55 Webinar Statistics You Must Learn: 2024 Market Share & Data Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic tested the resilience of both public institutions and private industries. It quickly showed that being digitally adaptable is a key component of survival in today’s world. Because of health and safety protocols like social distancing, organizations had to move their operations to the cloud. As well, many businesses had to reallocate their budgets and efforts to live events and host web events powered by video conferencing software tools.

Instead of having live marketing events or in-person training, many businesses turned to webinars. In this article, we will explore the latest webinar statistics.

1. General Webinar Statistics: The Effect of the Outbreak

During the pandemic, the internet was all that was left for many. It became the only way to get an education and to work. Learning management or LMS tools took off more than ever before. Moreover, it became the only place where both brands and people meet. So, internet usage increased and both businesses and consumers have taken advantage of it. Also, new patterns emerged.

Brands Adapt: Webinars and Live-Stream Selling

Everything seemed to migrate to the cloud—social gatherings, business touchpoints, and even award shows. Videos, live or on-demand, have been a big part of the success of these. And, brands have been taking advantage of it.

• Right from the onset of the outbreak, webinars have increased. This is especially true for B2B brands. In January 2020, there were only 223 B2B brands running webinars. In the following month, the number was 245. After the outbreak, in March 2020, the number rose to 332. This is a 35.51% MoM increase. (MediaRadar, 2020)
• Social selling is also on the rise. 90% of top salespeople and 71% of sales professionals use social selling tools. (Ouellette, 2021)
• Livestreaming ecommerce has also been on the rise. The market is estimated to be worth $60 billion annually. (Greenwald, 2020)
• It is the hottest in China with around 30% of its population or a little over 430 million people viewed live streams in 2019. (Greenwald, 2020)
• In 2020, it is estimated that the share rose to 39% reaching 560 million. (Greenwald, 2020)
• A Tommy Hilfiger live stream in China sold 1,300 hoodies in two minutes with a live viewership of 14 million. (WARC, 2020)
• NTWRK, a mobile app company headquartered in LA selling collectibles like limited-edition shoes, registered a sales surge of 400%. Some shows have broken the $1 million mark in sales in less than 10 minutes. Moreover, it had sold $120,000 worth of gold-colored vacuum sealers by a well-known jeweler in as quickly as five seconds. (Kharif & Townsend, 2020)

Pre-Pandemic Marketing Weekly Webinar Invites (Statista, 2020)

In pre-pandemic 2020, most B2B marketing professionals get a steady stream of invites per week.

• 65% – 1 to 3
• 13% – 0
• 12% – 4 to 6
• 5% – 7 to 9
• 2% – 10 to 15
• 3% – more than 15

But, as the pandemic hit and social distancing protocols were imposed, marketers scrambled to regain touchpoints and the traffic they bring that were lost. This led to many budget reallocations and pivots. And, well, webinar Linkedin invites.

2. B2B Marketers Turning to Webinars

B2B webinars have always been popular especially among marketing professionals. They offer a place to meet and share ideas about the latest marketing trends and approaches. Recent webinar statistics show that webinars became a popular alternative.

 Budget Reallocated Because of the Pandemic

• Because of COVID-19, B2B Marketers reallocated their budgets for live events to other channels. As of March 2020, 43% of marketers planned to reallocate their budgets towards content creation. (eMarketer, 2020)
• About 40% of B2B marketers reallocated their live event budgets to webinars or hosting digital events. (eMarketer, 2020)
• By percentage of total marketers, these are followed by search advertising (33%), paid social media (27%), SEO (20%), lead generation from industry vertical websites (17%), and sponsored webinars or digital events (17%). (eMarketer, 2020)
• A considerable 15% of marketers planned to reallocate their live event budgets towards organic social media efforts. Also, 8% opted for direct (postal) mail, while another 8% reallocated to outbound email efforts to third-party lists. (eMarketer, 2020)

Also, for many, webinars were the only place to push their products, services, and to network with other people. This is reflected in the increase in webinar attendance.

Change in Webinar Attendance

• As of July 2020, around 30% of marketers claimed that there was a big increase in their webinar attendance. (Statista, 2020)
• Another 30% claimed that their attendance stayed the same. (Statista, 2020)
• A significant 27% stated that they witnessed a slight increase in webinar attendance. (Statista, 2020)
• Only 7% claimed to have a big decrease in attendance. And, another 7% claimed to have witnessed a small decrease. (Statista, 2020)

3. Marketers’ Sentiments Towards Webinars

But, all were not excited about having so many webinars. Some feel that there are just too many. However, for others, there aren’t enough.

• 53% of B2B marketers, as of July 2020, claimed that there were just too many webinars being conducted during the pandemic. (Statista, 2020)
• A good 35% of B2B marketers felt that there are just enough webinars available. (Statista, 2020)
• Only 13% wanted more webinars. (Statista, 2020)

Furthermore, while a webinar could not be the most efficient way of knowledge transfer and networking, a well-organized one, when divided into different segments with various different highlights, can make webinars enjoyable and effective.

