on24 webinar benchmarks report 2019

Financial Services Trends

contentsEXECUTIVE STATEMENT 3

Methodology 4

PRE-WEBINAR BENCHMARKS 5Promotional Cycle 5

Best Days to Send Promotional Emails 7

Best Days for Webinar Attendance 9

Best Time to Run Webinars 11

WEBINAR BENCHMARKS 13Average Viewing Time 13

Registrant to Attendee Conversion 15

Average Attendee Rate 17

Integration of Engagement Tools 19

Integration of Video 21

POST-WEBINAR BENCHMARKS 22Always-On Viewing 22

Always-On Viewing Time 22

CONCLUSION 24

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Executive StatementSince the 2008 financial crisis, the finance sector has seen dramatic changes over the last decade. Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and heightened regulatory pressures, industry veterans have been challenged by new-age fintech and insurtech firms that focus on delivering a superior customer experience. At the same time, non-traditional competitors shape consumer expectations in other sectors and set new benchmarks for performance.

While many finance organizations still wrangle with organizational silos, legacy systems and inefficient processes, disruptive brands are embracing change, shifting from traditional operating models and reevaluating the way they engage with customers. The appetite for technology investment shows no signs of receding but the challenge of meeting new customer expectations still looms large. With multiple competitive forces at play and the bar set high, the timing is ripe for becoming more attuned to the needs of customers and delivering straightforward, educational and engaging experiences.

Whether you are an incumbent or a digital challenger brand, an insurance or a wealth asset management firm, we believe webinars can help you build trust and develop credibility,

share expertise, foster engagement, attract new interest and drive qualified leads through the sales funnel. Use cases are compelling and range from explaining abstract financial concepts, providing financial advice and showcasing examples of successful investment portfolios, to engaging finance professionals throughout their decision-making process and reaching certified financial advisors.

To help you on your road to webinar success, we’ve analyzed all webinar benchmark data from events produced by financial organizations on our platform in 2018 and looked at how practices in this sector differ from those employed by their peers operating in other industries. We’ve also looked at five key sectors—asset management, banking, financial services, insurance and investment banking—to better understand how webinars are used to support their marketing efforts, increase pipelines and drive engagement with time-pressed audiences.

We’re excited to share these insights with you, and hope this report inspires you to bring your content to life and make the most of your webinar program. We look forward to helping you overcome challenges and unlock opportunities in the year ahead.

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interactivity metrics, audience viewing habits, and both live and always-on attendance and conversion metrics. Unless otherwise noted, this study uses the following definitions:

Live webinars—Audio or video-based events streamed on a specific day and time.

Always-on webinars—Audio or video-based events attendees can view always-on, including archived live webcasts.

Registrants—Prospects registered to view an event.

Attendees—Prospects who registered to view an event and attended that event.

MethodologyON24, the world’s leading webinar platform, compiled the data in this report. The events included in this analysis were selected from a sample of ON24 webinars conducted globally by finance companies in 2018.

ON24 measured 8,785 webinars in this analysis.

All webinars were held between January and December of 2018.

Events represent a cross-section of more than 200 finance companies.

In addition, those working for finance companies were surveyed to find out more about how they are using webinars and their effectiveness.

This study examines statistics across a webinar’s lifecycle, including webinar promotion and registration metrics,

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Promotional cycle

of finance companies say that webinars enable them to scale their marketing efforts.

It is critical to have a well-executed promotional campaign if you want your webinar to pay off. The duration of the campaign is one of the first factors you need to consider. Longer promotional periods increase your level of exposure and give you the opportunity to build up excitement before the event, so start at least two to three weeks before the event is scheduled to run.

Emails are particularly effective at driving registrants and building buzz around your webinar without overwhelming would-be attendees. If you have existing content on the same topic, use

Pre-webinar Benchmarks

73%it as a hook to establish your authority and get your prospects interested. A few well-thought-out teasers and clear, compelling calls to action can significantly increase registration rates.

Across our entire finance sample, more than two-fifths (43 percent) of registrants sign up for a webinar at least eight days before. It’s worth noting that over a quarter (27 percent) of finance registrants sign up on the day of the event, two and a half times more than the average across all sectors included in our benchmarks analysis (11 percent).

