Setting Up Digital Sessions

Introduction

A Digital Event is an event where the entire event is provided as a webinar. This is described in Setting Up a Digital Event, or an event with individual sessions provided as webinars. Certain provides out-of-the-box integration with webinar providers Zoom and ON24. You set up the webinars using the provider of your choice, with integration via Certain Signal. You can do this directly from within Certain Platform, or in Zoom/ON24. If you use a different webinar provider, talk to your Customer Success Manager at Certain about contracting Professional Services to set up a custom integration for you. 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

Prerequisites
Steps to Follow

Prerequisites

Before setting up any digital events you will need the following, as explained in Digital Events Overview:

These modules enabled in your Certain account: Certain Signal and its Zoom or ON24 sub-module.
Digital Events: An account with your chosen webinar provider: Zoom or ON24.
One-off preparation in that platform. See Digital Events Using Certain Signal with Zoom or Digital Events Using Certain Signal with ON24.
Account-level Management Tags in Certain, which will be used to activate Flows in Signal.
A Connection, Source and Flows configured in Certain Signal. See Digital Events Using Certain Signal with Zoom or Digital Events Using Certain Signal with ON24.
The following modules enabled in your Certain account: Speaker and Session Management and its Conference Sessions sub-module (to make the Session Catalog available).
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 7.2.3 below.)

Steps to Follow

Per Event (if one webinar for event)

1. Best Practice: Don't open the registration form(s) until this process is complete.

2. Enable the Digital Events module and (optionally) its Join Emails sub-module in Plan > Configure > Options.

3. In the Forms (form) Registrant Details section of the registration form, select Enforce email uniqueness within this event.

4. If you're going to trigger the webinar creation (in Zoom or ON24) directly from within Certain Platform, follow the instructions in step 6 below.

5. Note: If instead you're going to connect to a webinar you've already set up in Zoom or ON24, then skip step 6 and go to the instructions in step 7 below.

6. To create the webinar (in Zoom or ON24) directly from within Certain: In Event Setup Overview 'Event Webinar' click Create webinar/meeting and complete the details:

Select a webinar/meeting Service configured for your account; probably Zoom Webinar, Zoom Meeting, or ON24.
Select a Connection (as set up in Certain Signal).
Select a Presentation Type.
Select Hosts.
Click Next.

7. If you've skipped Step 6 above (creating the webinar), then instead of that, connect the event to the webinar you've already set up in Zoom or ON24:

In Event Setup Overview 'Event Webinar' click Connect webinar/meeting and complete the details:
Select a webinar/meeting Service configured for your account; probably 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 can't use the same Webinar ID more than once anywhere in your Certain account. That means not for more than one session instance, even for a different session or even in a different event. Neither can you use it for an event itself; see 7.4.4 above.
Note: The event name, date & time, and registration capacity should match those of the webinar.
Warning: You cannot change the webinar link after you've confirmed it.
Caution: If the webinar schedule changes after you've 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 are sent once an hour to include new attendees who haven't yet been sent one.)
Apply the Management Tags style to the object(s), such as Custom Registration Statuses, that will activate your Flows in Certain Signal.
If SESSIONS are digital: a Webinar per Session.

Per Session (if one webinar per session)

1. Best Practice: Don't open the registration form(s) until this process is complete.

2. Enable the Digital Events module in Plan > Configure > Options (Functional Areas) and, optionally, its Join Emails sub-module.

3. Enable the Conference Sessions sub-module (of Speaker and Session Management) in Plan > Configure > Options (Functional Areas).

4. In the Forms (form) Registrant Details section of the registration form, select Enforce email uniqueness within this event.

5. In Speaker and Session Management: Select Conference Sessions as the Speakers and Sessions Setup.

6. Set up at least one Speakers and Sessions Locations (such as Online).

7. Set up each Speakers and Sessions Session and its instances. For each one:

Schedule the session instance for a date/time and location.
The following step is not possible until the instance has been scheduled.

8. If you're going to trigger the webinar creation (in Zoom or ON24) directly from within Certain Platform, follow the instructions in step 11 below.

9. Note: If instead you're going to connect to a webinar you've already set up in Zoom or ON24, skip step 11 and go to the instructions in step 12 below.

10. To create the webinar (in Zoom or ON24) directly from within Certain: In Event Setup Overview 'Event Webinar' click Create webinar/meeting and complete the details:

Select a webinar/meeting Service configured for your account; probably 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 can't use the same Webinar ID more than once anywhere in your Certain account.
Note: The Session Name, Date, Time, and Capacity should be the same as those of the webinar.
Warning: You cannot change the webinar link after you've confirmed it.
Caution: If the webinar schedule changes after you've linked to it, remember to change it in the Session Instance.
Set up a Speakers and Sessions Catalog List Add Catalog.
Note: For the session thumbnails to appear, use the banner template design, best used with the tiles layout.
Attendees use the catalog to register for and join sessions.
Having their personal 'join' link here is instead of the automatic emails used for the one-webinar digital events described above.
Set up an email template with an 'Auto-Login-URL' for the Session Catalog, for attendees to land automatically in the catalog. Make this a scheduled email.
Apply the Management Tags style to the object(s), such as Registration Statuses, that will activate your Flows in Certain Signal.
Note: The following steps continue with further steps for catalogs and emails.

Notes

Help topics may include features to be released.