Why do webinars work so well with today's busy prospects?

I too agree, webinars are a great tactic at any stage in the buying cycle (as long as the topic is well defined and the description is accurate such that buyers/researchers know what they'll be getting). I'm personally biased toward the 30-45 minute webinar - especially for early stage/thought-leadership content. I think it forces the presenter to get their point across more efficiently, and provides the recipient with key take aways. For later stage/deep dive content, longer timeframes may be warranted.

Great question Craig. And I too think that John pretty much nailed it.

In the last 4 years I've personally presented/co-presented or moderated 60+ Webinars - and one of the things I've learned is that each Webinar attendee brings a personal agenda to their attendance. Meaning, that they usually were attracted to the Webinar topic for a specific reason and see it as a way of getting "free consulting" and getting nagging questions answered.

Others view it as an hour of free online training. Another reason is that a lot of people may only get to attend 1 industry conference per year, if that, and so Webinars are another way of getting exposed to content that they would see at industry events - but don't get to.

I also think most companies have recognized that the best way to approach Webinar content is from a "trends and tips" perspective - keeping the commercials secondary and to a minimum. So consumers of Webinars now expect that most of them will be primarily educational and not hour-long product pitches.

Lastly, I think one of the most underestimated reasons for the popularity of Webinars is simply the dedicated time slot. It is easy to blow off reading a lengthy blog post or white paper - but when you have a Webinar on your calendar for 1 pm on Tuesday you will be more likely to commit to it (although on average 60% of Webinar registrants do not show up for the Webinar).

In addition to John's (great, btw) answer I'd say that it is a very efficient way to promote any product or service, and share any knowledge. Imagine organizing a seminar for 50 or a 100 people. You need so many things to get right, it will cost a lot of time and effort, also from the people that will be invited.

The barrier for a webinar, both for the initiator and the attendees is much lower - imho it's one of the greatest things since the internet. John's point about watching a webinar later on is very true: it's like movie on demand but then for webinars. And yes, most take an hour, but that hour is gone so fast when the subject dealt with is handled in a dynamic and interesting way.

Loren is right on the money. Unless you are selling the actual Webinar (on-line training, etc.) you should present meaningful content that will educate and engage your prospects.

In some cases, free, public Webinars are helpful in building your Brand and awareness of your products & services but client specific Webinars should be more focused and targeted directly at the client's needs.

I agree with others that 45 minutes is about the right length and leave the "selling" until the end, if at all.

Every single B2B buyer is also a consumer.

Deliver compelling content to consumers and they'll go out of their way to view it. We'll wait in line for 60 minutes, so that we can sit in an uncomfortable seat for the 162 minutes of "Avatar."

While I don't suggest that B2B webinars stir the same emotions and enjoyment as "Avatar," we should strive to deliver content (in webinars) that viewers go out of their way to seek out.

If we achieve that, then we'll have done our job as webinar producers.

Because they are usually recorded. People don't have the availability to schedule courses but when they can watch them in their own time it's easier and they still get the value.

"A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all."
the webinar brings the company and customer very close through webinar, interactive webinars are more effect than one sided webinars , the technique mainly saves time and energy, it can connect to any part of the worls, exchange of ideas, technology, innovations make most of the business more viable.
Pre recorded webinar are much effective because the more there is less involvement of presenter limited knowledge, & customer interaction will be very less.

This is a great question. Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer. I've engineered over 1,500 webinars and virtual events in the past three years. People come for more reasons than you would expect. Whether it is eLearning, prospecting, data sharing, knowledge exchange, or other various reasons, it all boils down to convenience.

In a world where everyone is an expert, who has time to read extensive blogs, catch-up on every status update, tweet, or reply, or even worse check the reliability of all of these sources? Social media numbness... Webinars offer three benefits to the viewers. On Demand content any time during the archive period; a live exchange with the subject matter expert on live days launches; and mobility if the provider's capability allows it.

To Loren's point, 40% - 60% never show up. This is true not because the audience did not want to attend, but because life gets in the way. Most business webinars are conducted during the day. What happens during the day? E-mails, meetings, client issues, employee support, and a various other activities may intrude on your webinar time.

The last question of why webinars are 1-hour long is an interesting one. Video best practices for audience retention call for 18-30 minutes of highly engaging content. Most webinars are one hour long because it allows the producer a larger window of time to capture additional audience members. As a viewer if I get an urgent request during the webinar, I have more time to respond before the live Q&A opportunity in my webinar.

I believe webinars fail to attract attendees because the content or speaker is not compelling enough. As Dennis mentioned, why do people wait in line to see a movie like "Avatar?" They want action, adventure, beautiful graphics, A-list stars, A-list directors, and the allure of the story. This is where webinars mainly fail. If you are like me, I tune out advertisements and online noise because I don't care about it and have no time for it. Do not create a webinar if you are driving a commercial. Segment the content and let the audience drive the conversation by using interactive chats and other forms of interactive engagement. This will pull the audience in and be less likely viewed as a hour-long commercial.