Of course you want the webinar to be watched live by as many people as possible. But how do you choose the best day and the best time? Based on our years of experience with webinars, we advise you to follow these rules of thumb.
Public holidays & holiday periods
It’s obvious to avoid holiday periods and weeks with holidays before planning a webinar. Of course, people can watch the webinar later, but you prefer to have as many live viewers as possible. There are other dependencies, such as events that the target group attends at the same time. Then they don’t have time to watch a webinar. That’s why it’s good to have these in the picture.
When you have excluded holidays, you can follow these pointers:
B2B
For the business market, Tuesdays and Thursdays are often the most favourable days for a live webinar. Part-time employees are often at work on these days. In addition, there are generally fewer meetings on these days, which means more participants for the live presentation.
The best time is around 10:00 or around 17:00. In other words, at the beginning or the end of the working day. At these times, employees often have some time available and it doesn’t break the day. The lunch break can also be a good time.
B2C
For the consumer, Tuesday and Thursday are the best days for a live webinar, but then you should aim for the evening hours.
Most people have had dinner around 20:00. They can then watch the online presentation or workshop. Or organise the webinar on working days around noon, so viewers can combine their lunch break with a webinar.
Series of webinars
Does your organization choose to broadcast a series of webinars? Then it is advisable to choose the same moment every time. If you broadcast them every week, month or quarter at a fixed time, the number of participants will increase. Webinars then become a fixed part of their schedule.
Breaking news webinar
Webinars are often used as a means of ad hoc communication. For example, some financial firms broadcast ‘Breaking news’ webinars about unexpected developments in the financial markets. At such times, consumers want to be ensured and put in the know of, for example, any changes in the bank’s investment policy. With a breaking news webinar, a bank shows its authority and the consumer gains insight and confidence in return.
In case of a breaking news webinar, the time is less important: because of the urgency, people will more easily put other activities aside for it.