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Hosting a Zoom Events webinar with pre-recorded content

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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, webinar resources, and Q&A.

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

This article covers:

Prerequisites for scheduling and hosting simulive webinar event types

Note: For access to the latest Zoom Events and Webinar features, we strongly recommend hosts to update to the latest version of the Zoom desktop client/mobile application.

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, Q&A, and webinar resources 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.
  • 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 Across Hubs.
  3. In the left navigation menu, click Events.
  4. Click Create Event.
  5. In the Blank Event card, click Create Event.
    The event configuration page will appear, and you will be directed to the event creation process:
    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 navigation menu.
  7. Click the Event Content section, then click the Session tab.
  8. Under the session's Basic Info tab, complete the following actions:
    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.
  9. (Optional) Under the session's Resources tab, create and edit webinar resource links that direct attendees’ attention to your resources and provide more event information. 
  10. On the Meeting & Webinar 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.
  11. In the top-right corner, click Publish Event .

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 Across Hubs.
  3. In the left navigation menu, click Events.
  4. Click Create Event.
  5. In the Blank Event card, click Create Event.
    The event configuration page will appear, and you will be directed to the event creation process:
    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 navigation menu.
  7. Click the Event Content section, then click the Sessions tab. 
  8. Click Add Session.
  9. Under the Basic Info tab, complete the following actions:
    1. Enter a session title.
    2. For the session type you want to create, choose Webinar.
    3. Under Select the event type you want to create, 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.
  10. Complete the information in the subsequent tabs as needed.
    Notes:
  11. To add more sessions, repeat steps 7-10.
    Note: You can mix live and simulive sessions within a multiple sessions event.
  12. In the top-right corner, click Publish Event .

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 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:

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