7 Tips to Create Webinar Content Your Audience Will Love

by John Hunter

Webinars, once an overlooked content marketing strategy, are now gaining significant importance. And it's not hard to see why.

First, you can use webinars at every stage of the marketing funnel. Second, they engage the audience by providing valuable information. Third, webinars generate a wealth of audience data to personalize and refine future marketing campaigns.

In fact, according to a survey, 89% of marketers claimed that webinars outperformed other channels in generating qualified leads. Additionally, 78% of respondents stated that webinars effectively reduced their cost per lead.

But running virtual events like webinars isn't just about flipping on the camera and hoping for the best. You've got to weave a compelling narrative that grabs your audience and positions you as a thought leader in your field. But how can you pull that off?

In this guide, we will tell you seven essential tips for creating webinar content that offers a top-notch digital experience to your attendees. Why Does Great Webinar Content Matter? The secret to delivering a knockout webinar boils down to one crucial balance—meeting your business objectives while fulfilling your audience's needs and expectations. Some may still argue that webinars are unimportant if the company generates leads. But that perspective doesn't paint a complete picture.

There's a difference between a company's demand-generation ambitions, like lead capture, pipeline construction, and key conversions, and the audience's objectives, such as problem-solving and learning about particular topics.

Great webinar content emerges at this intersection, harmonizing the company's anticipated results with the audience's aspirations. Once you capture a lead, you must help prospects solve the issue that initially prompted them to share their contact information.

Here's how to create effective webinar content:

Zoom In On a Particular Webinar Topic Focusing on a specific area is critical in planning and choosing your webinar topic. Aim for specificity in webinars rather than tackling a broad, general topic. What makes a good webinar topic, you ask? Here's an example: Instead of discussing "Digital Marketing 101," focus on one sub-area like "How to Maximize ROI from Google Ads Campaigns." Going deep into one topic can provide concentrated, actionable insights your audience can take away and implement. Here are some webinar topic ideas:

1. Email Marketing: Crafting Compelling Campaigns

2. Harnessing Google Analytics for Market Insight

3. Social Media Strategy: Winning on Instagram

4. Content Marketing: Storytelling for Brand Engagement

5. Mastering LinkedIn Ads: From Basics to ROI

6. Influencer Marketing: Building Authentic Partnerships

Pick a Formula that Fits When planning your webinar, your chosen format can significantly affect how the content is received.

1. Interview-style Webinars: These involve a conversation with an expert in your industry. For example, if you're hosting a webinar on "The Future of Renewable Energy," an interview with a climate scientist or an executive from a renewable energy company could provide great insights.

2. Q&A Webinars: These sessions involve answering audience questions. It's like a town hall meeting—open, interactive, and engaging. This format can be beneficial if your organization has recently launched a new product or service and you want to address potential customer queries or concerns.

3. Panel Discussion Webinars: These involve experts discussing a particular topic. For instance, if your topic is "The Impact of AI on Healthcare," you could have a panel consisting of a medical professional, an AI researcher, and a health policy expert. The variety of viewpoints can create a more comprehensive picture of the topic.

4. Educational or Training Webinars: These are online classes or workshops. They're great for providing in-depth knowledge or teaching a specific skill. For instance, if you run a marketing agency, you could host a webinar on "How to Create Killer Webinar Marketing Strategy."

5. Product Demo Webinars: These are particularly useful for businesses that sell complex products or services. A step-by-step demonstration of how your product works can help potential customers understand its features and benefits.

Did you know the average conversion rate for all webinars is 46% as of 2023? Structuring Your Webinar Your webinar structure is as vital as the format to ensure it runs smoothly. Consider including:

1. A compelling introduction: This is where you captivate your audience right off the bat. Hook webinar attendees with an intriguing question, a relatable anecdote, or an interesting fact. For instance, if your webinar is about "Webinar Promotion Ideas," you could start with a stat like "Did you know by 2025, the webinar marketing platform market is expected to reach $XX billion?"

2. The main body: This is where you dig into the meat of your topic. Remember to flow between points and provide depth in your content logically. Discuss the challenges, trends, and impact of AI, for instance.

3. A motivating conclusion: Round off with a powerful finish, summarizing key points and leaving your audience with a thought-provoking idea or an actionable tip.

4. A Call-to-action (CTA): Guide your audience on the next steps. It could be downloading an eBook, signing up for a trial, or registering for your next webinar.

Writing a captivating script An engaging script is a prerequisite for successful webinar hosting. It is key to holding your webinar attendees' attention. And it's not just about spitting facts or statistics but weaving a narrative that resonates with viewers. Suppose your webinar is about "Building a Startup From Scratch." Use storytelling to recount the journey of a successful startup, sharing its triumphs and challenges, the risks taken, and the lessons learned. Incorporating these real-life narratives makes your content relatable and engaging. Designing effective slides Your slide design can significantly impact your audience's understanding and engagement.

1. Limit the text: Don't bombard your viewers with information-heavy slides. For instance, if your webinar is about "Webinar Marketing Strategies," instead of listing all the information on one slide, break it up, and dedicate each to one strategy, and discuss it in-depth.

2. Use visuals: Images, graphs, and charts can make complex information easier to digest. For example, in a webinar about "Social Media Trends," a diagram illustrating the rise in daily usage can be more impactful than just stating the numbers.

3. Ending on a high: The last slide should include a heartfelt thank you, your contact information, and a clear CTA, inviting viewers to explore your website or subscribe to your newsletter.

Integrating video into your webinar Incorporating videos into your webinar can add an engaging multimedia element. For example, in a webinar about "Productivity Hacks," you could insert a short video showing how a particular productivity tool works, helping you break the monotony, enhancing viewers' understanding of the tool, and boosting webinar engagement.

1. Create different types of webinar content by repurposing: Old webinars can be gold mines of content. Run a past webinar with minor tweaks: if a webinar on "SEO Best Practices" was well received, you could rerun it with updates on the latest trends.

2. Simulive webinars: This is when you present a pre-recorded webinar as if it's live. For instance, a previously successful webinar about "Work-Life Balance in Remote Work" can be rerun, with live interactions like chat, to maintain the illusion of a live session.

3. New webinars from old ones: Extract essential parts from previous webinars to create a new one. If you've done several webinars on different aspects of "Digital Marketing," you could create a new one that consolidates the best parts.

4. Evergreen webinars: For topics that stay relevant over time, such as "Leadership Skills," you can offer them as permanent resources on your website for continuous lead generation.

Create Better Webinar Content Crafting engaging, impactful online events like webinars is both an art and a science. It calls for an exciting and timely topic, a professional presentation, and the capability to address audience queries. Moreover, donning multiple roles is necessary for the organizer—you must be a skilled copywriter, a charismatic host, a probing interviewer, a savvy technician, and a clear-headed logician. While the process might be complex, the payoff from a successful webinar is significant—it can boost your business and serve as a fast track to achieving your marketing goals.

John Hunter John is the Senior Manager of Event Cloud Content Marketing at Cvent. He has 11 years of experience writing about the meetings and events industry. John also has extensive copywriting experience across diverse industries, including broadcast television, retail advertising, associations, higher education, and corporate PR.