Hosting a Zoom Events webinar with pre-recorded content

With simulive webinars on Zoom Events, you can reduce the amount of effort required to successfully run a Zoom Events webinar by using pre-recorded content from a previous Zoom Events session. Simulive webinars are helpful when you want to reuse content for a webinar, such as broadcasting marketing sessions, repeating your organization’s all-hands sessions across multiple time zones, delivering training courses, and more. You can create a single session or a multi-session event that has a mix of live and simulive sessions.

Simulive webinars allow hosts to share a saved hub recording as a video file within a webinar. Simulive sessions will automatically start at the scheduled time, without the need for the host to be present. The host can still join and interact with the audience through live chat and Q&A.

Note: You can also create simulive webinars from the Zoom web portal if you have cloud recordings there.

This article covers:

• Limitations of Zoom Events simulive webinars
• How to schedule a Zoom Events session with simulive capability
  • Create a single session
  • Create multiple sessions
• How to host a Zoom Events simulive webinar
• How to view Zoom Events simulive webinar analytics

Prerequisites for scheduling and hosting simulive webinar event types

• Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Education account
• Zoom Events Unlimited license or Zoom Events Pay Per Attendee license, or Zoom Sessions Unlimited license or Zoom Sessions Pay Per Attendee license

Limitations of Zoom Events simulive webinars

• Hosts cannot speak to or appear on live video in front of the webinar attendees.
• Hosts and panelists can only use the chat and Q&A features to communicate with attendees during the session.
• Only speaker view is selected in recordings, even if you recorded with multiple views.
• Hosts can’t add multiple hub recordings to a single simulive webinar.
• Currently, uploading videos to use for simulive is not supported, but you can replace a session recording if your account is eligible.
• Users must join from desktop computers to view simulive webinars.

How to schedule a Zoom Events session with simulive capability

Create a single session

You can use the single-session event type if you want to create a single-day event that contains a single-session webinar.

1. Sign in to Zoom Events.
2. In the left navigation menu, click the top dropdown arrow and select My Assets.
3. In the left navigation menu, click My Events.
4. Click Create Event.
5. On the Create Event pop-up, do the following:
   1. Fill out all required information.
   2. When selecting the Event Type, choose Single Session.
   3. When selecting the session type you want to create, choose Webinar.
   4. Click Save and Continue.
      You will be directed to the rest of the event setup.
6. Complete your event’s details as needed by clicking through the tabs in the left sidebar.
7. On the Event Planning tab, click Session, then do the following:
   1. Under the Webinar selection, choose Simulive.
   2. Click Add Recording.
   3. Choose a previously recorded Zoom Event from your hub, then click Save.
      A video thumbnail will appear, where you can play the recording to make sure you selected the right one.
   4. (Optional) In the top-right corner of the video, click the edit icon to change the recording. Click the trash icon to remove the recording.
   5. Complete the rest of the Session details as needed, then click Save.
8. On the Session Experience tab, customize webinar Q&A settings.
   1. (Optional) Click the toggle next to Allow auto response to enable it, then enter the response you want attendees to receive when they submit a question.
   2. Click Save.
9. When you are finished completing the event setup, in the top-right corner, click Publish Event.
10. Review the event details, then click Publish.
    The simulive session will start automatically at the scheduled time. The duration will automatically adjust to the duration of the pre-recorded content.

Create multiple sessions

You can use the multiple-session event type if you want to create a one-day or multi-day event that contains multiple tracks and sessions. For these events, you can have a mix of simulive and live sessions.

1. Sign in to Zoom Events.
2. In the left navigation menu, click the top dropdown arrow and select My Assets.
3. In the left navigation menu, click My Events.
4. Click Create Event.
5. On the Create Event pop-up, do the following:
   1. Fill out all required information.
   2. When selecting the event type, choose Multiple Sessions.
   3. Click Save and Continue.
      You will be directed to the rest of the event setup.
6. Complete your event’s details as needed by clicking through the tabs in the left sidebar.
7. On the Sessions tab, click Add Manually.
8. On the Basic Info section, do the following:
   1. Enter a session title.
   2. For the event type you want to create, choose Webinar.
   3. Under Webinar Type, choose Simulive.
   4. Click Add Recording.
   5. Choose a previously recorded Zoom Event from your hub, then click Save.
      A video thumbnail will appear, where you can play the recording to make sure you selected the right one. The duration will automatically adjust to the duration of the pre-recorded content.
   6. (Optional) In the top-right corner of the video, click the edit icon  to change the recording. Click the trash icon to remove the recording.
   7. Complete the rest of the Session details as needed, then click Save.
      More tabs will appear at the top next to Basic Info.
9. Complete the information in the subsequent tabs as needed.
   Note: On the Session Controls tab, you can configure webinar Q&A settings, including auto-responses.
10. To add more sessions, do the following:
    1. On the main Sessions tab, click Add then Add Session Manually.
    2. Repeat steps 6-7.
       Note: You can mix live and simulive sessions within a multiple session event.
11. When you are finished completing the event setup, in the top-right corner, click Publish Event.
12. Review the event details, then click Publish.
    The simulive sessions will start automatically at the scheduled time, but for any live sessions, the host will still need to join and start those sessions.

How to host a Zoom Events simulive webinar

The simulive sessions will start automatically, but you can still join the session as the host to perform Q&A and chat.

Note: If you created a multi-session event that has a mix of live and simulive sessions, the live sessions will not start automatically.

1. Access the My Events page.
2. Click the Upcoming tab.
3. On the list of upcoming events, locate the event you want to join as the host of, and click Join Lobby (for multiple session events) or Join (for a single session event).
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to join the session.

   A browser window will open within the platform, where you can join audio and then use webinar host functionality.

How to view Zoom Events simulive webinar analytics

Reporting for Zoom Events simulive webinars is the same as live webinar reports.

1. Access the My Events page.
2. Click the Past tab to locate your past events.
3. Next to the event you want to view reports for, click Analytics.
   You will be brought to a summary of the event’s analytics.
4. In the left sidebar, under the Analytics tab, click through the available analytics. Learn more about the available analytics information:
   • Summary
   • Registration & Ticketing
   • Sessions
   • Attendees
   • Expo
   • Sponsors
   • Surveys & Polls