Best Practices for Hosting a Live Event via Zoom

Zoom is an awesome way to host engaging live events! To ensure your events are successful and fun for invited participants here are some good practices to follow:

  1. Use online registration to prevent posting public links!  Zoom’s meeting registration feature enables the host to create a short registration form and link that automatically emails each participant the information to join. This will prevent any Zoombombers from joining due to a publicly posted meeting link. When scheduling a meeting, you can require attendees to register with their email, name, and custom questions. You can even customize your registration page with a banner and logo. For more information on how to set up registration, click here

  2. Turn on the Waiting Room feature! Use Zoom’s waiting room feature for ultimate control on who is allowed into your event. For more information about waiting room options, click here.

  3. Live stream the event if you don’t need participation! If you don’t plan on having viewer participation, you can stream your Zoom meeting through Kaltura Mediaspace (available for UAA and UAF), Youtube, or Facebook. This will eliminate any chance of unwanted, disruptive guests. 
    Contact your local help desk to coordinate the stream with Kaltura. This can also save a  recording to your My Media folder.
    Click the following links for Zoom information on streaming to YouTube and Facebook.

  4. Try Zoom Webinar if you have a panel speaking to the group! UA has 2 Webinar-500 licenses to loan to groups for events on a first come first serve basis. Licenses are typically reserved for the day before the event and the day of the event. 
    Is a webinar right for your event?  Look at the meeting vs. webinar comparison chart

    Using your UA Zoom account, you can book the meeting now as a non-webinar with registration, to send/advertise the pre-registration link to your potential attendees.  When the license is assigned to your account, you can then convert the meeting to a webinar preserving the meeting and registration link.  

Definitely DO NOT do this!

  1. Post the link and passcode on a public site. Posting your Zoom Meeting publicly makes it susceptible to Zoombombers disrupting your meeting with unwanted presence which could include chats, drawings, pictures, or video. Do not post Zoom links and passcodes on public-facing websites, newsletters or social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For additional information on virtual events, check out Zoom’s blog, Best Practices for Hosting a Digital Event.

Questions about Live Events using Zoom? As always, your local service desk is here to help!

University of Alaska Anchorage
Technical Support Center: (907)786-4646
Toll Free: (877) 633-3888
uaa.techsupport@alaska.edu 

University of Alaska Fairbanks
Phone: (907) 450-8300 (x8300 on campus)
Toll-free: (800) 478-8226
helpdesk@alaska.edu

University of Alaska Southeast
907-796-6400 (Helpdesk)
877-465-6400 (Toll Free)
uas.helpdesk@alaska.edu