Webinars will be 24 years old in 2020 if you count PlaceWare as the first true webinar tool. That’s a respectable age for a web technology and begs the question:
“Are webinars even relevant anymore in 2020?“
Hmm, let’s see:
- Will video content be relevant in 2020? 🎬
That’s a resounding “yes”! Based on network data Cisco estimates video usage grew 28.8% from 2018 to 2019 and will grow another 26% this year. More importantly, Millenials consume a staggering amount of video content. In fact, one recent survey estimates Millenials will spend 13 years of their lives watching Netflix 🤩🤯. I think it’s fair to assume video will continue to thrive as a way to educate. - Will personal interaction still be relevant in 2020? 🤝
YES! more than ever. Email automation, chatbots, and self-service websites are great for efficiency but mean much of our communication is canned. Live interaction with real humans is what builds trust and we sure need more trust to go around in the new twenties. - Will results still be important in 2020? 📈
Duh! Results ALWAYS matter. And webinars are one of the few types of content people still actively register for and are willing to spend an average of 59 minutes of their time on.
To sum it up: Yes, webinars are still massively relevant in 2020.
BUT: You can’t be complacent. Webinars will evolve over the next few years and you’ll have to adapt.
Here are my webinar predictions for the 2020s:
1. Driving webinar attendance will be harder than ever
Attention is already a scarce resource and the twenties will see it dwindling further as more webinars, videos, and apps vie for it.
The increased competition for your audience will be fierce and you’ll see attendance rates and overall interest continue to drop.
To combat this trend you’ll have to produce more engaging webinars and invest in building your email list and in dedicated ad campaigns to generate sign-ups.
Read my “Surefire Ways To Increase Webinar Attendance Rates” to stem the tide and keep attendance high.
2. Webinars will become more interactive
The increased pressure to truly engage the audience will lead to more interactive webinars.
A slew of new software vendors have entered the webinar market over the past 3-5 years and are increasingly innovating how chat, polls, and Q&A work, making it easier to incorporate these elements into your webinars.
The example on the right is from BigMarker, but other vendors have similarly fresh takes on the interaction during the event.
Quick disclosure: I’m an affiliate partner of Big Marker and receive a commission when you sign-up for their service. That said, I only recommend tools I personally find value in.
3. Live video will change the style of webinars
With LinkedIn rolling out live streaming in 2019 we’ve seen a sharp increase in video content produced by B2B influencers. The live nature of the broadcast changes the style. More ad-hoc. More conversational. More relaxed.
We’ll see this change the style of webinars, too. Less like lecture, more like a late-night talk show. Even in traditional industries, the tone will be increasingly informal.
Take my over-the-top webinar co-hosted with Hubspot and HQ Digital as an example. “Webinarwhals – How to Create Unicorn webinar Content” (link goes to the on-demand version) strikes up a completely silly and conversational tone.
4. We'll see a steep increase in virtual summits
The competition for your audience’s time will accelerate another trend: virtual summits.
These online summits work because they increase the perceived value of signing-up by grouping rich content by area of interest. New tools like HeySummit make hosting these events less complex than in the past.
SEMRush’s recent Global Marketing Day is a good example of this trend.
5. The market for webinar software will consolidate
The past five years have seen many new entrants to the webinar space, like Denio, Big Maker, Live Storm, Crowdcast, and others.
With Zoom a major online meeting vendor has joined the fray, competing with portfolio players like GoToWebinar and WebEx.
Some small players like ReadyTalk have already disappeared in takeovers and I believe we’ll see further consolidation in the next five years
How do you engage your webinar audience?
With webinars as relevant as ever and increased innovation in the space, what are your plans for the 2020s?
Let me know in the comments below.
