As the pandemic continues to recede, it may be time for healthcare marketers to press pause on webinars. Not only are in-person conferences returning in the fall of 2021 with new hybrid formats, people are also wanting to put the memories of the pandemic behind them.
Webinar Popularity
Webinars are a fantastic way to build brand awareness, demonstrate thought leadership and generate leads. That’s why they remain a popular staple of marketing and sales strategies in Health IT.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, B2B companies in particular, flocked to webinars as an alternative to in-person events. As a result, the number of webinars exploded.
According to a report from ClickMeeting, one of many webinar platforms, their volume grew from 60,000 webinars hosted in March 2019 to over 300,000 in March 2020 – a 5x increase. Similarly, ON24 (another webinar platform) released a report showing a 162% increase in the use of their platform (400+ webinars per day) and a 4x increase in webinar attendance.
Not only did companies double down on webinars, Associations also moved their in-person events online during the pandemic. As a result, there was fierce competition for attendees who were suddenly faced with an overwhelming number of choices for their time. Unfortunately for companies, the events from Associations often included precious CE credits which are important to those who work at healthcare providers.
As the number of webinars increased, so too did “webinar fatigue”. A Statista survey published earlier this year showed 53% of marketers in the US believed there were “too many webinars”.
Hybrid Events in Fall 2021
At Healthcare IT Today we have started to see a steady stream of “We’re back” notifications from conference organizers. Of course, the headline of these notifications is the return to in-person, but almost every conference is offering an online option.
What is surprising is the format of the online component. Many are simulcasting their live in-person event with sessions available online giving their audience a choice of an online or in-person experience. However, some are taking the unique approach of offering their online version at a later date and spread out over a week rather than concentrated in just a few days.
Unfortunately for marketers, this means that during the Fall of 2021 your own webinars will not only have to compete with in-person events (tough), but with the online component of hybrid events as well (tougher). This is one reason why you may want to pause webinars in the latter half of 2021.
Putting COVID in the Rear-view Mirror
Another reason to pause webinars this fall has to do with the desire of people to put COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror.
These past 18 months have been extremely exhausting. We’re all tired of reading, hearing and seeing news stories about COVID-19. We’re also sick of video calls, eating takeout, and binging Netflix. As the restrictions on travel and size-of-gatherings ease, many are looking to escape the COVID trap and experience something different.
I believe there will be an aversion to webinars for a while. They are a reminder of COVID-times and that is something people will seek to avoid in the months ahead.
Webinar Advice
My recommendation is to pause webinars for the remainder of 2021. I don’t believe you will get the return on investment (ie: registrations and on-demand views) that you are seeking. Instead, I would suggest focus your energy and efforts on other things like e-books and whitepapers which remain very popular.
If you still intend to forge ahead with webinars here are some suggestions:
- Feature a recognized speaker. Much like an in-person event, use the power of a good speaker to attract attention and help your webinar stand out.
- Break from the traditional formats. The lecture-style, short-presentations-followed-by-a-panel style and even the campfire style are tired. People have attended too many of them. Try a new format like: ask-me-anything or hold a debate.
- Keep it short. Attention spans are a lot short these days, so if you are using a traditional format, shrink the presentation to 30min, leaving more time for Q&A…or even better, set your webinar for 45min rather than the full hour.
- Unconventional Topic. Good content is always a draw, but to stand out this fall, try an unconventional topic that still appeals to your target audience. One of our most popular Virtual HITMC sessions this past year was the one we did on ideal lighting for web conferences – not a topic we normally would have covered.
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