Arsalan Khan
Out of the dozens of virtual event software that have become popularized over the past few months, Zoom has emerged as one of the clear front-runners. Their ability to integrate collaborative learning tools along with secure meeting login systems for companies, educational facilities, and event managers have allowed them to be suitable across the spectrum.
When it comes to setting up Zoom events on a broader scale, there’s a few tools that you want to particularly take advantage of. Here’s a further outline of some of the best use cases for Zoom’s online event tool suite.
1. Transitioning Your In-Person Event to Zoom
Zoom’s one of the leaders when it comes to modern enterprise video communications. They offer a reliable cloud platform, which includes video and audio conferencing capabilities, along with chat functions and webinars available through mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom’s original software, Zoom Rooms, was intended to be a conference room solution used in replacement of traditional conference boards and training rooms. Since the San-Jose based company was founded in 2011, Zoom’s branched out to offer more technical solutions to allowing businesses and organizations to mobilize their teams in a seamless environment.
Zoom’s traditional meeting software allows for up to 1,000 people on video simultaneously. However, if you’re planning on hosting a bigger virtual event, Zoom Webinars allows for scaling of up to 10,000 attendees and live streaming through Facebook. The most common route for users to attend a Zoom meeting is through the desktop or mobile app. Meeting hosts can choose whether or not to password-protect the event, but the process remains relatively simple. Zoom reports that 89% of conference and meeting participants join through VoIP. As a last resort, conference attendees also have the option to join a webinar through a dial-in option.
2. Using Zoom Breakout Rooms For Collaboration
To enhance user-to-user interaction, Zoom allows for conference hosts to organize attendees into breakout rooms. These can be particularly helpful for team brainstorming meetings or for educational facilities looking to generate student discussion. Through Zoom’s breakout rooms, attendees can collaborate on group projects or hold focus group meetings. The facilitator of the event has the option to sift between breakout rooms and check-in on how the progress is looking. Setting up Zoom’s breakout rooms are fairly easy, and they allow you to pre-schedule selected rooms or randomly sort attendees into groups.
The first step to setting up a Zoom breakout room is to navigate to the “Settings” section under the “Personal” heading. Under the Meetings tab, scroll to “In-Meeting (Advanced).” Next, simply enable the switch for breakout rooms. From here, the option for “Breakout Rooms” should automatically appear when your next Zoom meeting begins. After clicking the breakout rooms icon, Zoom allows you to self-sort or automatically split attendees into breakout rooms.
Case: How PresenceSummit Leveraged Zoom to Increase Virtual Event
PresenceSummit, an upcoming virtual event, has been taking advantage of live streaming via social media to maximize their event exposure and attract new attendees. The event is being held to broadcast a full day of workshops based on how to provide value to attendees through video communication. Let’s face it: presenting through a virtual setting is a relatively new space for most of us. To start, it’s a lot more difficult to gauge the audience’s interest in what you’re saying. That’s why it’s becoming increasingly important for event managers and conference hosts to find an engaging presentation method that translates to the virtual space.
What’s unique about the PresenceSummit is that it serves as the first professional development event for video communicators, and it will be followed by a greater abundance of similar training events so long as the space has a consistent demand. Some of the core topics covered are things like non-verbal communication cues, utilizing personal strengths for collaboration, and increasing engagement of attendees. After the event is concluded, attendees will be able to take the techniques and exercises they learned and bring them forth to their own work spaces.
Bonus: Integrating the 3D Space For Your Next Virtual Event
3D event platforms allow you take a virtual conference to the next level. While Zoom events and Microsoft Teams video conferencing provide a traditional approach to managing meetings, 3D conferencing allows for a more advanced interface that mimics real-world environments. Of course, they’re a little harder to navigate. The landscape is created through 3D building blocks which allow for free movement throughout a conference venue. Conferences can be accessed through a VR headset, smartphone, or laptop.
The 3D event space in particular has seen a 653% rise in virtual events and 12x increase in monthly active users, says the President of VirBELA, a subscription-based 3D event software. Companies and organizations are striving to accommodate for the monotonous nature of digital meetings, and 3D event spaces are one of the better ways to recreate the benefits of in-person networking and real-world connections.
