WEBCASTS & ONLINE EVENTS - INXPO · 2018 BENCHMAR REPORT For more information please visit , email us at [email protected], or call us at (312) 962-3708 13 VIDEO WEBCAST TRENDS

A Look at Trends from Attendance to Engagement

WEBCASTS & ONLINE EVENTS2018 Benchmark Report

2018 BENCHMARK REPORT

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Executive Summary

Registration & Attendance

Most Popular Days

Most Popular Times

Webcast View Time & Duration

Webcast Interactivity

Popular Online Event Spaces & In-Event Messages

Video on the Rise

Mobile Access & Devices

Popular Browsers & Summary

About West

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

OVERVIEW

For many years now, online events and webcasts have helped marketers, event planners and corporate communicators extend their reach, drive engagement and maximize ROI.

These tactics are being used throughout the buyer's journey to better nurture prospects, generate leads and provide best practices to buyers post-purchase. Additionally, webcasts and online events are used to reach and engage employees, enable sales teams, and educate both internal and external audiences.

In this report, we will take a look at West Webcasting (STUDIO) and Online Event platform to provide relevant attendance and engagement analysis to better inform future programming.

This study was conducted by West, to provide insights and comparisons into webcast and online event performance to better guide our customers with best practices learned from our findings.

METHODOLOGY Date Range:

• The data provided in the report represents a 12 month period including both live and on-demand for accuracy.

• The date range starts 1/1/17 with a live period ending on 12/31/17 and covering an on-demand period through 3/31/18.

Customer Sample: West has delivered thousands of webcasts and online events for enterprises, associations and media organizations over the past 12 months. We took a sample of these programs that meet our benchmark criteria to share some of the best practices and trends we are seeing across our customer base.

• STUDIO Webcasts with live, simu-live and on-demand states, including stand-alone or webcasts in an event or a series were analyzed.

• Online Events with 1-2 scheduled live days excluding 365 day environments were analyzed.





REGISTRATION & ATTENDANCEWEBCASTS ONLINE EVENTS

of registrants attend live38% of registrants attend live44%of those registered and did not attend live attend on-demand13% of those registered and did not

attend live attend on-demand9%of those that attend live return to view on-demand9% of those that attend live return

to view on-demand14%of attendees view on-demand31% of attendees view on-demand20%





WEBCASTS ATTENDED LIVE BASED ON WHEN THEY REGISTERED

2-7 Days Prior 26%

Day Prior 12%

Day Of 12%

REGISTRATION & ATTENDANCE

ONLINE EVENTS ATTENDED LIVE BASED ON WHEN THEY REGISTERED

8-14 Days Prior 18%

2-7 Days Prior 28%

Day Prior 12%

Day Of 5%

Timing plays an important part of your communication strategy. Be sure to take a look at when your audience is registering when scheduling your promotions. As a best practice we recommend activating your marketing 1 month prior to the webcast.

Online Events require a much longer time commitment from your audience than a stand-alone webcast so be sure to start your promotions at least 2-3 months prior to your event date to reach your goals.

7+ Days Prior 50%

15+ Days Prior 37%





MOST POPULAR DAYSMOST POPULAR DAYS TO SCHEDULE A WEBCAST

Monday4%

Tuesday27%

Thursday34%

Friday5%

Wednesday30%

Saturday0%

Sunday0%

MOST POPULAR DAYS TO SCHEDULE AN ONLINE EVENT

Monday9%

Tuesday21%

Thursday22%

Friday9%

Wednesday38%

Saturday1%

Sunday0%

Thursday continues to be the most popular day to schedule a webcast year over year. However, we did find webcasts scheduled on Fridays tend to have the longest viewing duration.

Online events typically include 1-2 live days, followed by a 3-6 month on-demand period. Events that are scheduled for multiple days tend to start earlier in the week on a Tuesday or Wednesday sharing the most popular days with the webcast category.





MOST POPULAR TIME TO SCHEDULE A WEBCAST

MOST POPULAR TIMES

When scheduling a webcast, identify the locations and timezones that majority of your audience is attending from and select a time to best reach these groups effectively.

Most online events have their first presentation within the first hour and average 14 hrs. of content with an on demand period of 6 months. The content average has risen and start times are earlier due to the popularity of the "follow-the-sun" event model where presentations run for every time zone to accommodate a global audience.

MOST POPULAR TIME TO START AN ONLINE EVENT

ALL TIMES ARE IN CENTRAL TIME (CT)

36%

1:00PM

12%

12:00PM

13%

11:00AM

21%

9:00AM

11%

8:00AM

15%

7:00AM





WEBCAST VIEW TIME & DURATION

Average view time of live

webcast (60mins. webcast)

44mins.

