Since the coronavirus pandemic, companies have been rapidly introducing
telework
as a form of labor. As seminars, lectures, exhibitions, etc. are forced to be held in real venues,
webinars
using Zoom etc. are attracting attention.
Many companies are using webinars because they don’t have to go to a physical venue and they can save money. Here we will explain about webinars using Zoom.
Related materials:
What is Zoom Webinar?
A Zoom webinar is a webinar conducted using Zoom. So, what exactly are “Zoom” and “webinar”? It is explained below.
- What is Zoom?
- What is a webinar?
- Difference between Zoom Webinar and Zoom Meeting
What is Zoom?
Zoom is a “web conferencing system” developed and provided by Zoom Video Communications, Inc.
Utilizing cloud computing, remote locations can be accessed
online
via web cameras, etc.
Founded in 2011 by Chinese businessman Eric Yang, the company is headquartered in San Jose, California, USA.
What is a webinar?
Webinar is a coined word that combines the words “web” and “seminar,” and refers to a so-called “web seminar” or “online seminar.”
The reason why webinars are attracting so much attention is due in no small part to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Many companies, including governments and local governments, have begun to introduce it because of the convenience of connecting distant locations online without having to physically go there.
Additionally, with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications promoting telework, webinars are likely to become even more popular.
Difference between Zoom Webinar and Zoom Meeting
There are clear differences between Zoom webinars and Zoom meetings, including functionality, capacity, and costs.
However, the rough idea is that Zoom webinars are used for “lectures and seminars” and Zoom meetings are used for “conferences and meetings.”
The suitable uses actually announced by Zoom Video Communications are as follows.
| Zoom webinar | Large-scale events with 50 or more participants, public broadcasting, and educational performances, etc. |
| Zoom meeting | Customer relations meetings, sales meetings, training sessions, etc. involving small groups of 2 or more people and large group participants |
Also, each user is different.
| Zoom webinar | Event organizers (hosts), company executives and executives, etc. |
| Zoom meeting | General employees, training groups, etc. |
Main usage scenarios for Zoom webinars and Zoom meetings
Suitable usage scenarios for Zoom webinars and Zoom meetings are as follows.
Main usage scenarios for Zoom webinars
Zoom webinars are primarily used by one or more hosts and panelists to speak one-sidedly to attendees.
Due to these characteristics, the main usage scenarios include seminars, lectures, various briefing sessions, shareholder meetings, and exhibitions.
Main usage scenarios for Zoom meetings
On the other hand, Zoom meetings are mainly used for discussions between attendees. Due to these characteristics, the main usage scenarios include internal meetings, meetings, and business negotiations with other parties.
Advantages of using Zoom webinars
The main benefits of using Zoom webinars include:
- Participants not only from Japan but also from overseas can gather together.
- Large-scale Zoom webinars can be held with 50,000 participants
- Simultaneous distribution possible
- Reduce costs
- There is no need to “arrange human resources” that would normally occur at a real venue.
- Participants’ personal information will be protected
- Information that is difficult to grasp in real life can be seen at a glance with the “report function”
- Live streaming via SNS is also possible
- Full of functions to communicate with participants
Participants not only from Japan but also from overseas can gather together.
As the saying goes, “The world of the Internet has no borders,” there are basically no borders on the Internet.
As long as you are from a country with internet access, you can gather participants even if you are overseas.
Unlike in real life, participants can participate in our Zoom webinar without leaving their home country.
Large-scale Zoom webinars can be held with 50,000 participants
Host large-scale Zoom webinars with up to 50,000 participants. It is ideal for when you want to gather a large number of people, such as new product presentations, information sessions about your company’s products and services, and general shareholder meetings.
For example, if a real venue is used for a seminar or lecture, there are many inconveniences, such as people not being able to gather in some places, or not being able to control the venue.
However, with Zoom webinars, there is no need to consider such circumstances.
Simultaneous distribution possible
Zoom webinars allow for simultaneous distribution, which is a strength unique to online. Even a Zoom webinar with an audience of 50,000 people like the one mentioned above can be distributed evenly without missing anyone.
For example, in a seminar or lecture using a real venue, the further back you go, the harder it becomes to see the speaker’s face and explanation screen, and the harder it becomes to hear their voice.
However, with Zoom webinars, each participant is displayed and broadcast in the same way on one screen, so no one will suffer from such inconvenience.
