22 Powerful Webinar Statistics to Know in 2023

Webinars have been a go-to content format for marketers and businesses for years now. These live or recorded online presentations, workshops, or events enable companies to connect with their audience, showcase their expertise, generate leads, and drive conversions—all virtually and cost-effectively.

But just how popular and effective are webinars today? Let‘s take a data-driven look at the current state of webinars with 22 statistics every marketer should know.

Webinars are Increasingly Popular and Effective

Webinars have experienced massive growth and widespread adoption in recent years, especially since the start of the pandemic:

1. In 2020, 67% of marketers were investing more in webinars compared to the previous year. (ON24)

2. The global webinar market is projected to reach $800 million by 2023, a 253% increase from 2015. (MarketWatch)

3. 95% of marketers say webinars are a key part of their marketing efforts, with 38% considering them "critical." (ON24)

4. Professionals viewed 3X more webinar content in 2020 compared to 2019. (ON24)

5. The average webinar viewing time in 2020 was 57 minutes. (ON24)

6. 91% of webinar marketers say they have been successful with the tactic, a 10% increase from the previous year. (Wyzowl)

Webinars Deliver High Marketing ROI

Marketers find webinars to be a high-performing content type that generates quality leads at an efficient cost:

7. 53% of marketers say webinars are the top format for generating high-quality leads. (Demand Gen Report)

8. 76% of marketers say webinars allow them to reach more leads, while 75% say they help extend brand reach. (ON24)

9. 69% of marketers leverage webinars to scale their marketing efforts. (ON24)

10. 58% of marketers say webinars lower their cost-per-lead. (ON24)

B2B Marketers Rely Heavily on Webinars

While both B2B and B2C companies can benefit from webinars, they have been especially popular and lucrative in the B2B space:

11. 89% of B2B companies leverage webinars as part of their content marketing strategy. (CMI)

12. 56% of B2B professionals prefer learning about a product or service through a webinar compared to other formats. (Demand Gen Report)

13. 66% of B2B buyers say webinars are the content format they most often share with colleagues. (PathFactory)

14. 61% of B2B marketers say webinars are the content type that generates the most high-quality leads. (MarketingProfs/CMI)

The Best Days and Times for Webinars

To maximize webinar attendance and engagement, timing is everything. Research shows:

15. Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days of the week to host a webinar. (ON24)

16. 11 a.m. is the most popular time to run a webinar, followed by 2 p.m. (ON24)

17. Webinars held mid-week have a 4% higher conversion rate than those earlier or later in the week. (ON24)

Webinar Registration and Attendance Benchmarks

Getting people to register for and ultimately attend your webinars is key to their success. On average:

18. Webinars get 148 registrants and 44 attendees. (BrightTALK)

19. The average webinar registration rate is 36%. (GoToWebinar)

20. 61% of registrants actually attend the live webinar, a conversion rate increase of 6% compared to the previous year. (ON24)

On-Demand Webinars Perform Well

While live webinars have their strengths, making webinars available on-demand after the fact broadens their reach and impact:

21. 35% of all webinar viewing time is for on-demand webinars. (ON24)

22. There are 6x more on-demand webinar viewers than live attendees, on average. (ON24)

Most Effective Webinar Content and Formats

Engaging, relevant content is at the heart of any successful webinar. Some best practices:

• Webinars focused on teaching something specific about a hobby, passion, or industry perform best. (HubSpot)

• Adding interactive elements like polls, links, and offers can boost engagement by up to 300%. (ON24)

• Ideal webinar length is 30-45 minutes, with an additional 15 minutes for Q&A. (WorkCast)

• Use slides with compelling visuals, limit text to a few key points per slide. (GoToWebinar)

Webinar Promotion Best Practices

Reaching and converting your target audience requires a solid promotional strategy for your webinars:

• Email is the top channel, driving 57% of webinar registrations with a 27% higher conversion rate than other methods. (GoToWebinar)

• Social media ads and sponsored LinkedIn InMail are also effective paid channels. (ON24)

• Aim to promote at least 1-2 weeks in advance, with reminders leading up to the event. (GoToWebinar)

• Create an optimized webinar landing page focused on the value for attendees. (HubSpot)

The Impact of the Pandemic on Webinars

The COVID-19 crisis and shift to remote work spurred an acceleration in webinar usage:

• As of April 2020, 33% of marketers who did not previously use webinars planned to start doing so. (Demand Gen Report)

• In the early months of the pandemic, ON24 saw a 330% increase in monthly usage of its webinar platform.

• In May 2020, webinar fatigue started to set in, with average viewing time declining after peaking in April. (ON24)

• However, webinars are expected to remain a staple in the post-pandemic world, with 53% of marketers planning to leverage them in their 2021 video marketing strategy, up from 46% in 2019. (Wyzowl)

The Future of Webinars

As buyers increasingly self-educate and avoid talking to sales reps until later in their journey, webinars provide a way to engage them on their terms. Some key trends on the horizon:

• Greater focus on webinars as an interactive, two-way experience vs. lecture-style presentations

• Shorter, snackable webinar content to suit shifting audience preferences and combat fatigue

• Using intent data and personalization to deliver more relevant webinar content

• Leveraging webinars across the entire customer lifecycle, from awareness to retention

• Repurposing webinar content into other assets like blog posts, ebooks, and social clips

Despite countless new content formats emerging, it‘s clear that webinars are here to stay. By keeping these data-backed insights and best practices in mind, marketers and businesses can tap into the full potential of this powerful tactic—now and in the future.