How to measure webinar ROI for a successful program

It can be difficult to measure webinar ROI if you don’t know what defines a successful webinar.

  • Do you look at the number of registrants or viewers (pre-webinar)?
  • Do you measure ROI by the leads driven by the webinar (post-webinar)?
  • Do you even measure ROI?

Creating high-quality webinars uses a lot of effort. You’re looking at a marketing team behind the registration, the production team to create your webinar, and an editing team to put it all together.

You also want to make sure that the amount of time you are putting into your webinar is well worth it.

Have you already produced a few webinars yourself? Use our ROI calculator to measure the effectiveness of your webinar program.

Keep reading if you’re interested in learning how to measure webinar ROI with precision.

Have Realistic & Data-Driven Goals

Like any content marketing strategy, you need to set clear and realistic goals based on available data.

Take the initiative by forecasting your results based on previous data from your webinars (or primary research if this is your first webinar).

Look at your actively engaged webinar viewers. After conducting proper lead scoring, you will have a fairly accurate number of qualified leads. Look at your data to find how many of your leads (still MQLs) converted into buyers. This is your conversion rate.

For instance, if you know that your viewership conversion rate of 15% and have generated 100 qualified leads, then you should expect to see 15 sales.

Take it one step further if you know the Lifetime Value (LTV) of your customer. If the LTV is $1,000, then you can forecast $15,000 in sales from one webinar event. After accounting for costs (labour, production, promotional tactics), you now have a realistic idea of the ROI for your webinar event.

Registration Funnel

How are your leads registering for your webinar?

  • Are they signing up with a landing page?
  • Are they using Facebook or LinkedIn lead forms?
  • What exactly is the registration journey, and how complex is it?
  • Say that your conversions are coming from your webinar landing page. How easy is it to sign up?

If you are using Google AdWords to push prospective leads to your landing page, you can see how many people clicked your ad against how many of those people actually converted. If you have a decent CTR (click through rate) but low conversions, then there might be a misalignment between what your potential registrant is expecting from the ad and what they’re seeing from the landing page.

Ensure that the ad copy (Google AdWords, Facebook, LinkedIn, Bing, etc.) matches what is being offered on your landing page.

Now, look at your actual registrants.

If they’re low, revisit your promotional tactics. Who are the people that benefit the most from your webinar content? Those prospective leads are your true target audience. This may be more specific than the target audience for your company as a whole.

Who Are Your Viewers?

Remember to be realistic. Not all of your registrants will make it to the actual event. It’s not personal.

Segment these prospects into their own list of registrants who didn’t view your webinar event and use retargeting methods to ensure that they come to your next event.

Meanwhile, pay attention to your actual webinar attendees.

The question you need to answer is: what metrics can you use to measure webinar ROI for your viewers?

Focus on viewers who have watched the entire webinar, or at least enough of it to retain some value of your content. If viewers are leaving around the same time, shorten your content.

Calculate how many people downloaded the available lead magnets. Use A/B testing to find out which lead magnets resonated well with your audience.

Are your viewers asking many questions during the webinar event, or are they quiet? Unless your webinar is packed with relevant content that answers all questions, it’s more likely that your viewers aren’t fully engaged in what they’re watching. Revisit your webinar format by trying out an interview or panel style when you host your next event. 

The Sales Journey

Webinars are a content marketing strategy. The ultimate end goal is to convert an MQL into a SQL where the lead buys the product or service you offer.

End your webinar with clear calls-to-action (CTAs):

  • “Download this lead magnet to learn new strategies.”
  • “Have more questions? Speak to one of our experts now.”
  • “Mark your calendar for our next webinar event.”

Pro tip: Include the same CTA in a retargeted email to leads who attended your webinar to push for additional sales opportunities.

Key Takeaways

Measuring webinar ROI in the registration stage starts with analyzing your ad platforms and landing pages. Ensure that the marketing messaging aligns across the board, from your ads to your emails. The registration journey should be as simple as possible with the least amount of barriers.

During the webinar, measure your actively engaged viewers with accurate lead scoring. This will also give you insights on how to improve your future webinar events itself.

After the event, use email retargeting with clear CTAs to push your leads down the SQL funnel.

Interested in learning about how to optimize your webinar program? Download the Smart Marketer’s Guide to Webinar ROI and start getting in front of as many marketing-qualified leads as possible.

Read last week’s blog post if you’re interested in learning how to conduct proper lead scoring for your webinar leads.

Stay tuned for more updates on how to leverage your webinars to convert viewers into buyers.

Matthew Ley

Matthew Ley

Matt Ley is the current President and co-founder of The Streaming Network. Starting his career in virtual events in 2007, Matt is an industry veteran that is passionate about helping customers stand out in their industry with compelling virtual events that people want to attend. The driving ambition for Matt is that virtual events are not a utility for information distribution but an opportunity for firms to create a competitive advantage. Matt is an accomplished speaker, moderator and a sought-after thought leader.

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