Hosting a virtual event over Zoom can be a daunting task at first. I’ve compiled a list of questions that I ask my clients to better understand their vision of the events. While you’re planning your event, here’s some things to consider:
Webinar or Meeting?
The first thing to ask yourself if are you hosting a webinar or a meeting? For most small gatherings, a meeting is an easy choice. The main difference is that in a webinar, participants are separated into panelists and attendees, which allows the host more control over the event. I suggest having a webinar over a meeting if any of the following applies:
Only a few people will be speaking
If only 10 people or less will be speaking at your event, you might want to consider a webinar. This will make managing the event much easier since you can control who is a panelist and who will just be watching.
The event will be public
If you’re hosting an event that will be open to the public, a webinar is the better way to go. You have more control over the event and what your audience/ attendees will see. Also if you have anyone who shouldn’t be there show up, it’s easier to handle them.
You don’t need everyone to be on camera or speak
If there’s a large section of those invited who won’t be speaking or on camera, a webinar is better. If you expect to have a back and forth conversation, a meeting is fine.
Will you be recording this and/or streaming?
Do you plan to stream to Facebook or Youtube?
You’ll want to make sure you’re familiar with the setup required and to test that it works before the event begins. I usually suggest that if you want to stream using your own Facebook page or Youtube channel, that I can walk you through the setup, but ultimately you’ll be in control the stream. This is mostly for privacy reasons since you’ll have to login through Zoom to allow streaming.
do you Want to record this event?
Zoom has multiple options to record an event. If you plan to share the event via a Zoom link, I suggest recording to the cloud. Recording to the cloud is easy, but has a few nuances, since the settings dictate how the webinar/meeting will record and not what the person recording sees on his/her screen.
If you don’t care about being able to share the recording easily, then recording to your computer can create a higher quality recording. If you want to record in a specific format, you’ll want to test recording so it will show up exactly how you planned for it to.
Are you going to have videos/music/Powerpoint slides?
Just like live events, planning for music and videos is important. You’ll want to give the person helping you with the technical aspect plenty of time to prepare for what you’ll be asking. For example, I use software that makes it difficult to edit content during the event, so having everything ready before the event starts is important.
Also if any editing of videos or music will be involved. These will need to be handled before the broadcast begins. Zoom does allow screen-sharing and music but playing those natively through Zoom can be a hassle if there’s multiple videos or music sources. A tech helping with the event may wish to use another software to manage these and simply overlay these on their screen.
Are you going to need extra technical help?
Virtual events often require multiple people to provide technical assistance. I suggest that the person most familiar with the event provide the “host” role in Zoom. They will control the admin side and the streaming/recording if applicable. Then their will need to be one or more co-hosts.
Typically I will be one of the co-hosts and have another co-host that can monitor chat. In my role, I manage external audio, video and powerpoint slides. I also take charge of who will be in the spotlight or switching to gallery view. The other co-host answers questions in the chat and posts information in the chat. If you’re going to be hosting a webinar where attendees are frequently promoted to panelists, you might want to consider a third co-host who can manage that.
These are the first questions to consider when hosting a virtual event. Have any more question? Ask in the comments below.