Host webinars like the top 1%: Top Strategies and Video Marketing Trends for 2024

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In an increasingly digital landscape, webinars have emerged as a powerful tool for engaging audiences and marketing products. As we dive into 2024, it's crucial to adapt to the evolving trends in video marketing and refine your webinar strategies to stay ahead. Here are actionable insights to help you host webinars like the top 1% and capitalize on the latest video marketing trends.

Here are 5 tips to host webinars like the top 1% and what set them apart:

Interactivity is the heart of memorable webinars. A study revealed that 44% of webinar attendees experience a dip in engagement mid-session.

To fight this - integrating interactive elements like polls, Q&A sessions, and live discussions is key. Especially, in 2024 with attention spans decreasing and needs for engagement is up - more on that later.

By engaging the audience - you will both make sure the participants 1. focus, and 2. stay. It’s about crafting an experience that is not just informative, but also captivating and fun to be part of.

In the world of AI and being able to make informed decisions - data is king. Both to understand your ideal viewer and convert attendees into your desired next step.

However, it's not about the quantity of data but its relevance and how it is applied.

Rather, than measuring everything at once - the top webinar hosts focus on a few webinar KPI:s (2-5) that align with their goals.

Goals could be centered around 1. getting alot of relevant signups, 2. having attendees engage alot, 3. have attendees watch most of the webinars, or 4. maximize the amount of next steps the attendees take.

Example of webinar goals and what KPI:s to measure

By tailoring your follow-up strategies based on these insights, you can nurture leads more effectively and drive conversions. This is something you can to straight in your CRM if you use a webinar integration, like HubSpot or Salesforce - where you can build workflows based on triggers and data from a webinar platform like Univid.

Some engagement insights you can get from your webinar - right into your CRM, for example through a HubSpot webinar integration.

Distributing webinar responsibilities across your organization can enhance the quality, and diversity of your content - whether it's product demonstrations, or thought leadership sessions.

But most importantly - it relieves some of the pressure from you as a a marketer or webinar coordinator - and make sure running webinars is not dependant on 1 or even a few people in the organization.

Instead, encouraging a creative culture, where knowledge is shared and everyone helps out with topic ideas, improving the delivery, and finding new fun solutions on things like A. getting more signups, to B. engaging and converting them.

The technical aspect of webinars can often be daunting.

By minimizing technical barriers, you make it easier for team members to focus on delivering engaging content.

And yes.. The tech check is still relevant in 2024 - just do it, and you will thank me later.

Here are some pros and cons of running webinars distributed, vs. in a dedicated setup.

Whether you choose a dedicated studio setup for higher production quality or opt for a more flexible, distributed approach, the key is to ensure a smooth, hassle-free experience for both hosts and attendees.

A webinar is one representation of your brand. Thus, what will running it in a generic meeting solution tell your prospects about you?

The appearance of the webinar can significantly impact its reception. From the reminder emails, pre-webinar waiting screen to the presentation slides. By incorporating your brand elements, such as logo, colors, background images, etc. - you will give off a professional look and sets you apart among the top 1%.

It sets the stage for your message, creates a feeling of uniformity, and distinguishes your webinar in a sea of generic presentations.

As we look towards the future, understanding the shift towards both short-form content, how B2B should think about their marketing mix, and why interactive formats are on the rise.

The digital landscape and video consumption is evolving, with short-form video content gaining traction - and becoming a popular choice for top-funnel growth.

However, how much short-form content you should use and for what purpose, in your B2B marketing, significantly depends on your target audience and the complexity of your offerings.

• Audience Persona: The effectiveness of short-form content hinges on understanding your viewer's preferences and needs.

• Shift in Content Consumption: Platforms like Vine, TikTok, Youtube Shorts, and Instagram Reels have showcased a consumer preference for quick, digestible content. Yet, these platforms are also increasingly bumping up their max lengths of videos - to accommodate for longer formats - recognizing the need for in-depth content to convert and build relationships.

• Application in B2B: For products with straightforward value propositions, short videos can drive conversions effectively. Think about no-touch products you understand and start paying for directly on the website. However, complex B2B solutions benefit from using short-form content primarily as top-funnel to then draw viewers into more detailed long-form content, such as webinars.

• Strategy Recommendation: Leverage short-form content on platforms like LinkedIn to spark interest and funnel viewers towards more in-depth webinars where deeper engagement occurs.

Short-form videos on platforms like LinkedIn and TikTok can serve as a powerful tool to build awareness and attract webinar sign-ups, while the live nature of webinars offers opportunities for real-time engagement and drive conversions.

Balancing these formats according to your audience's preferences and your marketing objectives can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates.

HubSpot's Demand Gen Report: Webinars are the top-of-funnel format that generates the most high quality leads

Deciding between pre-recorded and live formats is a strategic choice that impacts the A. authenticity and B. resource efficiency of your webinars.

Ask yourself - what is a signup worth to you? And what is your annual contract value (ACV)? These are questions that will decide whether you should focus your strategy around live, or pre-recorded.

Here are 3 things to consider:

• Conversion vs. Efficiency: Live webinars offer real-time engagement - where you can react to the audience, answer their burning questions, etc. Thus, live sees the highest conversion. However, pre-recorded webinars means less operational stress and more scalability.

• Your Resources: Are you a solo marketer, or solopreneur? Consider pre-recorded. Your mix should align with your marketing goals and resources.

• Transparency is Key: Regardless of the format, maintaining transparency with your audience builds trust. Be upfront about the nature of the webinar - and tell them how they can interact during the session.

Recommendation: The New Way of Running Webinars is to incorporate pre-recorded segments within live webinars - to show the audience that you value them, by creating a visually engaging experience, using the pros of pre-recorded and combining it with the upsides of being live.

While it's true that attention spans are going down - the demand for engaging interactive content is up. This highlight the need to think about how webinars are produced in 2024, to engage and keep the audience's attention.

• Engagement > Duration: The focus should be on how to make webinars more interactive, rather than solely on their length. Try to keep everything as short and packed as possible - and plan for interaction. Incorporating live Q&As, polls, and discussions can significantly enhance viewer retention.

• Quality Content Matters: Ensure your webinar content is compelling from start to finish. The initial hook, glue to keep people watching, and the ongoing value provided are crucial for keeping viewers in the session.

• Leverage Analytics and History: Use data from previous webinars to understand when viewers are most likely to drop off. Take pro-active measures - such as launching a poll before the 15-min dip, to keep the audience engaged throughout the session.

• Use the Live Format to Your Advantage: Interactive elements not only boost engagement but also provide unique insights and an experience that cannot be found in on-demand videos. Use the live webinar format to your advantage, and actively challenge yourself by asking - why should this not be just a on-demand video somewhere?

In conclusion, as video marketing continues to evolve, so too should your webinar strategies.

By planning for interaction, using data to your advantage, building your distributed webinar team, keeping it simple, using branding and staying on top of video marketing trends - you can create webinars like the top 1%.

Let 2024 be the year you take your webinars to the next level!