Registrants in the insurance and banking sectors (35 percent and 34 percent, respectively) are most likely to sign up at least 15 days before the event, while those in asset management and investment banking are least likely to do so (19 percent and 14 percent, respectively). The investment banking sector has the largest share of late registrants, i.e. those who sign up to one week before (67 percent).

Distribution of Registrations Across Promotional Cycle

Sector Average

27%day of 8-14

days before

21%more than 15 days before

22%30%1-7

days before

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Regular communication throughout the promotional period ensures your webinar remains top of mind and increases the likelihood of reaching registration goals. But don’t just focus on volume over quality: pay as much attention to the content of your promotional emails as to that of your webinar presentation and you’ve already made a dramatic difference.

ON24 TipCreate a series of well-crafted emails that draw the audience in.

Pre-webinar Benchmarks: Finance TREnds

Asset Management 15% 41% 25% 19%

Banking 10% 37% 19% 34%

Financial Services 10% 24% 38% 28%

Insurance 13% 28% 24% 35%

Investment Banking 27% 40% 19% 14%

the breakdown:

day of 1-7 days before

8-14 days before

more than 15 days before

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Best Days to Send Promotional Emails

of finance companies believe that webinars help them lower their cost per lead.

Mid-week emails, sent on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, account for over two-thirds (68 percent) of registrations in the finance sector. This is on a par with other sectors.

Pre-webinar Benchmarks: Finance trends

Emails sent on Tuesday and Wednesday perform particularly well in the investment banking sector, accounting for over half (52 percent) of registrations. The asset management sector, on the other hand, is most likely to benefit from emails sent early in the week, with Monday and Tuesday accounting for over two-fifths (44 percent) of registrations.

Financial services is the only sector in which emails sent on Monday don’t perform well, as they drive only 11 percent of registrants, compared to a fifth in banking.

89%

Sector Average

Thursday

21%Friday Saturday/

Sunday

3%12%

Monday

17%Tuesday

22%Wednesday

25%

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Mid-week emails tend to perform best but it’s worth remembering that what works for one company or sector might not work for yours. Don’t be afraid to change things up once in a while. More advice is included in our Enhancing Webinar Promotions eBook.

ON24 TipExperiment to find the day that works best for you.

monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday Saturday/Sunday

Asset Management 16% 22% 12%28% 19% 3%

Banking 20% 23% 13%22% 19% 3%

Financial Services 11% 28% 13%23% 21% 4%

Insurance 18% 22% 13%20% 23% 4%

Investment Banking 21% 30% 8%22% 17% 2%

Pre-webinar Benchmarks: Finance trends

the breakdown:

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Best Days for webinar attendance Wednesday and Thursday (28 percent each) are also the clear winners when it comes to scheduling webinars.

Webinars run on Wednesday and Thursday have the largest attendance rates in the banking sector (either retail or investment), at 66 percent and 60

Pre-webinar Benchmarks: Finance Trends

percent, respectively. It’s worth noting Tuesday is as the best performer in the asset management sector (30 percent).

Distribution of Attendees by Day Sector Average

Thursday

27%

Monday

11%

9%Friday

Tuesday

21%

Saturday/Sunday

2%

Wednesday

30%

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As with promotional emails, mid-week webinars typically perform best. Tuesday is also a contender in some sectors, so have a look at your analytics to see if that’s when your audience is most engaged with your website content. To maximize attendance rates, it’s best to avoid Monday and Friday.

ON24 TipAudiences are most likely to attend webinars on Wednesday or Thursday.

monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday Saturday/Sunday

Asset Management 8% 30% 28% 24% 8% 2%

Banking 12% 14% 39% 27% 8% 0%

Financial Services 9% 23% 24% 32% 7% 5%

Insurance 11% 20% 28% 28% 11% 2%

Investment Banking 13% 19% 39% 21% 6% 2%

the breakdown:

Pre-webinar Benchmarks: Finance trends

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Best time to run webinars

Three in five (61 percent) webinars produced by finance organizations on our platform are run between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., with 11 a.m. webinars (13 percent) being slightly more popular than others.

Webinars run in the morning, between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m., are particularly popular in the banking and insurance sectors, accounting for nearly half (45 percent and 48 percent, respectively) of the

Pre-webinar Benchmarks: Finance trends

sample. The two sectors are also most likely to run webinars early in the morning (8 a.m. or 9 a.m.).

