Even before the Covid-19 outbreak, Zoom was becoming one of the most popular videoconferencing apps on the web. Now that so many people are forced to conduct their business remotely, the need for something like this has become greater than ever. At the same time, there are a lot of people getting on Zoom for the first time, and many of them don’t know how to operate it properly. With that in mind, let’s go over some quick tips that will help you to get started with Zoom.
Phase 1: The Setup
Obviously, the first thing you have to do is get the program. Go to this website and click the button that says “Sign Up.” Once the program has downloaded, you will need to install it, and then create an account. It’s a simple process and shouldn’t be too different than account creation on other sites.
You can choose either the free version of the paid version, but the free version seems to be good enough for most people. The paid version incorporates a bunch of other features, however. These features include virtual meetings with more than 100 people, no time limit, cloud-based recording, and specific company branding.
Once you log in, you will see a button that says “Host A Meeting” in the top-right corner. After that, a download will start automatically. This is normal, so don’t be alarmed. There will be some simple on-screen instructions to follow, and after that, your video call will be connected.
Finally, you will need to test your microphone and speakers to ensure that everything is working properly. Once your meeting begins, you will see a black toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Look between the “mute” and “video” icons and you will see a small arrow. Click that, and you will see the option to test your audio hardware. Once all that is done, you are ready to move on.
Phase 2: Inviting People
This is another example of how easy this program can be. Go back to the black toolbar at the bottom and select “invite.” Once you do that, you will be given several options as to how the invitation will be sent. It will give you the option of using Gmail or Yahoo mail, but you can use any email address you want.
You can also link your email account to this screen for faster convenience. To do this, simply click “default email” and follow the on-screen instructions. You can also copy the URL of the meeting room and send it to someone through an email, text message, etc. At this point, Zoom is now fully ready to use.
You should understand that every meeting has a password, and no one can get into the meeting without that password. As such, make sure that you and your party do not share this information with anyone else. For maximum security, delete the invitation emails as soon as they are accepted.
Phase 3: Set Up Your Profile And Settings
The next thing you should do is set the personal details on your account. Some of these will have been set automatically during the account creation process. For now, just go over the details and make sure everything is as it should be.
After that, go to the “settings” tab and look at your options. In particular, you will probably want to make sure that the video feed is automatically enabled when someone joins your meeting. However, the most important thing by far is to set a strong password. Zoom has been hacked before, so it’s important to minimize that risk. Thankfully, passwords are now enabled by default, in response to those events.
You can also choose your audio options and tweak them in several ways. The most important thing here is whether you choose phone-based audio or computer-based audio. Although both of these options should work, it might be better to use computer audio if possible. Zoom has stated that demand is too high on the phone-based service, so much that they might even remove it from the free features.
Phase 4: Scheduling A Meeting
Now that you understand the basics, let’s talk about how to schedule a meeting properly. Look at the vertical bar on the left side of the screen. There should be a tab that says “meetings.” Click that, and it will show you all of your upcoming meetings, previous meetings, meeting templates, and the details of your “personal meeting room.” Since you have just created your account, this screen will be pretty empty.
To schedule your first meeting, click the button that says “schedule a new meeting.” You will be prompted to name the meeting and to set a date and time. If you are setting up a one-time meet, this is all you will need to do. However, if you want to set up a recurring meeting, you can do that as well.
Under the “timezone” tab, you will see a checkbox that says “recurring meeting.” You will then choose how often this meeting is to take place. You can set it for weekly, monthly, or daily options.
Phase 5: Management
Now that you know how to start a meeting as the host, you will need to know how to run that meeting. On the black bottom bar, you have the option to control your camera and microphone. For instance, you might want to turn your microphone off if you are talking to someone else in the room. On that same toolbar, you should also see a tab that says, “manage participants.”
On this menu, you have the option to mute or remove party members if they become troublesome. You also have the option to lock the meeting so that no more people can join. You can also invite anyone you may have forgotten. Go through these options and see which ones are right for you.
Conclusion
With a little bit of help, Zoom is an easy program to learn. In fact, ease of use is the main reason for Zoom’s increased popularity. With so many people being forced to videoconference for the first time, the market wanted something quick and easy. We hope that this short introduction has told you everything you needed to know and that you will be able to use Zoom a lot more effectively than before. If you would like to learn more from us, please fill out the contact form.