The Favorite Webinar Segments of B2B Marketers (Statista, 2020)

• 29% – Q&A sessions
• 22% – Interactive elements
• 16% – On-demand/flexible nature
• 12% – Polls
• 10% – Main topic speaker
• 7% – Learning something new
• 6% – Training/demos
• 4% – Content/materials
• 2% – Networking
• 1% – Free stuff

Viewing Preferences

Moreover, the live and on-demand webinars have quite different formats and effects (Ng, 2020).  And, different surveys with different coverages may yield different results. One study showed:

• Around 52% like both live webinars and webinar recordings on-demand. This is as of August 2020. (Statista, 2020)
• Also, it was found that 29% of B2B marketers preferred to watch webinars on-demand and only 19% prefer to attend live webinars. (Statista, 2020)

However, another A/B testing on live and on-demand invites showed that:

•  The live webinar invite set got 2.3 more registrants than on-demand ones. (Ng, 2020)
• And, the live webinar invite set got 23% more attendees than on-demand webinars. (Ng, 2020)
•  Moreover, the percentage of watched video length for live webinars sits at 80%. (Ng, 2020)
• On the other hand, those who attended the on-demand webinar only viewed 35% of the event. (Ng, 2020)

4. Online Training: Fully-Tooled Webinars

Because of the pandemic, in-person training has been very hard to come by. This is why many forward-thinking businesses–looking to upgrade employee skills–also turned to online tools. And, COVID-19 is not the only reason. A growing learning industry is bent on thriving, especially the corporate learning sector.

Reasons for the Increase in Training Budgets in the US in 2020 (Training Magazine, 2020)

• 64% – Extend training scope
• 47% – More training staff
• 47% – Purchased new technology and/or equipment
• 42% – Increased number of learners
• 20% – Reflect higher
• 13% – Attending more outside events (seminars/conferences)
• 9% – Increased outside trainer/consultant investments
• 4% – Other

Adoption of Popular Webinar Tools and Other Training Products (Training Magazine, 2020)

Webinar platforms like video conferencing are very useful when it comes to distance corporate training. However, this software type is just the bare essential. Traning professionals find that it is best paired with other tools. Thus, many anticipate the adoption of the following digital platforms:

• 41% – Learning Management Systems
• 40% – Online Learning Tools and Systems
• 34% – Content Development
• 31% – Audio and Web Conferencing Products and Systems
• 23% – Mobile Learning
• 23% – Courseware Design
• 21% – Presentation Software and Tools

Leveling Up the Webinar Game

Today, the webinar meaning is quite loose and broad. It is not only seminars anymore for corporate training but also used in educational institutions to keep educators abreast of education trends. Also, webinars can come in many different forms. They don’t have to be live. Webinars can also be recorded and watched on-demand by participants. And, as seen in previous statistics, a good subset of marketers prefers the on-demand variety better.

Since webinar as a medium is quite new, it still has more room for improvements. Developers recognized these and have added new features and capabilities since the pandemic. These include support for more participants and specialist tools like built-in features for education professionals. Furthermore, it is not just the standalone webinar software providers that are looking for upgrades.

Just as video and web conferencing statistics show, even social media networks are creating webinar modules with enhanced features to cater to communication needs. Many even allow both live and on-demand formats. Also, they are refining interactivity by incorporating more reactions, emoticons, and other options like screen-sharing and shared-viewing.

Furthermore, organizers hosting webinars have also been stepping up in their games. They concoct exciting formats, faster pacing, and even invest in high production value. These include professional-looking introduction graphics, the use of web-based interactive presentation software like Prezi, and even data visualization software.

We predict that in the coming years, webinars won’t look as lonely and boring anymore. They are going to look almost like heavily-produced television shows. And, those that have gone early into this game will be the first to reap the rewards.

References:

1. EMarketer Editors. (2020, May 11). EMarketer podcast: B2B sales, consultative selling, virtual events, selling strategies, sales outreach. eMarketer.
2. MediaRadar. (2020, April 15). B2B events are out, but webinars ramp up. MediaRadar.
3. Morning Consult. (2020). National Tracking Poll #200394. Morning Consult.
4. Ng, C. (2020, March 27). Live vs. on-demand webinar – Which one wins? Marin Software.
5. Ouellette, C. (2021, January 6). Social selling statistics for 2021 (Includes social media marketing!). OptinMonster.
6. Statista. (2020, August 19). Weekly webinar invites for marketers pre-coronavirus in the U.S. 2020. Statista.
7. Statista. (2020, August 19). Change in webinar attendance of marketers during coronavirus in the U.S. 2020. Statista.
8. Statista. (2020, August 19). U.S. marketer views of webinar numbers during coronavirus 2020. Statista.
9. Statista. (2020, August 19). Favorite webinar segments according to marketers in the U.S. 2020. Statista.
10. Statista. (2020, August 19). Marketer viewing preferences of webinars in the U.S. 2020. Statista.
11. Training Magazine. (2020). 2020 Industry Report. Training Magazine, 24-33. Training Magazine.
12. WARC. (2020, October 13). US brands adopt e-Commerce livestreaming to boost sales. WARC.
13. Warner, J. (2019, October 11). What B2B businesses can learn from B2C selling. Business.com.

By Jenny Chang

Jenny Chang is a senior writer specializing in SaaS and B2B software solutions. Her decision to focus on these two industries was spurred by their explosive growth in the last decade, much of it she attributes to the emergence of disruptive technologies and the quick adoption by businesses that were quick to recognize their values to their organizations. She has covered all the major developments in SaaS and B2B software solutions, from the introduction of massive ERPs to small business platforms to help startups on their way to success.