Asset management and investment banking organizations are, on the other hand, most likely to opt for early afternoon webinars as 1pm is a popular time (16 percent and 24 percent, respectively).

Sector Average

11 AM

6%

13%

7 AM

11%

7%

8 AM

12 PM

10%

10%

9 AM

1 PM

6%

10%

6 AM

10 AM

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Some audiences are more inclined to attend early morning webinars, while others prefer late morning or even early afternoon. If you’re trying to accommodate multiple time zones, it might be worth considering hosting the same webinar at different times in the day, using simulive features.

ON24 TipPrioritize a time your registrants are most likely to tune in.

Asset Management

Banking

Financial Services

Insurance

Investment Banking

the breakdown:

Pre-webinar Benchmarks: Finance trends

6 am 7 am 8 am 9 am 10 am 11 am 12 pm 1 pm

4% 6% 11% 8% 9% 12% 8% 16%

5% 7% 14% 16% 15% 14% 3% 2%

3% 5% 7% 14% 15% 11% 9% 5%

2% 6% 12% 13% 13% 22% 11% 8%

2% 3% 8% 4% 7% 15% 8% 24%

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Average viewing time

how financial services companies rate, on a scale from 1 to 10, the importance of customizing the webinar console with their branding.

Our analysis shows that the average viewing time for webinars produced by finance organizations, including a ten to 15-minute Q&A session, was 45 minutes. This is significantly lower than the average of 58 minutes recorded across all sectors on our platform.

WEBINAR BENCHMARKS

While this might indicate financial audiences are more inclined to opt for shorter webinars, it can also highlight a myopic view in the industry. Many finance organizations are using short attention spans as their guiding principle without factoring in actual audience preferences. Long-form content is still sought out and can vastly outperform short-form content so it’s worth experimenting with longer webinars, particularly for leads closer to taking the next step.

Viewing times, across the five sectors we looked at, are largely similar. The average viewing time in the asset management sector was 39 minutes, compared to 49 minutes in the insurance sector. Viewing times in the financial services and insurance sectors are only slightly above average.

Finance Average

Average Viewing Time in Minutes:

45’

8.9

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Long-form content remains highly valued by time-strapped finance executives. Don’t rely on short webinars only, use a combination of both short and long. Use lengthier webinars to share expertise and build your reputation as a thought leader and shorter webinars for regular updates on market conditions, delivered in a digestible way.

ON24 TipChoose a webinar length that is just right for the content you’re delivering.

the breakdown:

webinar Benchmarks: FINANCE Trends

39’ 44’

Financial Services

47’Insurance

49’Investment Banking

42’

Asset Management Banking

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Registrant to Attendee Conversion

In 2018, the average registrant to attendee conversion rate for finance webinars was 70 percent, significantly higher than the rate recorded across all sectors on our platform (56 percent). With an average conversion rate of 74 percent, the banking sector is leading the charge.

According to our analysis, webinars used for communications and training and learning recorded the highest conversion rates across three of the five sectors we looked at: banking, financial services and insurance. Training webinars perform

webinar Benchmarks: FINANCE trends

particularly well in the banking and insurance sectors, with conversion rates around 70 percent. Insurance is the only sector where continuing education webinars have above-average conversion rates.

Across all sectors, marketing-focused webinars have below-average conversion rates, ranging from 57 percent in asset management to 69 percent in the financial services sector. Finance organizations have relied on sales-focused content for far too long. As audiences are increasingly looking for aspirational content, matched to their life stages and interests, the industry needs to give its marketing content a makeover.

Average webinar conversion rate for webinars with more than 100 attendees:

Finance Average

Financial Services

70%

66%Asset Management

Insurance

68%

68%Banking

Investment Banking

74%

60%

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THE BREAKDOWN:

webinar Benchmarks: FINANCE trends

communications training/Learning marketing continuing education

Banking 89% 70% 68% 41%

Financial Services 87% 65% 69% 45%

Insurance 81% 74% 58% 69%

Investment Banking 83% 40% 59% N/A

Clearly highlight the benefits of attending the webinar and focus on giving your event an advisory feel during your promotional period. Your audiences probably have a penchant for educational experiences and peer input, so experiment with panels of experts and audience-driven webinars.