Reduce costs
With Zoom webinars, no matter how many participants you gather, the only costs are the Zoom plan fee, license fee, and the cost of the gadgets used. Additionally, if participants use their own devices, there will be no device or gadget fees.
However, if this is a seminar or lecture using a real venue, it will cost a considerable amount of money just to secure the venue.
There will also be expenses such as transportation costs to get to the venue and accommodation costs if the event is held over multiple days.
Another advantage of Zoom webinars is that they do not incur these costs.
There is no need to “arrange human resources” that would normally occur at a real venue.
When holding an event at a real venue, it is also necessary to arrange human resources such as “ushers,” “security guards,” and “companions,” who are usually not related to the company.
These personnel costs alone can be a considerable burden and add to your expenses. However, with Zoom webinars, these labor costs are not required.
Participants’ personal information will be protected
Zoom webinars are often attended by an unspecified number of people, and there are concerns about the leakage of personal information.
However, Zoom’s personal information protection features are well set up, and only the webinar organizer (host) and panelists can view the information.
By setting this personal information protection function, both webinar organizers and participants can use the service with peace of mind.
Information that is difficult to grasp in real life can be seen at a glance with the “report function”
With Zoom webinars, you can take advantage of the features that only exist online. One of these is the “report function”, which allows you to understand the movements of participants.
Normally, it is difficult to understand “participant movements” at a real venue, but you can see in which situations participants leave and rejoin, their withdrawal rate, and attendance status.
By analyzing these, you can understand things like “This content was boring,” or “This instructor was not popular.”
By improving and brushing up on them, you can lead to the next Zoom webinar with even higher quality.
Live streaming via SNS is also possible
Zoom webinars can be streamed live using SNS such as YouTube and Facebook.
By linking with Zoom Webinar and simultaneously broadcasting on other media, you can reach a larger audience.
In addition, if the maximum number of participants for a Zoom webinar is likely to be exceeded, you can direct them to SNS and allow more participants than the maximum number of participants to watch.
Full of functions to communicate with participants
Normally, the distribution to participants in a Zoom webinar is one-way, from the organizer to the participants, and you cannot talk to the participants.
However, Zoom Webinar has the following features that you can use to communicate with your participants.
- Panelist promotion function
- Q&A
- chat
- vote
Panelist promotion function
Hosts can also welcome audience members who have joined as participants as panelists during the Zoom webinar.
If you promote a participant to a panelist, the participant’s position will shift to the host’s side and they will be able to communicate with the host. The operating procedure is as follows.
1. Click “Participants” at the bottom of the screen
2. Hover over the name of the participant you want to be a panelist and click “Details”
3. Click Promote to Panelist
Q&A
A Q&A feature is available for Zoom webinars. The Q&A function allows participants to ask the organizer any questions they may have during the lecture. (This feature cannot be used unless the organizer has a webinar license and has hosting rights.)
The setting procedure is as follows.
1. Select either “Edit an existing webinar” or “Schedule a new webinar” from My Webinar.
2. Select “Question and Answer”
3. Click Schedule or Save
4. Make sure “Questions and Answers” is checked
If checked, you can use the Q&A function.
chat
Zoom webinars have the same chat function as Zoom meetings. To chat, follow the steps below.
1. Click “Chat” from the bottom of the screen
2. A mini screen will appear
3. On the mini screen that opens, select either “Host and Panelists” or “All” from the destination.
4. Enter the text and press the Enter key to send it.
vote
Voting allows participants to collect responses to questions asked by the organizer during the Zoom webinar. You can also download the voting results as a report. Add votes by following the steps below.
1. Click “Webinar” from the navigation menu
2. Click on the scheduled webinar topic
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “+Create” from the “Vote” tab
4. Create a poll question
Basic usage of Zoom webinar
We will explain the basic usage of Zoom webinars from both the host and participant side.
Organizer side (host)
Zoom does not allow you to host webinars with the free basic meeting plan. Therefore, you need to purchase a paid plan first.
