Many businesses have had to adopt a new strategy in regards to communication since the Coronavirus outbreak. As a result, the usual events that would take place in various settings, in the company of physical attendees, has now been shifted towards a virtual setting.
There have been many communication tools to choose from such as Microsoft Teams, Trello and Flowdock – find out more about the tools there to help you communicate with your team in our blog. There are also many ways to conduct meetings and virtual events via video; a popular platform which has emerged is: Zoom App.
Zoom has been the go-to platform to hold one-to-one conversations, team meeting, webinars and more. It is easy to access via desktop, laptop or phone and simple to use (as well as free for the basic package).
Here are some tips to help you get the most out of Zoom:
Schedule Meetings If you’re using Zoom for the purpose of conducting team meetings, organising them ahead of schedule can save plenty of time. The ‘options’ section in your Zoom account will allow you to schedule meetings ahead of time, clarifying the date and time – sending out invitations in the process. That way, all involved can prepare knowing when the meeting will take place.
Virtual Meetings Virtual meetings could be seen as a fun integration into your Zoom sessions. This allows attendees to customise their backgrounds to a picture of their choice. This can look great on the eye, whilst making everyone feel comfortable during the meeting; as well as producing a ‘light-hearted’ feeling to the session. Collecting Information From Attendees This feature could be great for those who plan to use Zoom for a promotional event such as a webinar. Settings will allow you as a conductor to collect information from attendees such as their names, email addresses, industry, or company affiliation. If you are hosting a webinar or virtual event and wish to collect this information, you will need to set up a registration feature. Then, you can set up a form that attendees must fill out before they can join the meeting. You can also set up a form on an external website or management app.
Recording The Call As a Video Once you begin a Zoom session, you have the option to record proceedings. This comes in handy especially if recording a webinar or event, the meeting can then be shared with those who missed it to review what was said.
Once the meeting has finished recording, you must choose whether to use the local or cloud option. Local means you store the video file yourself, whether locally on your computer or in another storage space that you provide. The Cloud option is for paying members only.
Provide Attendees With a Waiting Room Zoom allows the option for attendees to get into a video call without the host being present. This can be a good way to spare a few minutes at the attended have a chat before the meeting, via the ‘chat-box’.
However, on the flip side, attendees do not want to be kept in a waiting room for long waiting for you to start. A better solution is to create a virtual waiting room, where attendees remain on hold until you let them in all at the same time or one by one.
Co-Host Meetings Meetings can have more than one person at the helm. It may be necessary for the meeting to have more than one host. To use co-hosting tools, you first must enable it in Zoom's Meeting Settings. Look for the Meeting tab and choose the Co-host option. Then, when you start a meeting, wait for your co-host to join, and add the person by clicking the three dots that appear when you hover over their video box.
Analytics: See Who Attended
If you’re using Zoom to host lectures, events or some type of training in the midst of lockdown, then you may want to see who has attended your sessions. This information can be attained once the meeting has finished.
You can find out the necessary information in the Zoom Account Management > Reports section. Look for Usage Reports, and then click Meeting to find the meeting you want, select the report type and date range, and generate the report.