Best Time to Host a Webinar for Your Target Audience

Key Takeaways:

• The best days to host webinars are Wednesdays and Thursdays.
• The best times to host a webinar are between 11am and 2pm.
• But, it’s best to think about your audience and when they’re most available.

Wondering when’s the best time to host a webinar to maximize attendance and engagement?

When scheduling your webinar, choosing the right time is crucial for reaching your target audience and maximizing content performance. This will enable you to create more impactful webinars.

The best time for your webinar depends on a variety of factors. We’ve prepared a comprehensive guide so you can find the best time to host a webinar, no matter your industry or niche.

Table of Contents:

• Why does the time of your webinar matter?
• Best day and time to host your webinar according to statistics
• Should you follow statistics on the best time to host a webinar?
• How to choose the best time to host a webinar for your audience
• Tips on scheduling your webinars to maximize engagement
• FAQs on the best time to host a webinar
• Final thoughts

Why does the time of your webinar matter?

When it comes to webinar content, time matters! You might have heard that 30 to 45-minute webinars can achieve a 5% higher attendance rate than hour-long events.

But what about when your webinar actually takes place?

Accessible attendance

Selecting the right date and time for your webinar can make your event more accessible to a wider group of people!

If you run a webinar on an important holiday or a work day, many would-be attendees might be too busy to make it. If you schedule your webinar for a time when more of your audience is free, you’ll be more likely to draw a crowd.

Engagement opportunities

Similarly, hosting a webinar at the right time can give your engagement a boost.

When more users are able to attend your event live, you’ll have more opportunities to explore real-time engagement opportunities.  

Choosing the right time slot can also help you ensure that attendees aren’t too tired to make the most of the content you have to share.

Ongoing conversions

Your webinar’s time slot might even have an impact on the conversion rate you’re able to achieve for your brand.

When you catch attendees with time to spare, you can immediately refer them on to a clear call to action. Instead of heading straight to work or bed, your webinar audience will have the time to explore your website and consider making a purchase or taking further action.

Best day and time to host your webinar according to statistics

Now that you know why your webinar schedule is important, it’s time to uncover the best days and times according to the experts. Here’s what general statistics have to say.

Best days to host webinars

Generally speaking, the best days for webinar content are Wednesdays and Thursdays, with as many as 77% of webinars taking place in the middle of the week.

Whatever you do, it’s usually best to avoid hosting your webinar on a busy Monday or a disengaged Friday.

Best time to host a webinar

Research has found that the best times to host a webinar are between 11am and 2pm in the audience’s local time zone. This may vary, though, if you’re presenting to a global audience or focusing on non-professional content.

Should you follow statistics on the best time to host a webinar?

The statistics can be a helpful guide when it comes to deciding when you should host your webinar, but they shouldn’t be your only influence.

Many factors can affect webinar success or influence when it’s the right time to connect with your audience. It’s important to take all of these things into consideration before scheduling your event.

By doing your research and thinking carefully about when your webinar should take place, you can ensure you’re making the right decision, both for your audience and for the success of your brand.

How to choose the best time to host a webinar for your audience

Planning a webinar and feeling confused or overwhelmed by the prospect of selecting an appropriate data and time? Follow these steps to make an informed decision.

Step 1: Understand your goals

To begin, you need to understand what your webinar is trying to accomplish.

What goals do you have in mind for your content, and how do you plan to measure success?

When you know what you’re striving to achieve, you can choose dates and times that align with the kind of impact you want to make for your audience.

Step 2: Consider your audience

Next, think about who your audience includes. Are you targeting busy professionals? Hobbyist consumers? People with families or other responsibilities?

The more you know about your general audience demographic, the more effectively you’ll be able to predict their consumption patterns. This can help you ensure that your webinar goes live at a time that works for the people you serve.

For example, if you’re targeting parents as your key audience, consider what their day-to-day routine is likely to look like. This will allow you to plan your webinar around meal times and the school run.  

Step 3: Talk to your community

If you’re not so sure about the dates and times that will align with your audience’s needs, don’t be afraid to start a conversation!

Using social media, email marketing, or another forum, reach out to the people who are likely to attend your webinar.

Ask potential attendees when they would be most likely to attend a live virtual event, and let this determine your schedule.

Step 4: Check your analytics

Additionally, it’s a good idea to keep a close eye on your audience analytics. This can help you understand who is tuning in.

Check your social media channels and webinar platform, and use insights to see when your audience is most active. Review high-traffic time slots and the regions of the world your viewers come from.

