not disrupt, the conversation. Viewers can access the shared documents, links, and embedded videos to get a full understanding of the discourse context.

After the online panel discussion has concluded, the group chat owner will have the opportunity to save the chat and export it as an HTML file.

Immediate advantages of hosting an online panel discussion

A typical panel discussion has a lot of overhead expenses and physical limitations.

A venue must be booked that will be convenient for the audience and panelists in both location and time.
Panelists must be either all local or be afforded a travel/speaking stipend.
The audience can only be as large as the venue permits.
Special A/V equipment is needed to share videos or other contextual media.
Distractions cause missed moments and ideas.
Recording and distributing the event is yet another expense.

And that’s just to name the most obvious!

Rather than getting hung up on these barriers, organizations can turn to the alternative online panel discussion that leaps over these hurdles with ease.

A RumbleTalk online panel discussion can convene on your website or as an independent URL distributed to your audience.
Panelists and viewers can participate in the conversation wherever they find an internet connection using a PC, tablet or smart phone.
Audiences can be as big as your chosen plan allows.
Sharing media is easy with built in RumbleTalk tools.
The conversation is written so viewers can reread statements to better understand the discussed concepts.
The discussion can be preserved automatically and distributed easily.

And after the panel discussion?

After the panel discussion, the group chat owner will have a choice to make: let the conversation rest at conclusion, or use the transcript to further the mission.

RumbleTalk group chat transcripts can be exported as a HTML file and then published online.

You can read the full explanation of this feature here. But for now, I’ll drive home two key points.

When you publish your online panel discussion transcript, you’ll widen your audience to those who weren’t able to watch in the first place.
By publishing as an HTML file, search engines will be able to pick up on the key words used within the chat, driving more traffic to your cause.

How to set up your online panel discussion

We’ve made it easy, just follow these steps and if you get hung up on anything, contact support@rumbletalk.com for help.

Create a RumbleTalk account
Adjust the settings for an online panel discussion
Embed and invite participants

Step One: Creating a RumbleTalk account

Starting at the RumbleTalk homepage, either log in to your existing account or if needed, sign up for a new account.

Once you are logged in you’ll need to select a plan that will accommodate the number of panelists and viewers you expect to attend.

It’s important to note here that each plan allows the same number of users as it does viewers. If you select a plan for 250 chatters, you’ll be able to have 250 viewers.

If you don’t see a plan large enough for your audience (good for you!) contact us at support@rumbletalk.com for more options.

Step Two: Adjust the settings for an online panel discussion

From the admin panel, you’ll be able to customize the look of the group chat to fit your organization. You can include your logo or color scheme to blend into your site.

By default, RumbleTalk group chats are configured to work as an open and public chat room. You’ll need to change this to limit the number of chatters and ensure viewers are allowed.

Under the Login tab of the admin panel leave all options unchecked EXCEPT:

Allow viewers (listeners)
Allow RumbleTalk login

Panel Discussion Settings

You can also check ‘Enable auto invite’ and ‘Show “Invite Friends” button’ for panelists and viewers to share the group chat on social media, however, these are not necessary.

The next essential setting to is set up your panelists.

Panelists for Online Panel Discussion

Click on the link that says ‘group’s users management page’ and then click the button to add a new user. Give each user a nickname (or just use their real name) and a password. You can also assign an avatar or profile picture to each user. Send this information to your panelists privately.

Adding panelist to online panel discussion

Step Three: Embed and invite participants

The final step is to embed your chat in your website.

From your admin panel, you’ll be given a single line of code to be placed within your site. The chat itself is responsive and will fit itself in whatever space you give it.

If you don’t have a website, there are still options to host your group chat. You can connect your RumbleTalk account to your Facebook page or share your chat URL with your desired audience.

The RumbleTalk platform is versatile. If you want to use all three options, go ahead! If you want to embed the chat on each of your panelists sites, no problem!

The group chat you purchase from RumbleTalk can be placed in as many places around the web as you wish.

Then all you have to do is invite guests.

If you have any questions along the way, feel free to contact us at support@rumbletalk.com. We’re happy to help you host an innovative online panel discussion.

Posted on April 15, 2016October 2, 2016 by Editor

Why Forex Trading Is Better with the Right Friends

Indigenous or not, FX Renew is a tribe worth talking about.

Tribe? Yes, tribe.

Seth Godin, best-selling author, wrote in his book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us: “A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”

In this case, the shared interest is Forex trading and the way to communicate is group chat. With Godin’s tribe criteria met, FX Renew has become one of the top resources for those interested in Forex trading.

Sam Eder, owner of FX Renew, honed in on the online tribe strategy by integrating RumbleTalk group chat into his Forex trading website. Since then he has seen an increase in customers, returning customers, and the value of his community.

More About FX Renew

I recently spoke with Sam to find out how exactly RumbleTalk group chat is used in his Forex trading and signal sharing company.

My first question was, what is FX Renew?

Sam explained it like this:

FX Renew operates in the on-line Forex trading industry. We provide foreign currency traders with access to education and trade ideas from ex-bank and industry professionals.

To achieve the tribal feel, Sam needed a way to connect with FX Renew members in an instantaneous and personal way. Engaging the Forex trading community, Sam can pool the collective knowledge and share time sensitive information to members actively engaged at that moment.

Group chat has elevated FX Renew from a talk-at-you educational site to an immersive educational experience.

