There's nothing we love more than hearing how experienced events leaders are thinking about webinar strategy. It's like a peek behind the business curtain to find out what types of webinars are working for companies, how they snag the best speakers, what webinar formats they're choosing, and more!

Lindsay McGuire, Associate Director of Content at Goldcast, recently hosted a fireside chat with Stephanie Siemens, Client Engagement Manager and Digital Events Lead at Iron Horse, and Arianna Etemadieh, Demand Generation Marketing Lead at Uber for Business.

Read on to learn:

• Webinars help you accomplish business goals
• Creating the best speaker experience
• Choose your fighter: Live vs Pre-recorded 🥊
• What's the ideal webinar length?
• Try re-airing webinar content for max ROI
• Watch the full replay to get webinar topic ideas
• Content strategies for webinar success frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Before we get into the meatier part of the discussion, let's talk about how these leaders are currently using webinars for their business.

Webinars have evolved at Uber for Business, where the team used to focus on thought leadership and the macro business industry. These days, they're putting out more product-focused webinars because they found these directly influence buyers within their respective buying journeys.

Specifically, Uber for Business discovered that most people who come to the product webinars are already talking to the sales team. They want to learn more about the products, and the company's quarterly product release events deliver on that.

At Iron Horse, Stephanie is always thinking about what she wants to accomplish with each webinar. That might be product education, lead generation, thought leadership, or something else. Then, depending on that answer, she can zero in on where she needs to focus as she develops the format and topic for the session.

Ultimately, webinars are content assets you can use — and they're also powerful videos! Don't forget that as you're producing your webinar content strategy. Repurposing your webinars into video snippets you can use across your platforms is one of the smartest, most impactful things you can do.

So much of your webinar's success hinges on your speakers, so you want to be sure they have everything they need to give a strong presentation.

At Uber for Business, they make it easy for speakers to say yes by using a clear, concise template that makes asking (and committing) a breeze. If you're creating your own template, think about any and all questions you might get in an initial message and make sure that info is covered.

Being this thorough puts your speaker at ease; they become confident that they can trust you to carry them through the entire webinar process, and they're much more likely to say yes.

Once your speakers are committed, it's time to make sure they're comfy on camera. Webinars can be daunting, and giving a webinar presentation is a unique kind of public speaking.

Stephanie leans toward over-communicating as you get speakers prepared. The more information you give them upfront, the more time they have to review the content and ask questions before it's go time.

And don't forget about the dry run! Run the session from start to finish as if you were recording. This helps both the speakers and the admin team understand how the session is flowing and if any adjustments need to be made.

Try sharing content outlines, decks, and copy with your speakers, too. Showing them your ideas and your works in progress can help them feel like they're "bought in" to the journey. Encourage speakers to add notes of their own and really make the copy sound like them!

After the webinar, thank and acknowledge your speakers for their hard work. Ask them for feedback about their experience, and provide them with any post-webinar assets they can use to promote the event on their own networks. Most people want to get their personal brand out there and will jump at the chance!

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People have very strong opinions when it comes to whether you should host your webinars live or go with the pre-recorded functionality, and both have pros and cons.

Interestingly, both Arianna and Stephanie prefer pre-recorded webinars. However, in our 2024 Webinar Benchmark Report, we found that live webinars were still the most popular, clocking in at 82% of all Goldcast-hosted webinars.

Here's why Uber for Business and Iron Horse favor pre-recording:

• It removes the risk of technical difficulties affecting your live event
• You can still host the event live and engage with attendees
• It takes some of the pressure off your speakers because there's not a live audience, and you can rehearse and edit in a way you can't during a live webinar

If you decide to try pre-recorded webinars, do a tech check before you record. Have your speakers check all of their tools, and give them a chance to practice their presentations and get comfortable on camera. You should also remind folks that even though it's pre-recorded, it'll still air live so they want to appear alert, attentive, and engaged throughout the session!

It seems like a one-hour webinar is pretty standard, but Uber for Business has started hosting 30-minute webinars. You'd be surprised how much content you can cover in just 10-15 minutes! Plus, your audience is likely used to sitting in 30-minute meetings as part of their workday, so these can fit in nicely.

For Iron Horse, shorter is also preferred. It obviously depends on your goals for the session, but a 30-minute webinar is a lighter ask for speakers and attendees, which can make it easier to commit to.

You could even try shorter sessions — Iron Horse hosts a Coffee Break Series, which is comprised of 15-20 minute sessions that offer attendees a chance to take a break, grab a cup of coffee, and learn something new together.

We talk all the time about repurposing content to get the most value out of your webinars. But have you considered re-airing them?

Uber for Business will re-air webinars a few months after they initially come out. Odds are that folks on the email list won't remember the original webinar, and the re-air can bring new leads in if they either missed the first promo email or weren't on the list yet. Re-airing also strengthens your core messages, which helps it to land more with your audience.

There are two primary ways to position your re-air:

1. You can promote it as a net new piece of content and not mention the original webinar at all. This means you'd write new, different copy to use to promote the re-air.
2. You can use the FOMO angle and tell folks they missed out on the webinar and try to drive excitement that way.

Though it takes a bit more work, the first option is usually best. To do this, don't use the same title or event description. Instead, frame the re-air as a brand new event. In Arianna's experience, this performs much better because people tend to be drawn more toward "new" things than something that came out months ago.

As usual, we couldn't cover everything Lindsay, Arianna, and Stephanie discussed during the fireside chat. Tune in to the replay to get even more tips on hosting successful webinars, including how to source and develop topic ideas!

WATCH NOW

Q: Why should I host webinars?

A: Events are huge in the B2B world. Webinars help you get to know your audience, establish credibility, and raise brand awareness. And they don't have to be boring! (See our platform for proof.) B2B folks are human too, and they want to be engaged and entertained just as much as anyone.

The repurposed content from webinars also allows you to reach everyone, no matter what type of learners they are. If they're a visual learner, they can watch the webinar replay. If they like to read, they can check out the blog — and so on. Content Lab makes it easy to slice and dice your webinars into tons of assets that satisfy everyone in your audience!

Q: How do you promote your on-demand webinar content?

A: Send an email afterward that includes some key moments and/or quotes from the webinar. You can use Content Lab to draft this up and to create shareable video snippets to include. Uber for Business has seen up to a 20% boost in on-demand views just from sending that one email!

Q: How long do you promote your webinars?

A: Each company is different, but here are some rules of thumb:

• Send three promotional emails before a single-session event — one each week in the two weeks prior, and then one the day before the webinar happens
• Promote on social in the 3-4 weeks before the event
• For larger events, start six weeks out and send one email to promote each individual session
• Use emails to tease giveaways and contests and get more people to show up