1. Purchase a paid plan
2. Register for webinar schedule
3. Create invitations
Purchase a paid plan
Pricing plans for Zoom are as follows. (As of September 2022)
■Zoom meeting plan (/year/license) (excluding tax)
| plan | Fee | participants | time |
| Basic plan | free | 100 people | 40 minute time limit |
| pro plan | 20,100 yen/year/user | 100 people | no limit |
| business plan | 26,900 yen/year/user | 300 people | no limit |
| business plus plan | 31,250 yen/year/user | 300 people | no limit |
Source: Zoom (https://zoom.us/pricing)
■Zoom Webinar Plan (/year/license) (excluding tax)
| participants | Zoom webinar | Zoom event |
| 500 people | 92,800 yen | 119,616 yen |
| 1,000 people | 457,000 yen | 591,360 yen |
| 3,000 people | 1,330,600 yen | 1,733,760 yen |
| 5,000 people | 3,346,600 yen | 4,354,560 yen |
| 10,000 people | 8,722,600 yen | 11,343,360 yen |
| More than 10,000 people | Inquiry required | Inquiry required |
Source: Zoom (https://zoom.us/pricing/events)
Scheduling a Zoom Webinar
Once you purchase a Zoom Webinar Plan, you can host a webinar, so start by setting the schedule.
| item | Overview/Explanation |
| topic | Enter the title of your Zoom webinar |
| explanation | Enter a summary of your Zoom webinar |
| Date and time | Enter the date and time for the Zoom webinar (it won’t start until the host starts it) |
| Registration | Make sure “Required” is checked |
| webinar passcode | Enter the password for participating in the Zoom webinar |
| video | Set it to either on or off |
| audio | Set it to “Phone”, “Computer audio”, or “Both”. |
| webinar | This is an additional option |
| Q&A (webinar additional option) | Select whether participants can ask questions to the organizer (host) during the Zoom webinar. |
| Enable practice sessions (webinar additional option) | Select whether to check operation |
| Enable HD video for screen sharing video (webinar additional option) | Select whether to enable “HD video = high definition video” |
| Only authenticated users can participate (additional webinar option) | Choose whether to require participants to sign in |
| Automatically record a webinar (additional webinar option) | Select whether to automatically record to local server or cloud server. |
| alternate host | If you are setting up a host (alternative host) that is different from the original host (organizer), enter the email address of the account (an alternative host can start the Zoom webinar instead of the original host). |
Once you have entered everything, click “Schedule” to complete the task.
Create an invitation
Next, create an invitation to gather participants to the Zoom webinar you have set up. When creating an invitation, a template is provided for the invitation, so all you have to do is issue the URL and send it as is.
1. After logging in to My Webinar, select the scheduled Zoom webinar.
2. Add panelists or participants from “Invitation” on the webinar page
| item | Overview/Explanation |
| Invite panelists | Click “Edit” to the right of “Invite panelists” and send the invitation after entering the information. |
| Invite participants | Click “Copy invitation” to the right of “Invite participants” and distribute the link to the Zoom webinar to each participant. |
Participant side
Panelists and participants who have received a Zoom webinar invitation will be able to participate in the applicable Zoom webinar. Please carefully check the following items before participating in the Zoom webinar.
- Things to check before participating in a Zoom webinar
- How to join a Zoom webinar using the invitation link
- Time until webinar starts
- Know the minimum operating method
Things to check before participating in a Zoom webinar
Zoom webinars require a PC or mobile device, speakers, and a Zoom system. We will also provide a web camera and microphone if necessary.
Also, decide whether you will use Zoom with a web browser or with software. You must install the software before using it.
You can also install and use the application from your mobile device.
How to join a Zoom webinar using the invitation link
Click on the URL in the invitation email you received from the host to go to the Zoom page.
Time until webinar starts
Enter the designated Zoom page with plenty of time to spare and wait for a while until the Zoom webinar starts.
The message “Please wait for the host to start this webinar” will be displayed until the webinar starts.
Know the minimum operating method
Let’s understand the minimum functions before participating in a Zoom webinar.
| item | Overview/Explanation |
| audio settings | Set the volume of the microphone and speaker. (Displayed if the participant is not authorized to speak) |
| mute | Turns mute on and off. (Only valid if the participant has permission to speak) |
| chat | Launch the chat screen. You can send entered messages to the host, panelists, and participants. |
| Raise your hand | The raise hand button allows you to respond to the host’s questions. |
| Q&A | Launch the Q&A screen. If you would like to ask a question to the host or panelists, you can submit it from this screen. If you receive a reply, you will receive a reply in text on the same screen, or you will respond in a chat during the live performance. |
summary
Webinars using Zoom do not require a physical venue, which can save you a lot of money.
What’s more, it doesn’t take much time to hold an event, and it has the advantage of being easy to get started with just an announcement.
Nowadays, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is promoting telework as a form of labor, and more and more companies will likely be introducing Zoom webinars.