ON24 TipAdopt an advisory approach to stand out and boost conversion rates.

Asset Management

Sector Average

56%

78%

58%

68%

57%

66%

56%

69%

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Average Attendee Rate

Two in five (41 percent) webinars delivered by finance organizations on our platform attract at least 100 attendees, putting the industry well ahead of others.

When looking at distribution by size for webinars with at least 100 attendees, it’s interesting to note that attendance rates in the investment banking sector tend to be lower on average than those in the other four sectors included in our analysis. Two-thirds (67 percent) of investment banking

webinar Benchmarks: FINANCE trends

webinars attract between 100 and 199 attendees, compared to two-fifths in financial services and insurance, and around half in asset management and banking.

Attendance rates are higher in the financial services and insurance sectors, with around a fifth of webinars produced by these organizations attracting over 500 attendees (18 percent and 20 percent, respectively).

Distribution of webinars by size, as a percentage of webinars with at least 100 live attendees: Sector Average

300-499 500-599 1,000+

100-199 200-299

18% 11% 7%

43% 21%

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Asset Management

Banking

Financial Services

Insurance

Investment Banking

47% 19% 22% 10%

54% 20% 13% 8%

43% 22% 17% 8%

42% 23% 15% 16%

67% 12% 15% 6%

2%

5%

10%

4%

0%

100-199 200-299 300-499 500-599 +1,000

the breakdown:

webinar Benchmarks: FINANCE Trends

Clearly map out personas against the full purchase funnel before jumping into creating a webinar program. Ensure that content is appropriate for the leads you’re targeting at that specific point in the decision process. For more tips on how you can use webinars to accelerate your pipeline, watch our short how-to video.

ON24 TipDeliver a seamless webinar experience by creating personas.

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Integration of Engagement Tools

of finance organizations say it’s ‘extremely important’ to have access to engagement insights.

Many finance organizations are not set up to employ tech innovation to their best abilities, particularly as legacy disjointed systems are still prevalent. However, 64 percent say it’s extremely important to have access to engagement insights, which is where webinars can help.

As is the case in other sectors, the questions and answers widget is most often incorporated into finance webinars. Overall, 71 percent of organizations employ it, with the banking and

webinar Benchmarks: FINANCE trends

insurance sectors leading the way. Apart from resource lists and surveys, which are used by 63 percent and 33 percent of finance organizations, usage of other engagement tools is fairly low.

Resource lists are used by 63 percent of companies in the finance industry, the second most effective tool according to our survey. Pre-populated resource lists can be approved by the compliance team well in advance, allowing marketers to tailor the webinar to the audience’s specific needs with no compliance risk.

Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) claim they are building webinars with interactivity in mind. On a five-point scale, they rate their webinars’ interactivity as 3, which is only slightly behind the 3.1 all-sector average.

64%

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Engagement scoring delivers behavioral analytics that tell you which prospects are the most interested, so your account teams know where the best leads are. Use these insights to target the right leads, personalize follow-up and identify areas of low engagement. The best part of it all? You can use this data to make improvements to your webinar program as you go along.

ON24 TipAlways review engagement insights to make sure you’re not missing the mark.

Sector Average

Asset Management

Banking

Financial Services

Insurance

Investment Banking

q&a

71%

67%

73%

64%

83%

70%

group chatResource List

63% 33% 16% 13% 3%

60% 29% 9% 13% 4%

60% 35% 25% 23% 1%

66% 45% 14% 13% 1%

63% 22% 29% 17% 4%

65% 0% 2% 1% 0%

survey socialpolling

Average proportion of webinars integrating engagement tools:

webinar Benchmarks: FINANCE trends

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Integration of video

of finance companies use video for panel discussions.

The most forward-thinking finance organizations have fully embraced the potential of video marketing to improve the customer experience and drive operational efficiency. Challenger brands increasingly use video to streamline the onboarding process, improve security via biometric identification or record meetings for compliance purposes.

However, our analysis shows that many finance companies are falling behind as just over a fifth (21 percent) have integrated video into their webinars in 2018. This compares to an average of 38 percent across all the sectors on our platform. Video has a key role to play, whether it’s inserting pre-recorded

63%

webinar Benchmarks: FINANCE trends

Make use of video whenever you can as it is a compelling, highly personable content format. Whether it’s a quick product demo or an investment portfolio deep dive, integrate video into your webinars to boost engagement. If you’re looking for ideas, check our eBook on using video to enhance webinars.

