30 Minutes to Becoming a Zoom Webinar Subject Matter Expert (SME)

Overview 
Zoom webinar licenses allow you to broadcast to an audience of up to 500 participants, up to 1000 participants, or, with a special license, up to 10,000 participants. To request any of these types of webinar licenses, you will need to complete the U-M ITS Meeting vs Webinar form.

Webinars allow for a host, co-host(s), panelist(s) and attendees. As a host, co-host or panelist, you can share your screen, video and audio and attendees can use the chat or Q&A to interact with the host and panelists. This guide is intended to help you schedule and manage your own webinar with ease and confidence. We also recommend you review Roles in a webinar.  If you are conducting a large webinar (over 300) we recommend having more than 2 people on hand to help with Q&A, Raise Hand feature, and the presentation. 

Scheduling a Webinar
It's possible to schedule a webinar with registration or without registration for your participants, depending on your preference. We also recommend you review How to Secure Meetings in Zoom before scheduling your webinar. Editing the settings on your webinar is possible up to the start time of the event. 
  1. Sign into the Zoom web portal and click Webinars. 
  2. Click Schedule a Webinar.
  3. Click to Schedule a Webinar
  4. Choose the appropriate webinar settings which include:
  5. Topic 
  6. Description - provide some details
  7. Use a Template - webinar templates
  8. Date and Time
  9. Duration
  10. Recurring webinar 
  11. Registration 
  12. Registrations requires attendees to complete a brief form before receiving the link to join your webinar. This enables the host to collect the names, email addresses and more from the attendees. It is possible to automatically approve anyone who registers or manually approve attendees. See Scheduling a Webinar with Registration for a short video on scheduling a webinar with registration. 
  13. Host Video - on or off when joining the webinar
  14. Panelist Video - on or off when joining the webinar
  15. Audio options
  16. Require webinar Password - or schedule without requiring a password
  17. Q&A - participants ask questions during the webinar  for the panelists, co-hosts and host 
  18. Enable Practice Session - start the webinar practice session instead of a live broadcast to set up and get acquainted with webinar controls 
  19. Advanced Options - Scheduling Privilege and Alternate Host 
Click Schedule.
 
Inviting Panelist(s) to a Webinar
Panelists are full participants in the meeting, which is different from attendees who are are muted and cannot activate their camera or share their screen. They can view and send video, screen share, annotate and make use of the whiteboard. A panelist must be assigned this role by the webinar host. The host can also disable some features for panelists, including starting video, screen share, and recording.

Sign into the Zoom web portal and click Webinars. 
Click the topic of the webinar you want to add panelists to.
In the Invitations tab, select the Edit button in the Invite panelists section.
Click to Edit an Invitation and add add Panelist 
Enter the name(s) and email address(s) of the panelist you want to invite.
Click Save. An email will be sent to all panelists.
 
Inviting Attendees to a Webinar
Attendees are view-only participants who can be un-muted only if the host chooses. Their view of the webinar is controlled by the host. Attendees can interact with the host and the panelists through the Q&A and the chat.There are three different ways to invite attendees to register:
  • Copy the registration URL and share via email.
  • Click Copy the invitation to view and copy the invitation to send out to attendees.
  • Click Email me the invitation to receive a copy of the invitation that you can forward to potential attendees.
  • Information includes webinar size and ability to Copy Invitation and Email invitation 

Starting a webinar
There are three different ways to start a webinar:
  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal and click Webinars. Find the appropriate webinar and click Start.
  2. In the Zoom client, click the Meetings tab. Find the appropriate webinar and click Start.
  3. If you have added this to your calendar, click on the link displayed on your calendar reminder. Make sure that you are logged into your Zoom account before clicking the link.

For more information click here.