A digital event is an event where the entire event is provided as a webinar, as described in this topic.
An alternative digital event is an event with individual sessions provided as webinars; see Setting Up Digital Sessions.
Certain Signal is a module that connects Certain Platform events to webinar providers to trigger webinar creation and linking.
Certain provides out-of-the-box integration with webinar providers Zoom and ON24.
The webinars are set up using the provider of your choice, with integration via Certain Signal.
You can perform the webinar setup directly from within Certain Platform, or in Zoom or ON24.
If a different webinar provider is used, talk to your Customer Success Manager at Certain about contracting Professional Services to set up a custom integration.
See Digital Events Overview for a brief overview of the entire process, including Certain Signal, Zoom, and ON24.
For details of the Certain Signal and webinar provider configuration, see Digital Events Using Certain Signal with Zoom and Digital Events Using Certain Signal with ON24.
Items Covered
Jump down to a section in this topic: Prerequisites.
Jump down to a section in this topic: Steps to Follow for each event.
Prerequisites
Before setting up any digital events, you will need the following, as explained in Digital Events Overview.
The following modules must be enabled in your Certain account: Certain Signal and its Zoom or ON24 sub-module; Digital Events and optionally its Join Emails sub-module.
An account with your chosen webinar provider: Zoom or ON24.
One-off preparation in the chosen webinar platform; see Digital Events Using Certain Signal with Zoom or Digital Events Using Certain Signal with ON24.
Account-level Management Tags set up in Certain, which will be used to activate Flows in Signal.
A Connection, a Source, and Flows configured in Certain Signal; see Digital Events Using Certain Signal with Zoom or Digital Events Using Certain Signal with ON24.
If you choose to connect to an existing webinar (rather than triggering that setup from within Certain), then before setting up each digital event or session you will need to:
Set the webinar up in Zoom or ON24.
Note: The Webinar host cannot be an event registrant in Certain.
Select "Registration Required" for that webinar.
Copy its Webinar ID for use when setting up the event or session in Certain (See step 7.4 below).
Steps to Follow Per Event
Best Practice: Do not open the registration form(s) until this process is complete.
Enable the Digital Events module and (optionally) its Join Emails sub-module in Plan > Configure > Options.
In the Forms (form) Registrant Details section of the registration form, select "Enforce email uniqueness within this event."
Zoom and ON24 require a unique email for a webinar registration.
If you are going to trigger the webinar creation (in Zoom or ON24) directly from within Certain Platform, follow the instructions in step 6 below.
If you are going to connect to a webinar you have already set up in Zoom or ON24, skip step 6 and go to the instructions in step 7 below.
To create the webinar (in Zoom or ON24) directly from within Certain:
In Event Setup Overview "Event Webinar" style "Event Setup > Overview," click Create webinar/meeting and complete the details:
Select a webinar/meeting Service configured for your account (likely Zoom Webinar, Zoom Meeting, or ON24).
Select a Connection (as set up in Certain Signal).
Select a Presentation Type.
Select Hosts.
Click Next.
If you skipped Step 6 (creating the webinar) and instead connect the event to a webinar you have already set up in Zoom or ON24:
In Event Setup Overview "Event Webinar" style "Event Setup > Overview," click Connect webinar/meeting and complete the details:
Select a webinar/meeting Service configured for your account (likely Zoom Webinar, Zoom Meeting, or ON24).
Select a Connection (as set up in Certain Signal).
Enter the Webinar ID (copied from setting up the Webinar in Zoom or ON24).
Note: You cannot use the same Webinar ID in more than one event (or for a session as well as an event session). It must be unique within your Certain account.
Note: The event name, date & time, and registration capacity should match those of the webinar.
Warning: You cannot change the webinar link after you have confirmed it.
Caution: If the webinar schedule changes after you linked to it, remember to change it in the event.
Caution: If the webinar is later cancelled on the webinar platform, you will need to cancel the event and registrations in Certain.
Optionally, configure the email template created on Communication Digital Events Templates.
Each attendee receives an automatically generated email with a link to join the webinar; these messages are sent once an hour to include new attendees who have not yet been sent one.
Apply the Management Tags to the object(s), such as Custom Registration Statuses, that will activate your Flows in Certain Signal.