ON24 TipPropel your webinars in the right direction with video.

video originally produced for other channels or using video webinars for certain audience segments.

There’s an obvious gap between perception and execution as our survey revealed that finance organizations rate video integration as 7.5 on a ten-point scale, only slightly behind the all-sector average of 7.8 average. Some claim they don’t have the necessary skills or resources for video production, while others have simply not considered incorporating video into their webinars.

Webinars produced by companies in the financial services sector are at least twice as likely as those in other sectors to incorporate video—47 percent compared to less than a fifth of those in retail banking, insurance and investment banking. Asset management organizations are also ahead of the game as just over a third (34 percent) of webinars in this sector feature video.

Financial Services

47%Finance Average

21%Asset Management

34%

Insurance

13%Banking

19%

Investment Banking

10%

Average proportion of webinars integrating video:

21

Always-on viewingProviding content that is easy to find and easy to consume on a self-serve basis has become a key differentiator and driver of customer retention. Always-on webinars facilitate self-paced, self-direct content consumption and learning, extending the engagement beyond the live webinar environment.

Using pre-recorded webinars and hosting them as always-on content in a hub gives compliance teams the ability to review and provide feedback at various stages of the process. This streamlines the approval workflow, makes content production more agile and gives access to content as and when audiences need it.

Seven in ten (71 percent) finance organizations offer training programs both live and on demand. An even higher proportion (80 percent) make their continuing education programs available both live and on demand.

POST-WEBINAR BENCHMARKS

Always-On Viewing Time

The average always-on viewing time for webinars produced by finance companies is 33 minutes, significantly lower than an average of 47 minutes across all the sectors on our platform. Viewing times for always-on webinars are similar across the five sectors included in our analysis, with the insurance sector (28 percent) lagging slightly behind others.

The average number of always-on attendees in the financial services industry is 58, less than a third of the average number of live attendees (181). This suggests that although always-on webinars are becoming more common in the finance industry, organizations are not deriving full value from them. It’s not just about hosting webinars after they run live, but about finding ways to continue the conversation. Incorporating simulive features can make webinars feel as dynamic and interactive as live events, with the added bonus of engagement insights.

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post-Webinar Benchmarks: FINANCE trends

Convincing demanding audiences that you have an approach, commitment or significant level of expertise that sets you apart from competitors is where webinars can truly make a difference. Keeping education as a key focus, use a combination of live and always-on webinars to keep the engagement going and demonstrate your strengths as a brand.

ON24 TipPosition the company as a trusted advisor and expert partner by setting up an educational content hub.

Financial Services

32’Sector Average

33’Asset Management

34’Banking

31’

Investment Banking

31’

Average always-on viewing time in minutes:

Insurance

28’

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ConclusionThe average engagement score for all webinars produced by finance organizations on our platform was 4.1. It’s encouraging to see that engagement scores for training webinars were particularly high in the banking sector (both retail and investment). Webinars in the financial services sector have the lowest engagement scores for communications and training, but engagement with marketing and continuing education webinars is higher than in all other sectors.

Innovation in the finance industry has been relatively sluggish as it’s been hampered by legacy systems and complex governance. However, with intensified competition from challenger brands and customer loyalty no longer a given, organizations are playing catch-up. Building strong

engagement with clients who are increasingly hard to reach in person has become a critical differentiator, and a combination of technology and educational content can make it happen.

Webinars are a very effective way of delivering information on finance products and services, but more importantly, of building engagement with content-hungry audiences who are either looking to learn how they can improve their financial health (in the B2C space) or understanding how clients can turn existing products into financial opportunities (in the B2B arena). We strongly believe that webinars can help finance companies steal a march on their competitors, and we’re excited to see how they’ll harness them to the highest level they can.

Average ON24 engagement score per webinar type:

marketing communications training continuing education

Sector Average 4.3 3.9 4.65.4

Asset Management 4.1 4.3 4.24

Banking 3.9 5.2 4.15.3

Financial Services 4.8 3 5.33.5

Insurance 3.9 4.5 4.84.6

Investment Banking 3.7 4.9 N/A5.3

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