How to Host a Successful Zoom Webinar

Now, more than ever, businesses need to connect with their clients virtually. Virtual webinars and meetings are the key ways to reach your audience. With so many options out there, you may be struggling to decide which platform to use for your virtual meetings or webinars. Even after choosing a platform, the variety of options and settings can overwhelm even the most tech-savvy users. 

Here at Joyfully Organized, we want to take away the confusion about how to virtually connect with your audience, so that you can spend more time doing what you love. With these helpful tips, you can successfully collaborate with and connect with others online一without the technology-induced headache! 

Zoom: Webinars vs. Meetings

The team at Joyfully Organized has found that Zoom is usually the most effective platform for both your webinars and meetings. Virtual webinars will be similar to in-person conferences or summits. You host the webinar alone or set up a panel of speakers that share video, audio, and screens with attendees. These attendees are usually somewhat passive observers, but can interact with the Webinar host through Chat, Q&A, or Polls. 

In contrast, virtual meetings with Zoom are designed for participants to collaborate and interact with the host. You are also able to share audio, video, and screen during a meeting. These features will help you determine which one will serve your business better.

How to Schedule the Zoom Call

Here are some ways to set up and host a successful Zoom Webinar or Meeting

• Topic: Your topic should be short and to the point, while still being descriptive. 

• Description: Create a longer description that tells the attendee what they will learn during the webinar. This is important when you’re using the Zoom hosted landing page.

• Registration Required: Tracking attendees is an easy way to track your marketing efforts. We highly recommend requiring registration!

• Invitations: Make sure approval is on to automatically approve invited attendees. 

• Email settings: Turn on reminder emails to prompt people to remember to join. We suggest sending 1 day and 1 hour before the event.

• Branding: Add in a banner to brand the registration page. This helps people to know exactly what they are signing up for and who will be hosting it.

• Mute Upon Entry: I recommend turning on “mute upon entry.” This way, if someone joins after you’ve begun, their sound won’t affect your presentation. During a webinar, you may have participants muted the entire time. However, during a meeting, participants will be able to “unmute” themselves and share later in the meeting. 

5 Tips for Hosting a Zoom Webinar or Meeting

So, you’ve created content you’re sharing with your audience and scheduled it on Zoom. Now what can you do to make sure your webinar or meeting is a success? Here are some overall tips for hosting an effective virtual webinar/meeting.  

1. Muting: I recommend keeping all participants except for the speaker on mute. Even if you end up hosting a Q&A or discussion, it’s important for only the current speaker (and the host, if different) to not be on mute. Keep everyone else muted. This helps with overall background noise and clarity of the sound.

2. A helper: Have a second person help manage the chat. It’s hard to present and manage anything else additional. Have someone else on the call manage and keep track of any questions that arise, try to solve any tech issues, etc. This is where a virtual assistant could be useful for your business. 

3. Speakers Join Early: Have all hosts/co-hosts join the meeting at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time. This allows time for you to work out any tech issues around sound, video, sharing slides, etc.

4. Co-Hosts: Make sure you’ve given permission to your secondary person to be a “co-host”. That way if anything goes wrong during your presentation or your internet drops, that person will be a backup and the meeting won’t be dropped.

5. Prep Slides: If there will be any sharing of slides or resources during the presentation, make sure each of these is prepped and ready to be pulled up at the correct time. This way you don’t have to go looking for anything during the call.

Hosting a virtual gathering for your business can be daunting. However, now more than ever it is important to virtually connect your business with others.  These tips have been proven successful by our team at Joyfully Organized. Using these suggestions, you can effectively create a virtual experience for your audience.

What if you prepare for your webinar/meeting using these tips, but still need help? Contact Joyfully Organized’s team of Virtual Assistants, so we can help you get back to doing what you love--communicating and connecting with others about your business.