Webinars persist in marketing strategies for a simple reason—they work. Ever since the first webinar kicked off back in 1996, this virtual format has delivered consistently on two fronts: generating qualified leads and educating potential customers. When done well, webinars create that rare marketing win-win: audiences get valuable information without sitting through a sales pitch, and you build relationships with engaged prospects.

If the thought of speaking to a virtual room of hundreds makes your palms sweat, you're not alone. The good news? The technical and promotional aspects can be systematized, letting you focus on delivering value rather than worrying about attendance numbers. We'll walk you through incorporating webinars into your marketing plan, from promoting your event to actually delivering something your audience will thank you for attending.

What is a webinar marketing strategy?

A webinar is a virtual event hosted through a video conferencing platform. They're most often used as a way to build a connection with your audience and generate leads since people will need to enter details, such as their name and email address, to register. Webinar marketing strategies leverage these online events to achieve specific business goals while providing value to attendees.

Benefits of webinar marketing strategies

Lead generation through webinars

Webinars are the perfect way to showcase your expertise as part of your marketing strategy. With thought leadership webinars, in particular, people can see that you're knowledgeable about a topic and begin to trust you—two key components in any purchasing decision. That, combined with case studies from previous customers, can nudge people further along in the buyer's journey to becoming paid customers.

Plus, because webinars require the attendees to hand over their email addresses during the registration process, you'll create a list of people who are interested in your webinar topic. Depending on the form fields, you can also discover their job title, company name, or biggest pain point. This acts as a curated list of quality leads that your sales team can follow up with personalized messages after the event, creating a seamless connection between your marketing webinar strategy and sales process.

Cost-effectiveness of webinar marketing

Marketing can get expensive, especially if you're shooting fancy videos and using paid tools to schedule promotional content. Webinars, however, are scalable and have low production costs, which is especially great for time-poor small businesses. Instead of reaching just one person through cold outreach or pitching, you can reach hundreds of people through an online event in a single hour.

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Repurposing webinar content for marketing

It's more difficult than ever to catch your audience's attention and raise brand awareness. Marketing channels are overrun with social media posts from creators and brands of all sizes. You're competing against millions of people to claim the limited number of organic post slots in your audience's news feed.

Most social media platforms are pivoting towards video-first valuable content. In other words: you'll likely get a boost in reach and engagement if you're sharing short-form videos.

Webinars give you a library of content to share without having to sit down and record individual pieces of content. If you've hosted a Q&A session at the end of your webinar, for example, use a video editor like Descript to clip this section, use a template to change the aspect ratio to vertical, and add automated subtitles. Just like that, you've got a video ready to post on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube Shorts—and it's taken no extra legwork on your behalf. This post-webinar repurposing strategy helps maximize your ROI from each event.

Effective webinar marketing strategy tips

1. Give people enough time to register

How far in advance to schedule your webinar is an age-old question in webinar marketing strategy. Too far in advance, and people who register might forget about it when the time comes; give too little notice, and potential attendees might already be too busy to join.

Data compiled by GoToWebinar found that most registrations happen less than a week before the webinar. Some 17% happen within 24 hours of the start time. That said, promoting at least four weeks in advance of the live webinar results in 12% more registrations. An effective webinar marketing strategy balances early promotion with targeted reminders as the event approaches.

The same report revealed some interesting data on when you should promote your webinar, too. It found Tuesdays were the most popular day for people to register for a webinar, though posts scheduled Monday through Wednesday attract 63% of all registrations. Prioritize posting about your webinar early in the week to increase the odds of someone joining.

2. Choose an engaging webinar topic

People join webinars for several reasons: They might want to learn something, be entertained, or get inspired. All three motivations require an interesting topic—one that convinces people to not only register for the event but also join it and participate when the time comes. Your webinar marketing strategy should begin with clearly defined objectives that align with these audience motivations.

Research your target audience or buyer persona to find out which goals and challenges they're navigating. Choose a valuable topic that relates to these challenges so that in your webinar marketing campaigns, you can pull on their pain points and tell people exactly what they'll come away with. Different webinar types—such as educational webinars, product demos, or thought leadership sessions—can be tailored to address specific audience needs.

Pearmill uses this webinar marketing tip for its masterclass on agency planning models. They promise that attendees will walk away with insider knowledge on how agency sprints work and best practices to follow—two key takeaways its target audience of agency owners will aspire to have, and therefore want to join the webinar.

3. Optimize your webinar landing page

A webinar landing page is a dedicated page where people can learn more about your upcoming webinar. You'll divert traffic here from your digital marketing campaigns across social media or email marketing newsletters.