To better understand how this happens, I asked Sam a few more questions.

How do you use RumbleTalk group chat and how does this benefit your customers?

Our RumbleTalk chat is used as a members chat, available for access by paying customers. The key benefits of the chat are:

RumbleTalk has greatly enhanced our “trading tribe” by facilitating communication between our customers and our traders. This is great because it allows traders to get personalized help and support to improve their trading, and to deal with specific issues on their mind.

We use the chat-room to distribute bank reports. This allows traders to access information that is not generally available to the public in a timely manner.

We use RumbleTalk to hold live events, so traders can learn how to trade step-by-step in real time.

And on the other side, how does having the group chat feature benefit your Forex trading business?

The benefits to the business have been the ability to communicate directly with clients leading to significantly improved customer retention. We have improved the value of our client offering leading to increased customer satisfaction.

From your perspective working with the RumbleTalk software, what feature stands out?

One of my favorite things about RumbleTalk was the speed and ease of set-up, and it is great value for the money with a return of investment of several thousand percent. The mobile version is also excellent.

What I learned

By creating an open space for experts and members to communicate, customers can ask questions, get custom answers, and develop loyalty to the tribe and a personal stake in the community.

There are a lot of free tools out there to communicate with your tribe, so why group chat?

The traditional online communication tools have limitations when it comes to building an online community:

a static website talks at a customer and not with the customer;

email is to slow and easily becomes lost in a crowded or unchecked inbox; and

social media spreads customer conversations between platforms and removes the incentive pay for access.

By using group chat, FX Renew easily integrated the entire conversation into one window next to Sam’s Forex trading content.

Group chat users are focused on the information at hand and aren’t distracted by off-topic emails, tweets, or notifications.

And most importantly, the conversation becomes an active experience that brings customers back.

Posted on April 7, 2016October 15, 2024 by Editor

Video Killed the Radio Star but the Internet Saved Him

It’s hard to write about radio without feeling nostalgic: as if radio were a thing of the past that met its unfortunate doom, the ominous Internet.

Of course, this is ludicrous because radio is alive and thriving today more than ever.

And RumbleTalk was there to help.

Radio adapted to the Internet

In 1979 the Buggles were singing about the tragedy “Video killed the radio star” but more than three decades later we still listen to radio.

This premonition was as accurate as the “futuristic” glitter hair worn in their video. Thank goodness that didn’t become a thing.

Also, the irony can’t be missed that radio was probably a better marketer of their song than that video, even as humorous as it is to watch.

The song could be rewritten today to say “Internet helped the radio star”, “Internet saved the radio star”, or even “Internet advanced the radio star.”

Today, you don’t even need an AM/FM channel to host a radio show. With the right software, the Internet is a full-fledged broadcasting platform.

That’s where RumbleTalk comes in.

Internet radio shows are now using group chat to engage with listeners in ways not possible prior to the wide use of the Internet.

I remember the days of calling in to comment on the topic of the hour, hoping to be the 10th caller to win tickets to the next concert, or simply calling to request a song.

Now these interactions can all be done with RumbleTalk group chat, and further, radio listeners can chat among each other. The conversation is open and accessible, no longer delayed by the speed of the call screener.

Just look at RadioNOPE to see how group chat works for their online radio show

RadioNOPE is an Internet rock ‘n roll radio station that has been a long time RumbleTalk customer.

Their group chat is embedded throughout their website to engage listeners on their homepage or while they are visiting the page of a specific show. Listeners can talk about the songs playing or interact directly with show hosts such as with Live from the Barrage, a favorite talk show hailing from Queens.

radio group chat
But don’t take my word for it…

Here’s what Conan, founder and self described “benevolent dictator” of RadioNOPE, had to say about RumbleTalk’s influence on the Internet radio station.

RumbleTalk is an integral part of the RadioNOPE experience. As a 24/7/365 streaming radio station that is heavily curated, the dialogue between station and listener is vital. Whether it is as simple as a listener asking information about the song that is playing, or just the shared experience of listening to things together, the chat takes RadioNOPE a cut above algorithm driven experiences like Pandora and its ilk, and the interaction has an extra level of engagement and surprise behind throwing on a Spotify playlist or putting a library on “shuffle”. This is true of the music shows, as well as the talk shows on the station, none more so than with the station’s flagship show “Live from the Barrage”, where listeners react with the hosts, guests, and each other with a special lexicon of in-jokes and phrases derived from the show itself.
RumbleTalk is how we elevate a simple website into one of the most carefully curated and awesome listening experiences on the Internet.

RumbleTalk for radio

The advantages of using RumbleTalk for radio are many.

Group chat is a necessary tool for a radio show to optimize listener engagement. With RumbleTalk, radio stations have a flexible platform that is easy to use for both you and your listeners.

You can have separate group chats for each show or one seamless experience throughout, use group chat for instantaneous dialog between show hosts and listeners as well as listener-listener.

Using group chat also captures just how many active listeners the show is reaching as opposed to just passive listeners. These numbers have many useful applications and can be helpful for higher advertising revenue.

And there’s one more thing, RumbleTalk loves radio. This means that as we continue to develop our product we’ll have you in mind and create features tailored especially for radio. That’s a service that just can’t be beat.

Visit our homepage or contact support@rumbletalk.com for more information on how RumbleTalk can improve your listener engagement.

Posted on March 27, 2016October 2, 2016 by Editor