Is it still worth investing in webinars? Hit or Not?

(Polish version: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/czy-warto-jeszcze-inwestowa%C4%87-w-webinary-hit-prze%C5%BCytek-lucyna-kozio%C5%82-660qf/)

Webinars are still one of the most effective marketing tools, but is it still worth investing in them in 2025?

Lately, this question has been coming up frequently in marketing strategy discussions. The beginning of the year is when you finalize budgets, plan activities, or are already in full execution mode. No wonder doubts arise: Do webinars still deliver results? Are they a waste of budget? Or are there now more effective ways to reach customers?

Before making a decision, let’s take a closer look at the challenges, strategies, and ways to stand out in the competitive webinar landscape.

Webinars are still considered an effective tool for lead generation, but their success depends on multiple factors. Thanks to their format, they offer a unique opportunity for direct interaction with participants, which helps build relationships and strengthen brand awareness. However, their growing popularity also means increased competition and higher audience expectations.

Key Aspects to Consider Before Hosting a Webinar in 2025

Increasing Competition

Growing Number of Webinars:

According to Verified Market Research, the online seminar market is expected to reach $4.79 billion by 2030, reflecting a 7.46% growth between 2024 and 2030.

57% of marketers organize 50 webinars per year, while 86% of survey respondents stated they host up to 150 marketing webinars annually.

This upward trend has been evident since 2020, when the number of virtual conference attendees increased by 1,037%, and events on platforms like ClickMeeting grew by 953% compared to 2019.

High Audience Expectations

Participants are becoming increasingly demanding, expecting high-quality content and a professional presentation. According to BigMarker data:

92% of webinar attendees expect a live Q&A session before the event concludes.

44% prefer sessions lasting 45 minutes, while 41% favor 30-minute sessions.

Only 10% of participants prefer longer sessions, indicating the need to adjust webinar length to audience expectations.

A potential solution is to stay in regular contact with your audience—for example, by conducting surveys among registered attendees to gather their preferences and tailor the event to their expectations.

Organizational Challenges

Technology Management

Ensuring a smooth webinar experience requires a reliable technological infrastructure. Technical issues such as streaming delays or difficulties accessing the platform can discourage participants. Organizers must invest in dependable software and conduct pre-event tests. However, even with the best and most expensive solutions, things can still go wrong.

How to Prepare? Implement a Plan B.

Example 1: The host should be prepared to act quickly in case of an unexpected event shutdown.

• Always have a participant list ready.
• Immediately create a new event and send an email notification, ideally supplemented with an SMS/WhatsApp message containing the new event link.
• While not all participants may return, 80-90% should reconnect.
• If the host isn’t tech-savvy, have a technical support person on standby, ready to act upon a pre-agreed signal.

Example 2: For minor technical issues, such as sound problems, headset issues, or the classic "cat appearance" during the webinar ??, a brief technical break may be enough.

• Prepare a “Technical Break” slide in advance.
• If possible, the host should verbally announce or write in the chat that a short break is happening and display the slide.
• This is also helpful for latecomers, letting them know the event is still happening but will resume shortly.
• The host gains valuable time to resolve the issue and ensure a smooth continuation.

Audience Engagement

Keeping participants engaged for an extended period is challenging, especially in the era of short-form content. Organizers must use various engagement techniques, such as interactive polls or Q&A sessions, to maintain audience interest.

It’s important to coordinate these elements with the host in advance. Some webinar platforms come with built-in polling features, but you can also use simple, free external tools. Preparing these polls before the event is crucial. During the webinar, simply share the poll link in the chat for attendees to participate—this requires them to be actively engaged on their computers.

Q&A sessions can be conducted at the end of the event or throughout the session. The latter is more challenging to moderate and can affect time management, but some experts handle this skillfully. It’s a good idea to discuss this with the host beforehand and establish a clear format.

It’s crucial to clearly communicate the rules to participants at the beginning of the webinar so they don’t get confused if their questions aren’t answered immediately and don’t leave the event too soon.

Nobody likes when an event runs over time. If the expert doesn’t manage to answer all the questions, you can use this as a great follow-up opportunity.

