And this is where the true challenge lies.
The struggle to boost attendance at webinars is real and common to most event marketers, the world over. Not addressing this strategically can end up resulting in a waste of time, effort, and resources along with missed opportunities for lead generation.
But, help is on its way because in this guide, we will reveal some of the most effective and popular techniques that will help boost your webinar attendance.
1) Choosing the Webinar Topic:
Selecting the ideal webinar topic is something that is crucial to the success of the entire project. When choosing a webinar topic, look for topics that your audience is curious about and interested in. Sending out surveys or conducting market research allows you to know the interests and pain points of your target audience.
2) Crafting a Compelling Title:
When it comes to the webinar title, make sure it is explicit and attention-grabbing as it conveys the value that the webinar promises to provide and sets the right expectations for the prospects.
Think of a title that will nudge your audience to sign up for the webinar instantly. Add keywords in your title to rank the webinar page higher in SERP.
For example, if you are a digital marketing professional seeking a title for a webinar you are hosting, the title could be something straightforward like, “A comprehensive guide to mastering digital marketing strategies”
3) Building a Compelling Landing Page:
Creating an eye-catching landing page is important for any webinar campaign whether it is live, on-demand, automated, or hybrid. In order to maximize webinar attendance, the landing page needs to be designed in a way that it convinces visitors to register for the event.
Include all the essential information such as date, time, title, benefits, speaker information, clear CTA (call to action) button, a brief description of the agenda, and social proofs from previous webinars. Also, incorporate high-quality visuals like images or videos to make the landing page attractive and engaging.
To design a visually appealing landing page, here are some popular options you can consider – Wix, Unbounce, and Leadpages.
4) Simplifying the Registration Process:
Simplify the sign-up process on the registration page or the landing page to maximize registrations. Make sure the form is intuitive, concise, and only includes the most essential fields, like name, email address, company name, job title, location, etc.
If the registration process is complicated or too time-consuming, you run the risk of prospects abandoning the form, which slashes the registration count overall.
It is also important to create a mobile-friendly form that accommodates all devices, to ensure inclusivity, convenience, and increased webinar registrations.
5) Sending out Personalized Email Invitations:
65% of people register via email for a webinar.
A personalized email is more likely to encourage people to open the mail, read the information, and click on the link to register for the event.
Make sure your email subject line is catchy (but not spammy), in a way that it compels your audience to click on it.
In addition to this, highlight important details like the webinar topic, the benefits they will get from attending the session, the speaker bio, etc.
6) Promoting the Webinar On Social Media:
Social media platforms, today, boast billions of active users. So, not leveraging these platforms to broaden your webinar’s reach and drive registration is a huge disservice to your initiative!
Promote your webinar on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and other social platforms to diversify and expand your reach organically & increase the chances of webinar registration.
7) Promoting Past Webinars:
If you want to persuade people to attend your webinar, then it would be a really great idea to show them the value attendees received from attending webinars you’ve hosted in the past.
8) Offering Incentives:
Offering webinar attendees some form of rewards to attend your webinar can play a huge role in boosting webinar attendance.
If you want more attendees to join your webinar, consider offering any of the following incentives to your webinar audience:
- Early-bird registration discounts
- Coupon code to purchase your product or service
- Downloadable resources like ebooks, case studies, or whitepapers
- Subscription offer for courses
- Certificate of participation
9) Engaging With Audiences Prior to the Webinar:
It’s a fantastic idea to interact & engage with guests prior to the event, to and build excitement and anticipation. You can run polls, and surveys, or hold a contest that is relevant to your topic.
10) Inviting Noteworthy Guest Speakers:
Inviting a renowned guest speaker to be part of your webinar can play a massive role in inspiring people to register for the event. Professional speakers who are well-known in your industry can make your webinar so much more appealing, interesting, and engaging. In fact, a well-known keynote speaker will draw a higher audience to your webinar.
Guest speakers who are highly knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced, in a particular field or subject, can provide attendees with a truly insightful learning session and build your credibility.