In its most simplistic form, your landing page needs a headline to share the title of the event, a brief description (including the date and time), and sign-up form. But it helps to optimize the webinar landing page—and improve on the 30% average conversion rate—with:

• Call-to-action (CTA) buttons with descriptive text like “I want to learn” (instead of “register”)
• A short bio about you—and why someone should trust your advice as a thought leader
• Engaging visuals that break up text, such as videos, images, or illustrations
• Countdown timers that show how long someone has left to register
• Testimonials from previous webinar attendees
• Exit intent popups that appear as someone shows an intention to leave the page
• SEO optimization, including descriptive keywords, to get found in search results

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4. Promote the event as a preview of paid products

Chances are, you're using the webinar as a way to qualify leads and turn attendees into paying customers. One smart way to do this is to promote the event as a free preview of paid products—a proven webinar marketing best practice that bridges the gap between free content and paid offerings.

Fitness coach Ashley Barnsley, for example, hosted a webinar on nutrition. Clients in his paid community got priority access, but he promoted the replay on Instagram to give followers a glimpse of what they could get if they also joined. He says this strategy “allows me to showcase the value I can give to people for free so that when they think about needing a coach, I am top of their mind.”

5. Limit the number of webinar participants

Humans are wired to value things more if they're limited. Apply this to your webinar promotion strategy by limiting how many spaces are available. Even if someone didn't intend on joining when they saw the event in their news feed, simply knowing that it could be their only opportunity could entice them into registering.

If you're unsure of what this maximum capacity should be, start high and bring the limit down as you learn how many attendees your events tend to attract. This might not be sky-high—the vast majority of webinars have 50 or fewer attendees. Almost half have fewer than 25.

6. Partner with relevant guest speakers

You don't have to be the sole host of an online webinar. You can find other people to join with you and use their audience as a way to promote the event.

Let's put that into practice and say you're the owner of a children's supplement brand. You're hosting a webinar to show people how they can improve their children's health, so you invite a pediatric doctor and a children's dentist to co-host the event with you.

The most obvious benefit of this webinar marketing tactic is that you're diversifying the expertise on offer. People don't just learn from a brand that's selling something—they can get advice from unbiased, trusted experts who are trained and knowledgeable about the topic.

If possible, choose co-hosts with their own audience and encourage them to promote the webinar on their own social media channels. This helps you attract attendees who don't already know of your brand. Product designer Noah Levin, for example, promoted the AI webinar it co-hosted with Mia Blume and pushed the event to his LinkedIn connections:

7. Offer webinar replay access

If the scheduled date or time of your webinar doesn't work for someone, they might be reluctant to register. Promising to make the replay available gives them an incentive to register. They can watch it on demand at a time that best suits them.

GoToWebinar's report found this happens more than you might expect. The average attendance rate is 65% for corporate communications webinars, 53% for training webinars, and 44% for marketing webinars, so don't be afraid if people don't turn up on the day. A comprehensive webinar marketing strategy includes plans for both live attendees and those who will watch the replay.

Optimist, for example, sent this email to promote its on-demand webinar co-hosted with freelancer Lizzie Davey. It promised the replay would be available after the event to anyone who signed up.

Aligning webinars with sales for post-event success

Properly integrating your webinar efforts with your sales team can significantly improve lead conversion rates according to industry experts. Start by ensuring your sales reps have access to real-time attendee data so they can follow up with personalized messages right after the event highlighted in Banzai’s guide. Additionally, an ON24 strategy guide suggests that timely handoff of lead data significantly increases the likelihood of turning webinar interest into closed deals. Review participant engagement metrics—such as questions asked or polls answered—to gauge the readiness of each lead. Stay consistent by distributing relevant resources mentioned during the webinar, like white papers or eBooks, along with a link to the replay. Use automated email workflows to nurture people who registered but couldn't attend, providing them with additional content that addresses their goals. This combined approach of immediate sales outreach and automated nurturing ensures you're building upon the momentum from the webinar while it's still fresh.

How to deliver an effective webinar

You've done the hard work of marketing your webinar and attracting attendees. Make sure you deliver on what you've promised with these webinar marketing best practices:

• Outline and rehearse a script. It's easy to get intimidated or lose your train of thought when hosting a webinar. This is where a script comes in handy. Write down the things you want to talk about (or get AI to do it for you) and rehearse it before delivering the presentation.
• Use a teleprompter. If you're watching the replay and spot you're spending too much time looking at the teleprompter, fix it (before sharing the replay with attendees) using the Eye Contact AI video effect.
• Remove filler words. There's a reason why professional speakers limit how many “umms” and “ahhs” they use—filler words can make you sound less confident and knowledgeable. Remove them in post-production with Descript.
• Encourage audience participation. It's hard to gauge what your audience is thinking when you can't see their face. Encourage them to give their feedback and interact with your webinar through polls, Q&As, or breakout sessions.
• Diversify your content formats. Not everyone shares the same learning style or content preferences. Experiment with segments where you're just speaking to the camera, hosting visual presentations, or moderating discussions to make sure you're meeting as many preferences as possible.

