Webinars in Teams function much in the same way they do in Zoom, with a few key differences. Read more below to find out how Teams Webinars will work for your group.

Getting Started with Webinars

Licensing and Access

Is a special license required to host or create webinars?

Basic webinar licenses are included for most individuals at Boston University. However, Teams Premium licenses are required to access certain features. For more information, see Microsoft’s comparison chart.

Will I be able to organize webinars from a departmental or shared account in Microsoft Teams?

Yes, departmental and shared accounts will be able to host webinars in Microsoft Teams. If you use a departmental or shared account for any other reason, please contact us.

Do attendees need a Teams license or account to attend?

Attendees do not need a Teams license or a Microsoft account to access a BU-hosted webinar.

What if my attendees do not have the Teams app installed?

Participants joining from a computer can use Teams for Web to join meetings without installing the Teams app. Wherever possible, installing the app is preferred as it provides full access to all features of a Microsoft Teams meeting.

Participants joining from an Android device, iPhone, or iPad must install the Microsoft Teams app for full meeting participation.

Can I invite presenters from outside the BU community to my webinars?

Yes, guest presenters can be invited and will be sent a special link to join your webinar. Their link will allow them to bypass the lobby (if enabled) and join the webinar directly.

Will LETS still be able to facilitate our department’s large-scale, hybrid events?

Yes, Learning & Event Technology Services is ready to facilitate hybrid meetings and events with Microsoft Teams as part of their Meeting & Event Support offering. For support or a consultation, please submit a request via email.

Scheduling Webinars

Scheduling

How do I schedule a webinar?

Webinars can be scheduled directly from the Teams desktop app.

What if I need to cancel a webinar?

You can cancel a scheduled webinar event from your Teams app. Please note that canceling a webinar cannot be undone.

Registration

Can I create custom registration pages and emails?

When setting up your webinar you can choose to generate a registration page. You can fully customize how registration works for your event: set your capacity, limit registration dates and specify what information you wish to collect from participants. See the linked Microsoft page for full details.

Who can register for a webinar?

Public webinars will allow anyone to register. Setting your webinar to private will limit registration to just members of BU.

Attendee Limits

What is the capacity of Microsoft Webinars?

Webinars can have up to 1,000 interactive attendees. Larger events may have limits on what features are available. To see what features are available for the size of event, please see Microsoft’s Events at Scale comparison chart.

Is there a meeting option for events requiring large attendee populations?

Microsoft also offers a “Town Hall” meeting type which is best for events requiring up to 10,000 attendees. Town halls can host up to 100k attendees if the Organizer has a Teams Premium license.

Webinar Experience

Webinar Features

What interactive features do webinars have?

In a webinar you have access to a Q&A module, attendee chat, Polls, Reactions and Breakout rooms.

Note that some features may be unavailable when a certain attendee threshold is reached. Breakout rooms are currently available in webinars with less than 300 attendees. Breakout room support for up-to 1000 attendees is currently rolling out.

See also Events at Scale comparison chart.

Is screen sharing available?

Teams Webinars include robust screen sharing options for Organizer and Presenters. It also includes PowerPoint Live for optimized PowerPoint sharing

Can we record webinars?

Yes, A cloud recording is automatically created and saved to the webinar Organizer’s OneDrive.

Can organizers control what attendees see?

Visible presenters and content can be managed by the organizer, co-organizers, and presenters. Inactive speakers can be brought off screen. Attendee names may be optionally hidden before starting the webinar.

Note that managing these features requires a Teams Premium license.

Roles

• Organizer – The person who schedules the webinar, creates the registration form and customizes settings. Organizers have complete control of the meeting and can designate co-organizers. When the webinar is complete, the organizer’s OneDrive will be used to store the recording and transcripts.
• Co-Organizer – Assigned by the organizer to assist with running the webinar. They can change options, manage the green room, and admit attendees from the lobby. They cannot setup or configure the event page.
• Presenter – Speakers or moderators. They can speak, share their screens, and manage the Q&A. Presenters can also unmute attendees and end the webinar.
• Attendee – A webinar participant. Their access is limited based on which settings the Organizer has configured. Their ability to interact is limited and they cannot share their screen or unmute themselves unless permitted by someone with a higher role.

Post-Webinar Experience

How can I access webinar recordings after the event?

Webinar recordings can be found by either:

1. Going to the webinar calendar event in Teams. Open the event and choose “Manage Event” then “Recordings.”
2. Organizers will find the recording in their OneDrive under the Recordings folder.

Can recordings be shared with attendees?

Recordings can be published for attendees directly from the calendar event in Teams. All attendees will be emailed a link to view the recording.

By default, published events will expire after 30 days from publication. You can extend for an additional 60 days if needed.

Recordings can be manually unpublished at any time.

How do I access webinar transcripts?

Transcripts can be downloaded from the calendar event under Recordings. Note that if you started/stopped transcription multiple times during the event, you may have multiple transcript files.

What reports are available?

Webinar registration and attendance reports can be found by viewing the event in your Teams calendar.

• To view attendee registration details before a webinar, open the webinar details in your Teams calendar and select Manage event > Registration > Attendee status.
• To view attendee registration details after a webinar, open the webinar details in your Teams calendar and select Manage event > Reports.

Town Halls

What is a Town Hall?

A Town Hall is a Teams event type for large events up to 10k people (1ook with Teams Premium). Town Halls are considered “many to one” events and best utilized when presenting information to a large group.

Many of the same features available in webinars are also available in Town Halls. Note that because Town Halls are intended for large-scale events, some interactive features may not be available to attendees.

How do I schedule a Town Hall?

Just like webinars, Town Halls are scheduled from your Teams Desktop App. Open the Calendar, click on the arrow next to the “New Event” button and choose Town Hall.

What is the Town Hall experience like for attendees?

Town Halls prioritize presenting information and spotlighting presenters. Attendees will have their cameras and mics disabled when they join a Town Hall meeting.

Attendees can enable live translated captions, chat with other attendees, and participate in Q&As.

Can we record Town Halls?

Town Halls are automatically recorded, just like webinars. Recordings and transcripts are managed in the same manner as webinars.