• Collect the questions and answers and publish them as a blog post or, if you don’t have a website, at least in an email.
• Keeping users anticipating valuable content increases email open rates.
• If you direct traffic to your website, you build a remarketing audience for future campaigns.
• Another great approach is recording the host’s responses and publishing them on YouTube, where you can also build an audience for Google Ads retargeting.

Important!

Think through all possibilities in advance and establish clear rules with the host from the start. This ensures smooth collaboration and provides transparent guidelines for participants, improving their overall experience.

Strategies to Stand Out

Unique Topics and Formats

To attract participants, choose topics that are timely and relevant to your target audience. Additionally, using unconventional formats, such as panel discussions or expert interviews, can make your event more appealing.

How can you find trending and engaging topics? AI can help. Use the three-step method: AI, trend analysis, and client validation—which I discussed in my first article: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-organize-webinar-people-actually-attend-even-more-lucyna-kozio%C5%82-rqcyf/

Personalized Experiences

Tailoring content to the needs of a specific audience and creating personalized invitations can help increase both attendance and engagement.

More on this topic coming soon in a separate post. Subscribe to the newsletter and stay up to date.

Promotion and Marketing

Effective webinar promotion is crucial. Using multiple communication channels—such as social media and email marketing—can help you reach a wider audience and boost registrations.

Below are two examples illustrating what contributes to success and what can lead to failure:

Success: A Webinar that attracted participants and drove sales

Company: TechStart – a startup offering AI tools for data analysis

Webinar Goal: Lead generation and sales of a new market trend analysis tool

Strategy:

? Personalization and Promotion: email invitations sent to a segmented customer base, LinkedIn ads targeting business analysts, registered attendees received an additional survey to assess their expectations, with an open field for Q&A questions.

? Valuable Content: the webinar wasn’t sales-focused—instead, it presented case studies of companies that successfully used AI in market analysis

? Interactivity: Live Q&A and in-session polls increased engagement

? Expert as a Speaker: Instead of an internal employee, a recognized market analyst was invited to host the session

? Follow-up: After the webinar, participants received a summary, presentation, and answers to all questions asked during the event, they also got access to a trial version of the tool

Results:

?? Attendance: 62% of registered users participated

?? Average watch time: 47 minutes (out of a 1-hour webinar)

?? Conversion: 18% of attendees used the trial version, and 7% purchased the product

Failure: A Webinar That Failed to Meet Expectations and Lost Participants

Company: a marketing agency hosting a webinar on social media

Goal: Establishing industry authority and acquiring consulting clients

What Went Wrong?

? Lack of a Specific Topic: the webinar titled “New Trends in Social Media” was too generic and didn’t appeal to a specific audience

? Overly Aggressive Sales Approach: the host spent half the time promoting their services, rather than providing valuable insights

? Technical Issues: streaming delays and poor audio quality caused 25% of attendees to leave within the first 10 minutes

? No Interactivity: no polls, no Q&A session—attendees felt like they were watching a standard presentation, rather than engaging in a live event

? Weak Follow-up: no post-webinar emails, no recordings, and no additional resources were sent to attendees

Results:

?? Only 37% of registered participants attended

?? Average watch time: 19 minutes (out of a 1-hour webinar)

?? No real conversions—no one booked a consultation or used the services

In Summary

Webinars in 2025 still hold great potential as an effective marketing tool, but their success is no longer guaranteed. Growing competition, higher audience expectations, and the need for a well-crafted strategy mean that organizing a webinar requires more attention and preparation than ever before.

Is It Worth Investing in Webinars?

? Yes - as long as you carefully choose the topic, tailor the content to your audience, and focus on engagement.

What Can Threaten a Webinar’s Effectiveness?

?? Technical issues

?? Lack of audience engagement

?? Poorly chosen topic

?? Overly aggressive sales approach

How to Stand Out?

? Personalization - adapt the webinar to your audience’s needs

? Engaging format - use interactive elements

? Interactivity - encourage participation throughout the event

? Valuable follow-up - keep the conversation going after the webinar

The examples of successful and unsuccessful webinars show that success depends not only on the quality of the event itself but also on its promotion, technical setup, and post-event communication.

If you’re planning a webinar in 2025, remember: A well-organized event is not just about delivering valuable content - it’s about creating an engaging experience that strengthens relationships with your audience.

If you take care of these aspects - you won’t lose.