Webinars have undoubtedly become one of the key tools for communication with clients and prospects during the last 6 months.

Restrictions placed on events by the ever-changing measures imposed due to the ongoing pandemic mean that digital presentations are often the only choice available to many firms.

However, with so many variables involved in getting guests to attend we thought we would look at some of the recent research to find out how to get the most out of your next webinar.

Tuesday is the best day for registrations

24 per cent of webinar registrations take place on a Tuesday, followed by Wednesdays and Thursdays which come in at 15 per cent and 16 per cent respectively, according to research by GoToMeeting.

Promote and hold events early in the day

The same study found that people rarely register to attend webinars when invited in the afternoon. Instead promotional emails should be sent between 8am and 12pm, with 9 am enjoying the highest success rates – accounting for 14 per cent of registrations.

Similarly, research has found that events held between 10am and 11am have the best sign up rate, especially where events are between 30 and 45 minutes long.

Host on Thursdays

Thursdays have been ranked in a study by MegaMeeting as the most popular days of the week for organising webinars with 19 per cent of attendees preferring this day. Wednesdays are also a good choice as they are ranked lower than Thursdays by only one per cent. The main days to avoid are Mondays and Fridays though, as people are either busy after the weekend or keen to leave the office.

Don’t panic, be patient

Recent statistics from marketingcharts.com suggest that around 35 per cent of attendees sign up between one and seven days before the webinar, while other studies have suggested that 29 per cent of attendees won’t register for a webinar until the day of the event itself.

Be realistic with your goals

On average most webinars receive upwards of around 260 registrations. However, be aware that 60-50 per cent of the people who have registered may not actually attend the event itself.

Get the format right

According to the latest data, 92 per cent of webinar attendees want a live question and answer session at the end of the webinar. Almost as important as choosing the right type of webinar is finding the right person for the job. In fact, 48 per cent of people said that webinars were least enjoyable when there was a poor presenter.

According to data from BloggingX, conversion rates are highest in communication webinars, followed by training webinars with a solid percentage and marketing webinars. Education-oriented webinars, have the lowest registrant-to-attendee conversion rate of 30.79 per cent.

Here to help

As you can see there are a lot of potential factors that can affect the success of a webinar. With this being the case, it is important that you carefully plan each event to maximise your potential audience.

We have been working with many professional firms during the last few months to help them prepare effective webinars, including promotion via PR, social media and e-marketing campaigns and the preparation of associated resources, such as slides and useful guides.

To find out how we can implement an effective webinar strategy within your firm, please speak to JE Consulting.