What Is a Zoom Webinar? Everything You Need to Know
Although live events are still predominant, webinars have recently grown in popularity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people started to favor webinars over physical events because of their convenience — they give attendees access to content anywhere and at any time.
Most of us have been attending Zoom meetings for work, school, or social events lately. But Zoom webinars are different in a few ways. Here’s what you need to know.
What Is a Webinar on Zoom?
Zoom webinars are online events that use the Zoom video conferencing platform to allow large numbers of people to attend a presentation or talk virtually. In fact, the word “webinar” itself is a combination of the words “web” and “seminar.”
Zoom Webinar Pricing
Unfortunately, a Zoom webinar isn’t free. You can purchase an annual license depending on the number of attendees you want to include in your webinar.
You can spend anywhere between $690 per year (for 500 attendees) and $64,900 per year (10,000 attendees). Although the website does not disclose any pricing for webinars with over 10,000 participants, it is possible to contact customer service and arrange a deal.
If you’re not entirely satisfied with what the basic plans offer, you can spend a bit more on Zoom webinar add-on plans.
- Audio Conferencing: starting from $1,200 per year
- Cloud Storage: starting from $480 per year
Keep in mind that you should be a licensed user to purchase any of these add-ons.
If you are still unsure which plan is right for you, you can try the Zoom webinar free trial for a month.
Zoom Webinar Features
Zoom webinars have a variety of helpful tools and features that might help you improve your overall webinar experience. Let’s take a closer look.
Host Large Audiences
With Zoom video webinars, you can broadcast your event to a maximum of 50,000 view-only participants. That’s much more than the limit of 100 participants for regular Zoom meetings.
Handouts
You can upload handouts, links, and other materials for participants to download during your webinar.
Audio, Video, and Screen Recording
All Zoom webinars are automatically recorded and saved to the cloud. You can share the recording with participants after the webinar is over.
Transcription
Zoom webinars offer a speech-to-text transcription service that can only be activated by the event hosts. Without their permission, attendees won’t be able to see the live transcript.
How to Set up a Zoom Webinar
Now that you know what a Zoom webinar is, you’re probably wondering how to use Zoom for webinars.
If you do not have any previous experience with Zoom, we’ve got you covered. Setting up a Zoom webinar is much easier than you would expect.
Log In to Your Zoom Account
The first step is to log in to your Zoom account. If you don’t have it, you can create one entirely for free.
Make Sure You Have All the Licenses
Before you start using Zoom for webinars, make sure you have all the licenses you need. In order to be assigned a license from Zoom, just remember that you must have the owner or admin permission on your Zoom account.
To do so, you can log in to your Zoom portal, select User Management, and then Users. Search for the user and select User Type to assign the license.
Schedule Your Webinar
After the licenses are appropriately set, it’s time to schedule your webinar. Follow these easy steps to get ready for your next seminar:
- Log in to the Zoom web portal.
- Select Webinars in the navigation menu.
- Choose Schedule a Webinar.
- Select the desired Zoom webinar settings.
Set Registration Options
Still unsure about how to create a zoom webinar with registration? Here are a few tips you should consider.
Once you click on Webinars, you will be able to scroll down to the Invitations tab. Select the Registration Settings section to set your preference for payment, approval, notifications, and others.
However, keep in mind that scheduling a recurring webinar with registration means that editing the event will cause you to lose all the data. Therefore, if you’re planning to host another webinar in the near future, you will have to go through the whole registration process again.
Q&A Settings
If you are planning to keep your audience engaged, allowing attendees to ask insightful questions is the way to go. In fact, 92% of attendees expect a live Q&A session at the end of the webinar.
Once you click on Webinars in your Zoom web portal, you can click on the topic of your webinar to enable the Q&A tab.
Choose Webinar Options
What kind of audio do you want to use? Would you like to share the most helpful guides, links, and documents with your attendees? If you are on your Zoom web portal, you can still activate these features before the event begins.
Save Webinar as a Template
Once you’re all set up, you can save your preferred Zoom webinar options as a template. This will help you save a great deal of time the next time you host a webinar.
Hold Practice Sessions
Before you start your Zoom webinar, it’s a good idea to hold a practice session and make sure everything is working properly. You don’t want your screen to freeze or your audio to cut out in the middle of your presentation.
To start a practice session, click on the Webinars tab and then select Start Practice Session.
How to Host a Zoom Webinar: Tips and Tricks
Now that you know how to set up a Zoom webinar, it’s time to learn how to host one. Here are some Zoom webinar tips to ensure your success.
Create a Script
Creating a written script for your webinar will help you stay on track and keep your presentation organized.
Test Your Audio and Video Settings
It’s easy to encounter tech issues during an online seminar, but that doesn’t mean you cannot prevent this.
Holding practice sessions can be a great way to avoid any nuisance related to the malfunctioning of your audio and video.
Set Proper Expectations
Before your webinar starts, set proper expectations with your attendees. Let them know what they can expect to learn and what they need to do in order to participate.
Start on Time
Like in-person meetings or seminars, punctuality is key. This shows your attendees that you respect their time and are serious about the presentation.
If you’re having technical difficulties, it’s okay to start a few minutes late. But make sure you let your attendees know what’s going on and when they can expect the webinar to start.
Zoom Meeting vs. Webinar
Now that you have a better insight into how to use Zoom webinar, you might be wondering how it differs from a Zoom meeting.
While a Zoom meeting is designed for small groups of people who want to interact with each other, a Zoom webinar aims to reach a much wider audience. Generally, Zoom webinars are ideal for presentations and educational material.
In a Zoom meeting, all participants can see each other’s videos. On the other hand, Zoom webinars only allow the host and panelists to see other people’s videos.
What Is a Zoom Webinar? Our Takeaway
If you are looking to host your own presentation, lecture, or seminar and connect with your audience at the same time, a Zoom webinar might be your best shot.
Apart from offering top-quality audio and video, the platform is relatively easy to use for beginners. In addition to that, webinars on Zoom are highly scalable, meaning that they can be used for either large or small events. On the downside, Zoom webinars may prove expensive if your budget is limited.
What Is a Zoom Webinar? FAQ
A Zoom webinar is an online seminar that allows you to share your screen and present to a large audience. You can use Zoom webinars for marketing, training, or even just to keep in touch with your team. All you need to have to start your own webinar is an internet connection, a Zoom account, and the proper licenses.
The Waiting Room option is not supported for webinars. You can use a webinar practice session instead while waiting for all the participants to join.
No, people cannot see you on a Zoom webinar, as webinars support just view-only attendees. The only way people can interact with hosts or panelists of a Zoom video webinar is through polling, Q&A, and chat features. As such, you can remain completely anonymous if you want to. However, keep in mind that your voice can still be heard on the webinar, so if you don’t want that, don’t forget to mute your mic.
To mute yourself on a Zoom webinar, you can simply click on the microphone icon. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+M to mute and unmute yourself. If you are a host or panelist, you have the authority to mute or unmute the people participating in the online event.
Zoom offers two different types of video conferencing: meetings and webinars. Both meetings and webinars allow users to see and hear each other from anywhere and at any time.
But what is a Zoom webinar and how is it different from a meeting? First, webinars are designed for larger audiences, with a limit of 50,000 participants — meetings only allow up to 100. Next, webinars have a host who can control the flow of the conversation, whereas in meetings, all participants have equal footing. Finally, webinars allow for more engagement with participants through features like Q&As and polls, making them well-suited for presentations or lectures.
