Webinar: Definition, Benefits & Example

What does “webinar” mean?

The term “webinar,” a combination of “web” and “seminar,” refers to a training session, lecture, or presentation that takes place on the Internet.

Participants can join from anywhere, listen to the presentation, and interact—for example, via chat. Webinars can be held live and then made available as a recording or on-demand webinar.

In marketing, they are specifically used for specialized topics that are of interest to a company’s target audience. If registration is required to participate, contact information for interested individuals can be collected—for example, through their email addresses.

The webinar thus fulfills two objectives: It provides real value through knowledge and, at the same time, establishes connections with people who have already shown interest in the topic.

Where did the webinar originate?

The foundation for online seminars was laid with web conferencing and streaming technologies in the 1990s and developed significantly starting in the 2000s.

Digital seminars received a significant boost starting in 2020, when in-person meetings, events, and trade shows were canceled in many places. Since then, webinars have become an integral part of B2B marketing, partly because participants have come to appreciate the format’s flexibility in terms of time and location.

Why are online seminars important?

The decision to purchase a product that requires explanation calls for trust and understanding. Webinars provide both.

By demonstrating expertise and conveying a personal impression through the presenter, the webinar gives prospective customers direct insight into the product and the company. Anyone who registers has already shown concrete interest in the topic and is therefore a more tangible contact than an anonymous website visitor.

Advantages

A webinar demonstrates expertise in a way that advertising cannot.
It can build personal trust through the presenter.
Registration provides contacts who are interested in the topic and are actively engaged with it.
The recording of the webinar can continue to have an impact as content for a long time.

Challenges

A good webinar requires a topic that offers genuine value. It must also be well-planned and delivered confidently; otherwise, it can damage the company’s image.

Furthermore, the webinar must be adequately promoted to ensure a sufficient number of suitable participants attend. If the collected email addresses are to be used for further marketing, the relevant consent rules must also be followed. And once the webinar is over, the follow-up begins so that the interest generated can lead to further conversations and connections.

Example

A software provider hosts a webinar on the topic “Avoiding Unplanned Machine Downtime.” Maintenance and operations managers register for the digital seminar.

During the webinar, the company provides genuine value without aggressively promoting its own solution. Only later in the session is its software mentioned as a possible solution.

These contacts lead to several concrete inquiries. The webinar recording serves as evergreen content, generating additional leads over the coming months.