When you know where your audience members are based and when they tend to log on, you can schedule your webinar for a time that suits your community.

Step 5: Vary your strategy

In 2024, most businesses have a global component, which can make it difficult to schedule a webinar that works for your whole audience.

Some users are likely to be left out if you’re focusing on what’s right for people within your own timezone. To combat this challenge, it can be helpful to schedule a variety of webinar events. Mix up your timetable, and create different webinars for viewers in different parts of the world.

Step 6: Explore on-demand options

Finally, it’s important to remember that you’ll never be able to choose the right date and time for everyone.

Fortunately, there are other pathways you can explore to ensure that no one misses out. If users are unable to attend your webinar live due to time zone differences or work and other commitments, offer content on demand. Viewers can tune in on their own time and still gain value from your presentation.

Tips on scheduling your webinars to maximize engagement

When scheduling webinars, there are a few tips you can employ to maximize your engagement and get the most out of your content strategy. Give these a try!

Choose high-quality software

High-quality webinar software can take your content to the next level! This will make it easier to produce events that showcase your professionalism and encourage more users to get involved.

Whether you’re a new creator or an experienced webinar host, Riverside is a strong option. The platform provides high-level hosting, recording, and editing tools while optimizing quality and accommodating real-time connections.

Riverside’s key features include:

• Up to 4K video resolution and 48kHz sound quality
• High-definition live-streaming for premium quality results
• Separate video and audio tracks for up to 8 participants
• Studio branding, making it easy to personalize your event’s appearance
• Local recording, recording on each person’s own device to minimize disruptions
• One-click sharable webinar link for easy guest invitations
• Capacity for up to 1,000 live audience attendees
• Live omni-chat to accommodate real-time engagement even when multistreaming
• Screen-sharing and media playback features available
• Automated editing tools, helping users take control of recorded content
• Automatic transcriptions available in over 100 languages
• Post-recording show notes to summarize your content using AI technology
• AI-powered Magic Clips, extracting short-form clips from longer recordings

Select the right duration

Next, it’s important to think about how long your webinar should take. On average, most webinars are between 60 to 90 minutes in duration. This provides plenty of time to communicate big ideas and engage with your attendees without overwhelming them.

However, in some cases, longer webinars can be useful, especially if you’re sharing high-level professional skills or resources. In other contexts, a shorter webinar might drive greater engagement outcomes for a consumer audience. It all depends on your unique content!

Remind your attendees

Before your webinar begins, don’t forget to send your registered attendees a quick reminder about the event. Touching base via email can ensure that no one accidentally misses a webinar they’ve forgotten about. You can even use this as an opportunity to highlight the value your webinar will offer one more time!

Simple reminders are effective no matter when your webinar takes place. Some webinar hosts may even send multiple reminders, both the day before the webinar event and an hour or so before the webinar is set to begin.

Produce more webinars

Sometimes, the secret to driving better webinar attendance and engagement is to produce more webinars! The more webinar events you host, the more people you’ll be able to reach with your message and mission.

Producing a variety of webinars can help you maintain connections established with regular attendees. It can also give you a chance to host events at different times so that you can target a broader, more diverse audience.

Respond to feedback

As you begin to produce more webinars, you may start receiving feedback on the way you set these up or when they take place. This is valuable, so listen to your audience when they reach out! You can learn more about what works for your specific brand.

If your webinar attendees often tell you that your webinars are too long, consider trimming down content. If people often say your webinars take place too late in the evening, try scheduling your next event earlier in the day. Time and experimentation will help you learn what works best for you and your audience alike.

FAQs on the best time to host a webinar

Still unsure about when you should host your next webinar? Here are our answers to a few frequently asked questions!

How far in advance should you schedule a webinar?

There’s no set rule on how far in advance you should schedule webinar content.

Nonetheless, it is usually best to give people some warning if you can. Most sources suggest that you should add your webinar to the calendar at least 3 weeks before the event begins. This gives users time to register and clear their schedules ahead of the big day.

How often should you run webinars?

How often you host webinars will vary depending on your brand and your marketing strategy, as well as the time and resources you have.

Rather than focusing on how frequently webinars should take place, try to think about the value you can bring. Whenever you have truly valuable information to share, you can set up a webinar! This mindset will help you ensure that each event you host is as high quality as possible.

Final thoughts

Wherever you are in your webinar hosting journey, learning more about the ideal dates and times for webinar content can help you strategize effectively.

If you’re ready to produce impactful, professional webinars that deliver high value for your audience, don’t wait. Get started now with Riverside’s comprehensive webinar features.