Can Webinars Be Watched Later? (Explained)
There’s nothing worse than wanting to be able to see a webinar replay, only to realize that it’s just not in the deck of cards.
So is this always the case, or can you usually watch webinars later? Let’s chat about that.
Can Webinars Be Watched Later?
So most webinars can be watched later, and some can’t. In a nutshell, the answer is both yes and no (although the answer is mostly yes).
There are going to be quite a few reasons as to why you’d be able to watch a webinar later, and you wouldn’t be able to do so. Allow me to tell you more about the process.
Why You Can’t Watch A Webinar Later
Here are some of the biggest reasons why you won’t be able to watch a webinar later:
- Scarcity.
- The webinar host isn’t allowing replays.
So one of the biggest reasons as to why you won’t be able to watch a specific webinar later is scarcity. When hosting a webinar, one of the best ways to get people to attend it is by only giving one available timeslot.
On one hand, there will definitely be some people who won’t be able to make that time slot. Maybe they are working, maybe they already have plans, or maybe it’s a different time zone and they are catching up on some much-needed sleep.
On the other hand, giving only a one-time slot can also significantly drive up the number of attendees. It’s a situation that pretty much states; see the webinar now or never see it.
This doesn’t happen all too often though, especially for the fact that webinar presenters can miss out on sales by not having any type of replay webinar available.
If you’ve ever been on a webinar before, then you know that people commonly ask:
Will there be a replay of the webinar?
If there’s a replay, then it gives them the opportunity to leave and “maybe” watch it later. Given the fact that there are 1,000,000 distractions online, the chances of the person coming back significantly decreases.
This goes hand in hand when it comes to what I just talked about, but sometimes webinar hosts just don’t offer any type of replay or ability to watch the presentation. It might not even be because of scarcity. They might do this because:
- They simply just don’t want to do any type of replay (aka laziness).
- They only have time to run a webinar once.
- Insert any other random excuse here.
All in all, most webinar presenters are smart enough to have some type of replay or repeat viewing of the webinar. After all, not doing that only means fewer chances for them to make more sales.
Speaking of replays and watching a webinar later, let’s move on to the times when you can watch a webinar later.
Why You Can Watch A Webinar Later
So take a deep breath, as what you read in the previous section are instances that are pretty rare (if you ask me). You’re most likely going to be able to watch a webinar, and here are a few reasons you’ll be able to:
- Most live webinars are recorded to watch later.
- Automated webinars pretty much come with replays at any time.
- Don’t forget that it’s in everyone’s best interest to be able to watch a webinar later.
First and foremost, live webinars can take a good amount of effort to set up and get right. Not only do you have to get your presentation ready and good to go, but you also have to send people to a webinar registration page.
After that, they also need to be able to watch the webinar once it begins, and you can remind them by sending emails.
So after all of the preparation, let’s say that the webinar host knocks the presentation out of the park. Aside from that, they make quite a lot of sales and the customers love the offer. With all of that being said, do you think that the webinar host should:
- Not offer a replay (which means no more views and or sales).
- Offer a replay where more people can watch and make a purchase.
From a marketing (and happiness) perspective, it’s very easy to see that option two is going to be the best bet here. On the other hand, if the webinar bombed and most people dropped off from watching, then you can see why there wouldn’t be a replay.
Next, most automated webinars come with the ability to watch webinars at different times. It could be at the top of the hour, it could be in an hour or two, or there can always be an option to watch the replay right away.
With automated webinars, you won’t need to worry too much about there not being a replay. Just about all automated webinars come with replays, regardless of if you watched the replay from the start.
All in all, it’s going to be in everyone’s best interest to have some sort of extra webinar viewing. It could be a rewatch, a replay, or simply a repurposed video.
With that in mind, let’s talk about a few ways that you can rewatch a webinar.
How Can I Rewatch A Webinar?
One of the best ways to rewatch a webinar is to look for the replay option that webinar hosts usually provide you with.
Depending on the webinar software that the host is using, you can usually find a link to the replay in your inbox. Please also note that this type of email usually gets sent out a day or two after the initial broadcast is completed.
It wouldn’t make any sense to get the replay of a webinar before the actual webinar started, so make sure that you’re always patient when it comes to that.
Also, sometimes the webinar host will save the webinar and upload it to a platform like YouTube where you can watch it later. That’s always going to depend on the webinar host, of course.
Can A Webinar Be Saved?
Yes, webinar hosts can usually save the webinars that they create. Attendees usually aren’t allowed to save a webinar presentation though.
This is going to greatly depend on the software that you use for your webinars. However, most webinar platforms allow you to save your webinars so that you can repurpose them later on.
When it comes to being an attendee, you usually don’t have the ability to save a webinar presentation. If attendees had that ability, then there wouldn’t be much of a reason to have replays. Plus, webinar files can be pretty big and clunky, especially if they go for 1-2 hours.
