Statistics provide a good insight into success factors. Unfortunately, there are few benchmarks relating to webinars in the Netherlands. The American ON24 has been doing worldwide benchmark research on webinars for several years, based on their own database. Specific benchmarks for certain regions are also calculated, such as Europe in 2018 and EMEA in 2018. All relevant statistics from these studies will be compared and discussed below. This will provide good insight into what success can be expected with webinars today and with it some tips on how to increase this success:
- Expectations show/no-show
- Success of the promotion mix
- The best day to send an e-mail invitation
- Correct timing of the promotional strategy delivers results
- Increase in viewing time through interactive webinars
- On-demand recordings: viewing minutes and number of viewers
Expectations show/no-show
The conversion of registration to participation is an important process. Sending well-designed e-mail reminders and an (Outlook) calendar invitation helps with this. On average, a conversion rate of 55.2% is achieved in the Netherlands (2018), although the attendance rate varies greatly by type of webinar. For example, (paid) training courses can count on a high attendance of over 95% and marketing webinars ‘only’ 35-42%.
Succes of the promotion mix
A high attendance rate starts with a good promotion. The figure below shows that e-mail invitations result in the most registrations, but they are not solely responsible for this. Promotion on the website, personal e-mails from sales and activities undertaken by intermediaries are also responsible for achieving 80% of the registrations. So always choose a promotion mix to achieve maximum results and do not forget to take into account where the target group is located.
The best day to send an e-mail inventation
The day the e-mail invitation is sent has a big effect on the number of registrations. This has to do with the recipient’s schedule. When they have the opportunity to open the e-mail, they are more likely to subscribe. The figure below shows that most people open the e-mail invitation on Tuesday or Thursday and subsequently subscribe. The target group remains decisive in choosing a suitable day.
The right timing of the promotional strategy delivers results
The right timing of the promotional strategy is important for a high number of registrations. The latest webinar benchmark research shows that webinar promotion yields the most registrants when it is started more than 3 weeks in advance. This is in contrast to previous years where a period longer than 3 weeks was recommended. However, the majority of registrations still take place in the week of the webinar and especially on the day itself. An e-mail invitation in the last 24 hours prior to the webinar is very important here.
Increase in vieuwing time trough interactivate webinars
On average participants spend 56 minutes watching a one-hour webinar. The figure below shows that between 2013 and 2018, viewing time has remained fairly stable. This is due to the fact that organisers are giving webinars that are increasingly interactive. Interactivity increases audience engagement and ensures that they stay watching longer.
On-demand recordings: viewing minutes and number of views
The on-demand recording of the webinar is widely and well watched. For example, 5% of the participants of the live webinars watch the on-demand webinar again (partly) because they missed a part or want to watch it again. There are also many people who find the on-demand recording online and decide to watch it (35%). The average viewing time is lower than for a live webinar, namely 44 minutes.
Tip: Watch the webinar here “Benchmarks and best practices”