Average view time of on-demand

webcast (60mins. webcast)

39mins.

Based on the average view times, scheduling shorter webcasts for 30-45mins. may increase the average attendee view time and engagement.

is still the most popular duration for stand-alone webcasts.

60mins.





74% of attendees respond to polls in live webcasts.Collect responses in real-time using polling during a webcast to get immediate insights into your audience. Use responses to tailor your content to your audience and their interests.





WEBCAST INTERACTIVITY INSIGHTS ON HOW AUDIENCES PREFER TO ENGAGE

Select the panels that fit best with your content and your audience to drive engagement.

Interactive panels such as Q&A and Group Chat can help transform a one-way presentation into a two-way conversation.

153 avg. documents views

88% include Q&A

38 avg. questions asked

72% include handouts





ONLINE EVENTS ARE MADE UP OF

12 avg. 69 avg.

Online events give hosts the opportunity to create an experience filled with content targeted towards its audience.

Presentation and document views are all tracked giving the host insights into the content their attendees are most interested in. Gamification elements such as trivia and badging can boost retention and drive interactivity. 12 avg.

PRESENTATIONS DOCUMENTS LOCATIONS

PERCENTAGE OF ONLINE EVENTS THAT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN-EVENT PROMOTIONS

56% Announcements

Events hosts can take advantage of in-event messaging tools to promote upcoming sessions, or use as another monetization avenue for sponsors to display their message and branding.

49% Marquee Messages

52% Display Ads

54% Pop Up Messages





Video allows you to authentically connect with your audience, and since the launch of STUDIO in 2016 we've seen a leap in the amount of customer webcasts utilizing the video capabilities.

70% of webcasts use video.

VIDEO ON THE RISE





VIDEO WEBCAST TRENDSWebcasting presentation formats continue to evolve from traditional audio presentations paired with slides to TV style video broadcasts. With all of the high quality video options available today, speakers can present from a webcam, video conferencing unit, studio, or even on location using a video crew.

20182016

43%

2017

47%90% of online events use video.

70%





MOBILE ACCESS & DEVICES

94%

iOS

AVERAGE MOBILE LOGINS ACROSS WEBCASTS AND ONLINE EVENTS

Android

58%

42%

Attendees can access content at anytime from anywhere on any device and now on their preferred browser without sacrificing any features from the desktop experience.

Although, majority of your audience is still viewing from their laptop and desktop computers, smartphone and/or tablet device usage continues to grow, so be sure your content is optimized for this format.

80% of webcasts are accessed on mobile devices.

of online events are accessed on mobile devices.

Up 6% from last year.





POPULAR BROWSER TYPES

Chrome

LOGINS ACROSS WEBCASTS & ONLINE EVENTS

Internet Explorer

Firefox

Safari

SUMMARYIn conclusion, webcasts and online events continue to rise in their use across many different organization types. Just like some of these benchmarks collected, these tools are rich with data and continue to replace and/or extend traditional communication channels.

Live video streaming allows you to take your events online to reach a much larger audience. Implement these tactics into your content strategy today to communicate more effectively, drive engagement and increase revenue.

Chrome continues to be the most popular browser followed by Internet Explorer. According, to NetMarketShare, Chrome holds the highest desktop browser market share by 59%.

43%

12%

13%

32%



https://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-market-share.aspx?options=%7B%22filter%22%3A%7B%22%24and%22%3A%5B%7B%22deviceType%22%3A%7B%22%24in%22%3A%5B%22Desktop%2Flaptop%22%5D%7D%7D%5D%7D%2C%22dateLabel%22%3A%22Custom%22%2C%22attributes%22%3A%22share%22%2C%22group%22%3A%22browser%22%2C%22sort%22%3A%7B%22share%22%3A-1%7D%2C%22id%22%3A%22browsersDesktop%22%2C%22dateInterval%22%3A%22Monthly%22%2C%22dateStart%22%3A%222017-01%22%2C%22dateEnd%22%3A%222018-03%22%2C%22segments%22%3A%22-1000%22%7D

About UsWest Corporation is a global provider of communication and network infrastructure services. West helps its clients more

effectively communicate, collaborate and connect with their audiences through a diverse portfolio of solutions that include

unified communications services, safety services, interactive services such as automated notifications, telecom services and

specialty agent services. For 30 years, West has provided reliable, high-quality, voice and data services. West has sales and

operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

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WEBCASTS & ONLINE EVENTS - INXPO · 2018 BENCHMAR REPORT For more information please visit , email us at [email protected], or call us at (312) 962-3708 13 VIDEO WEBCAST TRENDS