Zoom Webinar Review

March 27, 2020

Planning, organizing, and hosting an engaging webinar event requires a lot of time and work. Ideally, you should opt for a tool that comes with all the necessary features you need in a webinar program out of the box such as reliable streaming, a user-friendly interface, and marketing and sales features.

A COMPLETE STEP-BY-STEP CHEATSHEET
TO CREATING, LAUNCHING & GROWING A SUCCESSFUL MEMBERSHIP WEBSITE

In this post, we’ll take a look at how Zoom Webinar enables businesses to plan and run their webinar events. We’ll also highlight some of the standout features on offer with Zoom Webinar to help you make an informed decision.

What Are Zoom Video Webinars?

Zoom Video Webinars let you set up video conferences and meetings, webinars, and chats. It gives you access to a variety of mobile apps that allow people to communicate with one another on the go. With Zoom, you’ll be able to broadcast high-definition video content as live or virtual events.

Zoom Video Webinars

Here’s a quick look at some of the standout features on offer with Zoom Video Webinars:

  • Live Streaming. You can invite up to 100 live video panelists and create a powerful learning experience for your attendees in high-definition video and audio.
  • Host Controls. Zoom’s host control features let you mute and unmute panelists and promote attendees to a panelist status.
  • Reporting and Analytics. You’ll be able to generate reports and perform analysis on data related to attendees, registrants, polling and audience Q&As.
  • It allows you to customize your emails and registration forms to match your business’ branding aesthetic.
  • Zoom lets you broadcast live events across various social platforms using Facebook Live and YouTube integrations.

In addition to this, Zoom Video Webinars also offer on-demand viewing, live broadcasting, and event assistance.

Zoom Webinar Features

Here’s a look at some of the key features you can expect to get with Zoom Webinar:

User Interface

Zoom gives you access to a professional-looking dashboard that allows you to schedule webinar events through its Webinar add-on.

User Interface

Although the platform offers limited webinar scheduling options out of the box, you’ll be able to avail useful features such as sending reminder emails to your webinar registrants by making some simple configurations. These notification messages allow you to engage, remind, and alert registrants about important information, updates, promotions, and deals.

Before you can start a webinar event, you’ll have to download and install Zoom’s desktop app to your desktop machine. The Zoom app comes with a simple user interface which gives you access to a number of tools through a ribbon of options as shown below.

Zoom  ribbon

Initially, the ribbon will be positioned at the bottom of the Zoom app window. However, when you start screen sharing, it moves to the top of your screen.

It’s important to keep in mind that Zoom doesn’t offer an intuitive user interface and the same is true for its webinar app. Put simply, it feels a bit dated. As soon as you start sharing your live event, share screen, or conduct polls or surveys, the user interface is a bunch of cascading windows.

The same thing happens when your attendees start viewing your webinar event. The main video feed is displayed in the main Zoom window whereas other things such as polls and Q&As show up in additional cascading windows. This makes it difficult for webinar hosts to get an idea of what their attendees are seeing on the screen.

Webinar Roles

Zoom lets you set up one-on-one calls with individual attendees. Using this tool, you’ll be able to organize webinar events with up to 100 audience members. This is particularly useful for people who offer learners one-on-one coaching sessions.

Webinar Roles

If hosting webinars is important for your business, Zoom can help you host real-time webinars with features including dual-screen options and sharing data with a single click.

Webinar Branding

Zoom gives you a number of options to customize your webinar’s registration page.

Webinar Branding

For example, you can customize its logo, color scheme, banner, descriptions, and speaker information to match your branding. Your webinar invitations also give an overview of the speaker’s information.

Webinar Chat

Live chat is an important part of webinar events as it makes it easy for attendees and hosts to communicate with each other. Audience members can use the chat feature to reach out to hosts and panelists throughout the webinar event and vice versa.

Webinar Chat

Zoom’s Webinar Chat feature makes it easy for both hosts and attendees to chat, depending on the chat permissions set by the webinar host.

Webinar Reporting

Zoom’s reporting feature gives you access to helpful information reports based on several metrics like attendee, registration, Q&A, polling, and performance.

You’ll also be able to export these reports in CSV format to conduct further analysis and generate useful insights. Zoom also keeps a record of these reports. However, you can only access them if you have hosting permission or are allowed to access usage reports.

Webinar Charges

Zoom lets you collect payment from your attendees through its PayPal integration.

Webinar Charges

Using this feature, you’ll be able to create a paywall in order to monetize your webinars. In addition to this, you have the option to restrict the number of registrants that can join the webinar.

What’s Not Included

Here are some typical, webinar-specific features that Zoom Webinar doesn’t offer:

Funnel Pages

Although funnel pages are offered by almost every webinar solution, the Zoom Webinar platform doesn’t offer them. Here’s an example of a typical Zoom event’s registration page:

Not only is the event registration page not conversion-optimized, it also gives you very limited customization options. More specifically, you can only:

  • Change the webinar title.
  • Post a text description.
  • Choose to display the image at the top and the logo to the side of the registration page.

We recommend that you go for a custom landing page solution if you’re serious about converting learners into registrants.

