After years of people using video calls both in business and for personal communications, “Zoom” has become a recognizable brand (and not just an onomatopoeia for a speedy sound effect). We’re used to Zoom calls, we join Zoom meetings, we even Zoom our friends and family. (Yes, “Zoom” has become a verb as well as a noun.)
But one term that doesn’t come up as often is “Zoom Events,” which is a distinct offering from your regular Zoom.
So what is Zoom Events, and what makes it unique?
Zoom Events
To begin with, it should be clear that “Zoom Events” refers to a specific Zoom offering, not events in general. (So yes, “What is Zoom Events?” is grammatically accurate, even if “events” is plural.)
Zoom Events (previously known as OnZoom) is a platform designed to provide large scale virtual and hybrid event experiences. It’s designed for multi-session and multi-day events, such as virtual conferences, sales summits, and consumer events, and includes tools to keep audiences engaged and connected.
Organizers using Zoom Events can create multiple Zoom meeting sessions for webinars, panels, and conference sessions, which attendees can access throughout the event. The events can support up to 50,000 people, although the exact capacity depends on the license. Tiered pricing starts at an option for 500 attendees or fewer, and goes up to over 10,000. Yearly licenses are also available.
Rather than just provide a list of sessions and links to their sessions, Zoom Events include virtual lobbies for networking and exhibitions, like you’d see at an in-person conference.
Attendees can chat with individuals or groups in dedicated virtual spaces, and a single virtual booth can host multiple discussions. Users can preview any ongoing discussions before joining.
Zoom Events Features
Zoom Events is designed to provide a full virtual event experience, and includes a wide array of features to help organizers manage their event and keep attendees engaged. These include:
- A virtual Expo Floor, where attendees can chat and sponsors can host content in online “booths”
- Online event registration and ticketing options
- Customizable privacy settings for events and hubs
- A video-on-demand library that hosts recordings and video transcripts after the event
- Virtual networking sessions to help attendees and participants connect
- An online hub to organize events and recordings
- Customizable designs for event branding, including wallpaper, name tags, and backgrounds
- Special sponsorship tiers, tickets, chat privileges, and more for event sponsors
- “Backstage” virtual gatherings for speakers between sessions
- Interactive features, including polls, quizzes, and live emoji reactions for event attendees
- Reports on ticketing and attendee engagement
- Live transcription and translation services
Event organizers can also add Zoom Event Services, where Zoom provides assistance from experts to help organize and manage the event. Organizations who purchase premier developer support will receive preferential support from Zoom engineers.
Zoom Events also supports integrations with popular business organizations. For instance, organizations can connect their CRM solution to gather attendee data and personalize communications with attendees. This does, however, require a higher subscription level.
Organizers can purchase features individually as needed, including up to 3TB of cloud storage. If organizers want to allow event attendees to call into events, they can purchase an audio conferencing add-on.
What Makes Zoom Events Different?
A regular Zoom meeting is a relatively brief meeting held in a single room. Attendees join the session, they meet or watch a presentation, and once it’s over, the room closes and they go back to their days.
Zoom Events, on the other hand, consists of multiple sessions across several days, connected through a shared virtual event. Each room can host over 100 interactive video panelists (with up to 49 appearing on the screen at a time)
The difference between Zoom and Zoom Events is the same as the difference between a single meeting and a full conference. Zoom Events is also a step up from Zoom Webinar and Zoom Sessions, which are designed for single large-scale broadcasts and single-session events.
This makes Zoom Events a popular alternative for conferences that can’t hold in-person events, or want to include a remote option for attendees who can’t visit in-person. Combining the remote Zoom Events lobby and meetings with a physical event allows remote attendees to still get the full experience—including interacting with vendors and networking with fellow remote attendees—without needing to be there in person, while still allowing in-person attendees to get the conference experience they’re used to.
Zoom Events in Action
Zoom itself has shifted its Zoomtopia annual event from being in-person to a hybrid event using Zoom Events. According to reports, virtual attendees could participate in sessions via chat, or have their videos appear on-screen at the live event to interact and ask the hosts questions directly. This encouraged participation from remote attendees, so they felt like active participants rather than just viewers.
While there will always be differences between in-person and remote events, Zoomtopia demonstrated how Zoom Events can be used to create a hybrid experience where both in-person and virtual attendees could attend and participate in the same sessions.
While Zoom has become one of the most recognizable virtual meeting solutions, Zoom Events has become an equally popular choice for virtual conferences. If you’ve attended a multi-day online event, you may already be familiar with Zoom Events.
