How to Run a B2B Webinar: A Practical Guide for Sponsors

A practical guide to planning, promoting and following up a B2B webinar so the right buyers attend.

Why most B2B webinars underperform

A B2B webinar usually fails for one of two reasons. Either the wrong people register, or the right people register and do not turn up. Both are problems with the audience, not the slides.

A webinar is good at reach. One or two speakers can talk to a large group at once, at low cost. It is poor at conversation. If you plan it as a way to get in front of a defined list of buyers, it works. If you plan it as a way to collect names, it rarely does.

How to run a B2B webinar that fills with the right people

1. Decide who you want to reach

Write down the job titles, the industries and the company sizes you want in the audience before you write the topic. If you cannot name the people, you cannot invite them, and the webinar will depend on whoever sees a post.

2. Choose a topic the audience already cares about

Pick a problem the audience is already working on. A title that sounds like a product announcement attracts people who are curious about your product. A title that names their problem attracts people who have it. Test the title by asking whether a buyer would forward it to a colleague.

3. Use a speaker the audience will listen to

A customer, an independent analyst or a practitioner from the audience's own world is more persuasive than a vendor. If a vendor speaker is the right choice, keep the talk to a real lesson, not a feature tour.

4. Promote in three waves

Send the first invitation three to four weeks ahead, a reminder with one extra reason to attend ten days before, and a last note the day before. Personal invitations to named people beat broadcast emails. Ask the registrants to add the event to their calendars.

5. Keep the session short

Forty-five minutes works well: about thirty minutes of content and fifteen of questions. Start the questions early, and have two prepared in case the room is quiet. Send the recording to everyone who registered, including the ones who did not attend.

6. Follow up while the topic is fresh

Within 48 hours, send a short summary with the main points and a clear next step. Then contact the people who asked questions or stayed to the end. Those are your real prospects.

What to measure

• Registrations against the target number.
• Attendance, and how many attendees matched your target profile.
• Questions asked and who asked them.
• One-to-one conversations booked within 30 days.
• Target accounts that moved forward in your pipeline.

Webinar or virtual roundtable?

A webinar reaches many people at a distance. A virtual roundtable gives you a real conversation with a small group of named buyers. Sponsors often start with a webinar to reach a wider audience, then invite the most engaged attendees to a roundtable. Our guide to running a virtual roundtable explains how that second step works, and our B2B virtual roundtables page covers how ELN runs them.

Common mistakes

• Counting registrations as success. Registrations from the wrong people are noise.
• Running too long. Attention drops after about forty-five minutes.
• Making it a sales pitch. Buyers leave early.
• Ignoring the follow-up. Most of the value arrives in the days after the session.

How ELN helps with B2B webinars

ELN works with sponsors on B2B webinars, from the topic and speakers to registrations. Our delegate acquisition service recruits the audience from your ideal customer profile, so the people on the call are the people you wanted.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a B2B webinar be?

About forty-five minutes, with a clear split between content and questions. Longer sessions lose people.

When is the best time to hold a B2B webinar?

Mid-week, late morning or early afternoon in the audience's time zone. If your audience spans the UK and the US, choose a time that falls in the afternoon in London and the morning on the US East Coast.

How many registrations should we aim for?

Aim for the number of target buyers you can realistically fill the call with, and expect a share of registrants not to attend. It is better to have fewer people who match your profile than a large list that does not.

Should we record the webinar?

Yes. Send the recording to everyone who registered, and use it as a follow-up asset for the weeks after.

Next step

If you would like ELN to build a webinar around your target accounts, get in touch and we will talk through the topic, the audience and the timing.