When selecting the perfect guest speaker for your webinar, consider their experience, expertise, engagement qualities, and more. Make sure the speaker is relevant to your subject matter.
Make sure to promote the speaker adequately across all your promotional material and also request them to promote your webinar among their audiences to boost registration and attendance.
11) Choosing the Optimal Day & Timing:
Choosing the right day and time for the webinar is essential to increase the number of attendees. Your target audience may be in different time zones so it’s best to plan strategic times and days for your webinar based on their time.
Generally, Wednesdays & Thursdays are considered the best days to host webinars, and the best time is 10 am or 2 & 3 pm.
However, avoid hosting webinars on Mondays, Fridays, and over the weekends because people are less likely to attend events on these days.
12) Running Paid Ads:
One of the core benefits of paid advertising is that it allows you to target a specific demographic or a niche audience.
You can run paid campaigns on various platforms Facebook, LinkedIn Instagram, Google, YouTube, and more. But, first, figure out where your ideal customers spend the most time, and then choose a platform to advertise your webinars.
13) Collaborating with Influencers:
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool to get your brand in front of your audience. In recent years, it has proven to be a highly effective promotional move.
According to studies, 69% of consumers trust influencer recommendations, as people often see them as friends or peers.
Find relevant influencers who can help your brand reach a new audience and attract more people to attend your webinar.
14) Creating a sense of FOMO:
A FOMO stands for “fear of missing out”, and is a pop-culture reference that is quickly taking over the business world by storm.
According to this stat, 60% of people make purchases because of FOMO, mostly within 24 hours.
You can instill FOMO in your audiences to create a sense of urgency about the webinar registration. Think about using phrases like “Early Bird Discount only for today”, “Limited Offer!”, or “Last 20 seats left! Register now!”, etc to prompt them to take immediate action.
15) Choosing a Powerful Webinar Software:
Choosing the right technology is always a challenge, but there is no greater weapon to help you succeed in your event marketing initiatives than finding the right webinar software. The ideal webinar solution guarantees that the host and attendees both have a smooth and rewarding online event experience.
Pick a webinar platform that has robust capabilities to manage and run any kind of webinar with ease. Be sure the platform has live HD video streaming capabilities, branding & customization, audience engagement tools (polls, chat, and Q&A), networking, analytics & reporting, and third-party integration capabilities.
Consider Airmeet for your next webinar, a virtual event platform that is specifically designed for hosting online events and webinars. It includes everything you need to host top-notch webinars. In fact, the platform is known for managing and delivering exceptional virtual events.
16) Asking for Referrals:
A referral is a recommendation of sorts that satisfied customers give to others. It is effective because people trust recommendations from friends, coworkers, and family members.
Encourage your audiences to recommend your webinars to their friends and colleagues. In this way, you could maximize the attendance of your event and attract fresh potential customers.
17) Sending out Timely Reminder Emails:
Reminders play a big role in increasing webinar attendance.
Some people sign up for an event quite early on but might forget about it on the day of the event. So, maintain an email cadence for registrants such that it isn’t too often, nor is it too infrequent.
Most importantly, make sure to trigger the last reminder email a few hours prior to the webinar, on the day of the event, to all the registered guests. It will ensure they won’t miss the upcoming event.
Conclusion
By following the strategies outlined above, you easily attract, engage, and retain your webinar audience.
Whether you host a live, on-demand, hybrid, or automated webinar, implementing the steps from our guide you can effectively create, plan & promote your webinars and drive registrations, and boost their attendance rate.
From choosing a webinar topic and building a landing page to promoting webinars and partnering with influencers, each of these tips will help you expand your webinar reach and increase webinar participation.
FAQ
A webinar attendance rate between 45% and 55% is considered a good rate. However, this can vary depending on industry, topic, and target audience.
To determine webinar success, track key metrics such as registration numbers, attendance rate, engagement level, leads generated, conversion rate, and attendee feedback. All of these data points will help you gauge the effectiveness of your webinars.
After the webinar ends, you can engage with audiences by sending follow-up emails. You can include webinar recordings, presentation slides, key takeaways, and other relevant resources in that post-webinar template.