Timed Polls and Offers

Zoom doesn’t let you create offers or post call-to-actions when promoting a product to your viewers.

Timed Polls and Offers

It lets you poll your attendees without giving you an option to time the polls. This prevents you from displaying the polling features whenever you’d like, which is good for generating engagement. Your event viewers will have to hit the “Polls” button in their interface and click on a poll to answer the questions.

The Q&A tool works the same way. These interactive features don’t offer the accessibility you’d expect from a good webinar solution.

Webinar Replays

Zoom lets you record your webinar calls and use them to run webinar replay video. That said, it lacks a built-in webinar replay tool that can help you maximize your marketing efforts. For instance, you don’t get a conversion-optimized landing page with your replay videos and it doesn’t let you post timed offers and polls in your replay webinar videos.

Plans and Pricing

Out of the box, Zoom is a video communications solution which means that it isn’t designed to be a webinar platform. However, its webinar integration makes it a useful tool for organizing and hosting webinars.

As compared to other webnar platforms, Zoom lacks a number of important webinar features as we mentioned above. It has a free plan and a relatively cheap entry-level plan which makes it a far more affordable option than most webinar tools.

Zoom is widely used by business professionals and coaches simply because it’s cost-effectiveness. Using it as a webinar solution comes at a cost of fewer webinar-specific features which is a worthy tradeoff for anyone who’s testing out the webinar waters.

Plans and Pricing

Here’s a look at Zoom’s pricing plans and a brief overview of what you can expect to get:

  • Basic (Personal Meeting) version is free
  • Pro (Great for Small Teams) version costs $14.99 per month per host
  • Business (Small & Medium Businesses) version costs $19.99 per month per host
  • Enterprise (Large Enterprise-Ready) version costs $19.99 per month per host

Zoom’s Video Webinar solution is an add-on that starts at $40 per month per host for 100 attendees and plans range from 100 to 100,000 view-only attendees which is 90% of the market. In addition to this, it supports up to 100 interactive video panelists and offers host controls including recording and muting and unmuting panelists. Other features include Q&A with live and text answers, registration, polling, and reporting. You also get live streaming to unlimited viewers on YouTube and Facebook Live.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the purpose of Zoom Webinar?

A: Zoom Webinar is a powerful online platform that allows users to host and participate in webinars, which are virtual presentations or events conducted over the internet.

Q: How does Zoom Webinar work?

A: Zoom Webinar works by using video conferencing technology to connect hosts and participants in a virtual meeting space. The host can share their screen, present slides or videos, and interact with the audience through audio and video.

Q: Is Zoom Webinar the right solution for me?

A: Whether Zoom Webinar is the right solution for you depends on your specific needs and requirements. If you are looking for a platform to host professional webinars or large-scale virtual events, Zoom Webinar is a powerful and popular choice.

Q: Are there any alternatives to Zoom Webinar?

A: Yes, there are alternative webinar software options available in the market. Some popular alternatives to Zoom Webinar include GoToWebinar, Webex, Livestorm, and Demio. It’s recommended to compare their features and pricing to find the best fit for your needs.

Q: How do I use Zoom Webinar?

A: To use Zoom Webinar, you need to sign up for a Zoom account and purchase a webinar plan. Once you have access to your Zoom account, you can schedule and host webinars, invite participants, and manage the webinar settings.

Q: What features does Zoom Webinar offer?

A: Zoom Webinar offers a wide range of features like screen sharing, interactive polls, Q&A sessions, breakout rooms, registration management, and webinar recording. These features are designed to enhance the webinar experience and engage the audience.

Q: Can I schedule a meeting with Zoom Webinar?

A: Yes, you can schedule a meeting with Zoom Webinar. The scheduling feature allows you to choose a date and time for your webinar, send out invitations with the meeting details, and manage the meeting settings.

Q: What are the benefits of using Zoom Webinar?

A: Some of the benefits of using Zoom Webinar include high-quality video and audio, ease of use, extensive features like screen sharing and recording, scalability for large audiences, and integration with other popular platforms.

Q: Can I use Zoom Webinar for personal use?

A: While Zoom Webinar is commonly used for professional purposes, you can also use it for personal webinars or virtual events. It offers the same powerful features and capabilities regardless of the purpose.

Q: Is Zoom Webinar the best webinar software available?

A: Zoom Webinar is among the best webinar software available, but the best choice depends on your specific needs. It’s recommended to compare different webinar software options and consider factors like features, pricing, scalability, and customer reviews before making a decision.

Wrapping Up

Zoom Webinar offers reliable and good quality streaming that’s great for anyone looking for an easy way to host webinar events without breaking the bank.

But if you’re a power marketer or are looking for a professional webinar solution to engage your audience, automate webinar content, and promote your products, Zoom may not be the right solution for you. It lacks necessary webinar, marketing, and sales features that you need to engage attendees and convert them into paying customers.

Zoom Webinars is great for users who need a simple way to connect with their audience without a ton of webinar-specific features. Once your audience grows and you bring in more revenue, you should think about moving to a better webinar solution as it does become expensive for larger groups.

What are some of the features you look for in webinar software? Let us know by commenting below.

Zoom Webinar Review was last modified: by