Tracking ROI with advanced webinar metrics

Measuring the effectiveness of your webinar campaign goes beyond simply counting attendees as recommended by comprehensive webinar marketing guides. Look at deeper metrics, like how many participants actively engaged through polls or Q&A, to gauge topic-specific interest. Use audience feedback, chat logs, and potential leads generated to correlate these interactions with your broader sales funnel. Additionally, linking post-webinar conversions—like product demo requests or sign-ups—to specific webinar sessions helps you see which topics drive revenue based on ON24’s approach. Analytical tools can help you track the journey from click to conversion, unveiling which content resonates and which topics need adjustment. By refining your strategy through these insights, you can focus resources on high-impact content and continually increase your webinar ROI.

How Descript enhances your webinar marketing

Say goodbye to a mismatch of different tools, each requiring monthly subscriptions, when you use Descript for work. Its all-in-one video creation suite has everything you need to host successful webinars and implement an effective webinar marketing strategy, including:

• Screen recording functionality to create and record webinar presentations
• Professional editing features to perfect your webinar before publishing the replay, including background noise removal, filler word removal, and Overdub to fix audio mistakes
• Transcripts and automatic subtitling to improve accessibility
• Collaboration tools to work with your marketing team in a single platform
• Find Good Clips to repurpose noteworthy parts of your webinar on social media
• Easy exporting of your recorded webinars to video hosting sites like YouTube

More than six million creators, professionals, and teams already use Descript to create professional videos and execute their webinar marketing strategies. Sign up for your free trial today to get your webinar strategy rolling.

Webinar marketing strategy FAQ

Is webinar content marketing?

Webinars are a type of content marketing that allows you to build stronger connections with your audience in real time. You can teach them something, inspire someone, and demonstrate your expertise with a webinar. They're also great for generating leads, especially if you're asking for someone's email address in order to register for the webinar. An effective webinar marketing strategy includes clear goals, engaging content, and a plan for measuring success.

How to create a webinar marketing strategy?

1. Define your target audience
2. Choose a topic based on their pain points
3. Set a measurable goal
4. Schedule the event
5. Design a presentation
6. Write a webinar script
7. Create a webinar registration page
8. Promote the event on social media
9. Share the registration link in email campaigns

How do you attract people to a webinar?

1. Choose an interesting topic
2. Pull on pain points
3. Tell people what they'll come away with
4. Ask webinar hosts to share the registration link
5. Optimize your webinar landing page
6. Limit the number of attendees
7. Promise to share the replay

How far in advance should you promote a webinar?

Studies have shown that webinars scheduled four weeks in advance get 12% more registrations, but the majority of people sign up within a week of the event's start date. Get the best of both worlds by scheduling the event a month in advance and ramping up promotion as the date approaches. This balanced approach is a key component of successful webinar marketing strategies that maximize attendance and engagement.

How do I keep attendees engaged throughout the webinar?

One effective way is to use polls, Q&A sessions, and chat features to foster interactive participation based on recommended practices. Encouraging attendees to download resources or fill out quick surveys mid-event is another proven tactic. You can also highlight real-world case studies to keep content fresh and relatable. Finally, consider sending reminders about key interactive features, like the chat box, throughout your presentation.

Which metrics should I track to measure webinar ROI?

It's crucial to measure metrics that link directly to your business goals, such as how many attendees convert to actual leads according to an ON24 webinar guide. Attendance rate, engagement levels, and post-webinar conversions also offer vital insights. If you track them together, you'll see the overall effect on sales or sign-ups. Additionally, analyzing the average time spent in the webinar can signal if your content is resonating or if attendees are dropping off early. This big-picture perspective helps you fine-tune future webinars for maximum impact.

How do I use email marketing to boost webinar attendance?

Segment your email list by interests or buyer stage so that each recipient receives relevant messaging as recommended in Banzai’s webinar marketing strategy guide. Make your subject lines compelling by highlighting the core benefit of attending. Send a series of reminders: an initial announcement, a follow-up a week before, and a final push 24 hours prior to the event. Include speaker bios, session highlights, and a clear call to action in each email. These steps ensure your message resonates with the right people at the right time, encouraging them to reserve a spot.