Configuring Zoom for Successful Meetings

In Grenadine, we have integrated Zoom Meetings APIs with our virtual sessions feature for a seamless, easy-to-configure live experience all within the Grenadine system. Depending on your Zoom configurations, creating and maintaining Zoom meetings can be cumbersome, but Grenadine’s Zoom integration can make managing your Zoom meetings as simple as one click to create and one click to start. Whether you use the integrated Zoom Meetings API or create your own Zoom meeting links, follow the guidelines below to ensure a smooth experience.

Best Practices for Zoom in Grenadine

Configure your Zoom API Key and Secret to easily create Zoom meetings with one click in Grenadine

Using the Zoom Meetings API to create Zoom meetings requires some initial configuration, but once you have provided your Zoom API Key and Secret to Grenadine you can easily create Zoom meetings by clicking the Create Zoom meeting button in a virtual space tab of a session. This button automatically creates a scheduled Zoom meeting in your Zoom account and fills out the relevant virtual space fields with your meeting info. You can follow our simple guide in the Zoom setup section of our Session Virtual Space doc to start creating your Zoom meetings easily within Grenadine!

Check your Zoom account configurations

With Grenadine virtual sessions you can either create Zoom meetings directly or simply input your meeting links from Zoom. Whichever direction you take, ensure to take a moment to review your Zoom account settings so your meetings are automatically created according to your needs. After your meetings are created, you can always access your meetings’ settings in Zoom and make necessary adjustments on a meeting-by-meeting basis. There are many options to configure your Zoom meetings, but here are some that we commonly configure in Grenadine Zoom setups:

• Waiting Room – Enabling a waiting room for your Zoom meetings will admit attendees into a preliminary room where they can be permitted into the Zoom meeting by the host.

• Allow participants to join before host – This option will start the Zoom meeting when anyone joins the meeting. This prevents the meeting from being late to start if the host is late, as the meeting will start when the first attendee joins.

• Breakout Rooms – You can split your meeting’s attendees into smaller rooms called breakout rooms. If you plan to use breakout rooms, you must configure your breakout room setup from Zoom directly prior to your meeting’s start time. You can find more information on breakout rooms in Zoom’s docs here.

Use unique Zoom meeting links for each session

You may be tempted to use the same Zoom meeting links for successive sessions. It’s less meetings and links to manage overall, but in our experience this setup leads to confusion and complications for both attendees and speakers. Meetings can run over their allotted time, so the following meeting’s attendees may join the end of the former session. The former session’s host may close the meeting completely requiring the room to be opened again; from the attendee’s perspective, the meeting will appear to be late to start if the host is required to start the meeting. While it is possible to successfully run multiple sessions through the same Zoom meeting link, we do not advise it for a smoother experience during your live show where every moment counts!

Use Host Start URL’s when applicable and notify speakers prior to meetings

A Host Start URL is a special, authenticated link that can be used to start a Zoom meeting. If you restrict starting Zoom meetings to hosts only, it is highly recommended to include the Host Start URL in Grenadine to allow hosts to start Zoom meetings by simply following the link. Note that if you create Zoom meetings from Grenadine, the Host Start URL is automatically filled in (depending on your Zoom account settings). Prior to your session start time, we recommend sending a communication to your speakers with a link to their sessions’ green rooms. The green room contains the Host Start URL along with other useful information about their session.

Embed your Zoom meetings and enable Grenadine community features to encourage interactivity

Using the virtual community features alongside embedded meetings in Grenadine keeps attendees engaged in your event while providing an inclusive experience all within your Event Website. When configured with embedded video, chat, and Q&A, the live session page is a powerful tool to connect attendees and speakers. While your event is live, you don’t want attendees to lose focus on your event when following external links. By embedding your Zoom meetings in Grenadine, attendees have an easy way to access their virtual sessions while keeping their attention on your Event Website. Be sure to pay attention to which Zoom features you will need to use for your sessions. To maintain the optimal experience with embedded Zoom meetings, some Zoom features are only available when using the full Zoom client. We have created a handy guide to what is supported in Grenadine embedded Zoom meetings: