Ready for a counterintuitive statistic about webinars?
As busy as everyone is, it turns out the longer your webinar, the more attendees you’re likely to attract.
Our research, based on hundreds of thousands of webinars (summarized in the 2017 Big Book of Webinar Stats) found that a 60-minute webinar actually attracts more than twice as many registrants as a 30-minute webinar will. This data reveals a big segment of your prospective market likes the webinar format and wants to engage with your company this way.
Here’s why so many registrants will eagerly sign up to join your webinar — and how you can make them thankful they did.
1. A deep dive on a topic that matters to them
A product data sheet, explainer video, or even your company website can only provide so much information — and that information is all about you, not your prospects.
But an information-rich webinar gives your prospects a deep dive into a topic that can help them. This is why the most attractive webinars are structured in educational formats, such as:
- Lists (10 Risks Your Company’s Digital Assets, and How to Combat Them)
- How to (How to Sell Using the Same Strategies as the Fortune 100)
- 101: (Shipping Automation 101: A Comprehensive Guide to the Basics)
The promise of a deep dive into a relevant topic is also why so many people are actually drawn to longer webinars. They’re busy, yes, but a longer webinar offers the promise of the type of instructional and actionable content they can’t get anywhere else.
Your audience will also jump at the chance to hear from an industry leader they wouldn’t normally have access to.
If you can deliver on this promise, your attendees will be thankful.
2. A rich, multimedia experience
A webinar can provide a welcome break from the go-go-go stress of your attendees’ typical workday. When you host an insightful, entertaining webinar — built on a lively talk and interesting visuals — you give your audience permission to sit back and enjoy the audio/visual presentation. Attending your webinar counts as legitimate research, after all.
In order to create an engaging, multi-media experience, make sure your slides look polished and that they grab your audience’s attention. This means using videos, GIFs, striking imagery, and even sound effects if you want to get really creative.
Make sure to share your webcam too! Your audience will appreciate seeing your panelists instead of just listening to a disembodied voice.
3. Great stories and takeaways they’ll remember and share
Storytelling might be the most effective mechanism for teaching and persuading. This is why stories work so well in sales and marketing. You know it. We know it. And research proves it.
The great thing about your webinar is that it will give you the time to tell a great story. You’ll have both audio (your voice) and visual (imagery, video) elements to help make your story engaging, persuasive and memorable.
We’ve seen companies use webinars to deliver compelling case studies, which make for a great story. They feature one of their customers who demonstrate how they use the product and share their success. Professionals love to hear other professional’s first-hand experience with a product, and we’re all eager to see what everyone else is doing.
4. Answers to their questions in real-time
Your prospects join webinars because of their promise to provide information that can improve some aspect of their work or their lives.
So another reason your attendees will be thankful is if you actually answer their questions in real-time, or at least right after the webinar. With the right webinar platform, this can be as easy as opening up a question forum at any point during the webinar, encouraging attendees to post their questions in the forum, and then reading and answering the questions live.
Now you know: While your prospects might not pay much attention to that slick 40 page eBook, many of them are willing — even eager — to take that deep dive with your company in the form of a 30-, 60- or even 90-minute webinar.