Webinars are a popular method for converting prospects into clients. However many online business owners have found it a challenge to keep up with the changing landscape when it comes to driving traffic at a viable cost and making sure a healthy proportion of people who register for their webinar actually attend.

Why do we continue to work with webinar funnels?

Webinars help break down limiting beliefs in your prospects’ minds and show them the steps they can take to overcome those. Your webinar is an extremely valuable sales tool, as you have time during the presentation to position yourself as the trusted expert in your field and help your prospects know they are in the right place to solve their problem. People love the buzz of a live webinar and you can build on that anticipation and excitement as you present your offer.

The problem? If not enough people are seeing your webinar, they’re not hearing what you have to say.

If people who sign up for the webinar and don’t attend then jump straight to booking a call with you, they’re coming unprepared to that call. They’re not yet clear on how valuable your offer is, and it’s less likely they are ready to buy.

That means you will have a high number of not-yet-qualified leads who take up the time of your sales team, and either don’t buy or don’t have the right expectations when they do come on board … which leads to higher costs for you and a not-so-fun sense of morale for your team.

Nobody wants that, right?

So, let’s set out a specific example to help you understand how you can maximise attendance at your webinar, getting the best out of your ad spend.

You put £500 ad spend into your live webinar, and 100 people sign up at £5 each.

It’s not uncommon for actual webinar attendance rates to be 10 percent of people who registered for your webinar (don’t believe everything you see on the internet about extravagant attendance rates!).

That means it actually costs you £50 for each person who attends.

For many business owners, that’s not a viable cost.

If your lead cost is actually higher at around £10 per webinar registration, 50 people register and 5 people attend, it will cost you £100 per webinar attendee.

Those numbers are enough to have anyone throw their hands in the air and start to think it’s all too hard.

What’s the solution to increasing attendance rates to your webinar?

You have probably heard of using Facebook™ ads to retarget people.

But what you probably haven’t discovered is how to do it in the most effective way.

And don’t get caught on the idea that once you have prospects on your email list that you can fly solo on that platform, send emails for free and expect a smashing success, because what happens when only 20% of people on your list even bother to open the message? Email is an essential part of your toolkit, but it’s not effective enough on its own.

“Aren’t Facebook™ ads expensive?” 

Here’s the secret: when done right, they don’t have to be.

For the retargeting campaigns we set up, you can start at just a dollar a day.

This works best if you use an engagement or reach campaign, where you show up in front of the people who registered for your webinar and made it through to your thank-you page.

It’s about showing up in their newsfeed prior to the actual event, and staying top of mind.

What ad format should I use?

We continue to find that these four formats are powerful tools to increase webinar attendance rates:

1. Retargeting ads – Testimonials for social proof

2. Retargeting ads – Teasers for added interest

3. Retargeting ads – Direct response for quick action

4. And to really skyrocket engagement – Messenger bots

Let’s look at each tactic in detail.

Retargeting ads – Testimonials for social proof

Most people will tell you that they make up their own mind. But research shows that the majority of us are not as independent as we like to believe. If you don’t believe this, read Robert Cialdini’s section on Social Proof in his book ‘Persuasion’. Even when people see an endorsement from a complete stranger, they often give it the same weight as if that endorsement came from a friend.

So, use quotes in your ad copy from what other people have said about the webinar, about how good it was and the benefits they received from attending.

Retargeting ads – Teasers

Throw out a line such as “Hey, is it really possible to do [INSERT the thing you’ll teach]? I’ll reveal all on Thursday’s webinar – can’t wait to see you there!”

Retargeting ads – Direct Response

Use messages such as “Thanks for registering! I’m looking forward to seeing you on Thursday’s webinar where I’ll show you how it really is possible to do [INSERT your promise here]. Make sure you’re ready to take action because you’re going to want to get started on using this right away!”

Messenger bots – to skyrocket engagement

Add the “Send Message” button to ads such as the teaser above. When people click on the button, they’ll receive your welcome message in their Facebook™ Messenger app. You can set up a flow that lets them click “get reminder” for the webinar right before it starts, and build a little more social proof into the flow with client endorsements.

We’ve seen open rates on Messenger bots of between 80% and 100%, with 30% click through rates as standard!

Another place you should include a link to your Messenger bot is on the Thank You page after people opt in for the webinar – set the button to say “Tap below to get exclusive pre-webinar bonuses, and to be notified when we go live!”

The reason Messenger bot engagement rates are so high is two-fold:

(a) they’re very interactive – people love to press buttons! and

(b) because the messages open up right in their Messenger app and the text is personalised, it is a far more intimate way to communicate. People really feel that it’s just for them.

Once people enter your Messenger bot sequence either from a retargeting ad, or from your Thank You page, you can nurture them in the lead-up to the webinar. The sense of anticipation you will build is powerful!

However, if you don’t have the resources to build a Messenger bot for your live webinar right now, don’t let it hold you back. Start with Facebook™ retargeting ads and you will still see a significantly higher attendance rate to your webinar than if you did not use them.

Don’t forget the timeframes

Besides which format to use, think about the amount of time between when someone opts in and the actual webinar date. 

We typically start showing ads 10 days before the actual date. This is very different to what we were doing three years ago, when we’d start showing ads to people three weeks out from the webinar! Who plans that far ahead these days?!

Right now, short timeframes work best. Five days is a great timeframe in which to incorporate a Messenger bot.

Over to you …

I’ve love to hear about your offer and the system you have set up for your webinar.

What are your attendance rates like?

Is your cost per registration viable when you include the inevitable (but with the tactics above, lower) no-show rate?

Do you have questions about how to implement the strategies above that we use every day? Drop us a line. 

About Loredana Baranga

Hi, I am Loredana. I’m the Founder of Marketology and I have helped my clients generate multiple five figures and 10x their return on ad spend with Ads.

I’ve worked as a Freelancer, and In-House Strategist before founding Marketology. It’s my time as an ‘in house’ strategist that has been so influential in creating Marketology because I know first hand what a difference it makes to work intimately with a client to scale their business.

My mission is to help coaches bypass surface level, out-of-date Facebook™ Marketing strategies or to rely on someone else’s business to build their own business. To help them make a global impact with their life transforming expertise so that they can leave a legacy while creating a lifestyle of choice.

This platform has presented us with opportunities like never before to establish yourself as the authority in your niche.