At GitLab, we believe everyone can contribute. Because nearly anyone with an internet connection and a device can participate in virtual events, as a speaker or an attendee, virtual events are an important part of fulfilling that mission. While our expertise in this area is still developing, this page documents the best practices we have studied and established for virtual events at GitLab.
We have developed a decision tree to help you determine what type of GitLab-hosted virtual event is the best fit for you:
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This is a light weight virtual event that can be hosted on GitLabber's personal zoom. This is recommended for smaller virtual events (200 attendees max) and **allows you to break the audience into smaller groups during the event. Attendees are able to be interactive in this event type, having the option to share both audio/video if allowed by the host. We can track registration, but there is NO Marketo integration, which requires manual list upload to Marketo post event. For this virtual event type, no MPM program support pre/post event will be required. Self-service handbook
This is the same format as a self-service event, except MPM will support Marketo/SFDC program creation, 1-2 invitations, assist with list handoff, and a send follow-up email. Self-service handbook
This is a Marketing Programs hosted virtual event with Webcast type configuration in zoom. This is the preferred setup for larger GitLab hosted virtual event (up to 1,000 attendees) that requires registration due to the integration with Marketo for automated lead flow and event tracking. GitLab hosted webcast type is a single room virtual event that allows multiple hosts. Attendees cannot share audio/video unless manually grated access. For this virtual event type, MPM supports program creation, driving registration, infrastructure, live moderation, and followup. Webcast handbook
Some teams (Field Marketing for example) run hands on workshops virtually. Regardless or not if there will be money spent to advertise these workshops, marketers are to use webcast event type. A few more points to note:
Please work with the Corporate Marketing Events team on planning these large scale events. Virtual Conference handbook This event type is only intended if you need more tracked attendees than is capable with zoom and/ or you need multiple simultaneous tracks. It also allows for a partner expo hall. The tool we have in place allows for a cleaner experience for the end user than switchign between zoom calls. It more mirrors a physical event experience, with a keynote stage, tracks, expo halls and networking options.
Note: these events are not included in the above decision tree as they are not GitLab-hosted events. External virtual events handbook
| Self-service | Self-service w/ promotion | Webcast | Virtual Conference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendee Size | 1-100 | 1-100 | 201-1000 | 500+ |
| SLA | 5 BD | 21 BD | 45 BD | 45 BD+ |
| Type | Meeting | Meeting | Webcast | Conference |
| Tracking | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| LP/Registration | Optional (Zoom) |
Optional (Zoom) |
Yes | Yes |
| Mktg Promotion |
No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mktg Moderate |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mktg Followup |
No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Breakout Rooms |
Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Polls/Q&A | Yes*/No | Yes*/No | Yes/Yes | Yes |
| Confirmation/ Reminder |
Yes/No* | Yes/No* | Yes/Yes | Yes |
FAQ & Notes:
We have 3 separate calendars to manage different types of virtual events in GitLab. (webcast, self-service, external/sponsored). All 3 calendars will be consolidated into a single GitLab virtual events calendar view (below). The purpose of the consolidated view is to help event organizer(s) minimize topic overlap with other GitLab virtual events happening around the same time and to provide executive visibility into ALL virtual events that GitLab is running/participating in.
[Hold WC Hosted] Webcast title - GitLab hosted webcast still in planning[WC Hosted] Webcast title - Confirmed GitLab hosted webcast[DR WC Hosted] Webcast title - Dry run for GitLab hosted webcast[Hold self-service] Event title - Self-service virtual event still in planning[Self-service] Event title - Confirmed self-service virtual event[Hold WC sponsored] Webcast title - Sponsored webcast still in planning[WC sponsored] Webcast title - Confirmed sponsored webcast[Hold VC sponsored] Conference title - Sponsored virtual conference still in planning[VC sponsored] Conference title - Confirmed sponsored virtual conferenceIn the spirit of efficiency, we encourage team members to host self-service events when they have interesting content to share with the GitLab community. See the project planning and best practices for producing self-service events in the self-service virtual events execution page to get started.
Currently, only the Marketing Programs team can run GitLab hosted virtual event with Webcast type configuration in zoom since this configuration requires a special Zoom license and integration with Marketo. To begin a webcast request, visit the webcast page and follow the instructions.
If you have not yet identified if a self-service virtual event is the correct event type of event for you, please scroll to the top of this page to find out.
Please see the self-service virtual event promotion guide for best practice instructions on how to promote.
Below are Marketing promotion options for self-service virtual event, including requirements and DRI to contact to get the promotions started. Issue links are included in the epic code template for self-service with promotion. The requestor will create the relevant promotion issues for the event and assign to DRI.
Below is a summary of the promotion plan for webcasts. MPMs will be responsible for creating all promotion request issues as part of the webcast project management process. The requestor will start with a virtual event request issue and MPMs will create the necessary epic and related issues.
When scheduling a self-service event, this table can help guide you towards the right event type to select based on the features you would like to use during the event. GitLab hosted virtual events will need to fit into either: Zoom Webcast type or Zoom Meeting type.
| Zoom Webcast | Zoom Meeting | |
|---|---|---|
| Screenshare | Yes | Yes |
| Video/Audio sharing | Host/Panelist only | All participants |
| Participant List |
Visible to host/panelist |
All participants |
| Multiple Hosts | Yes | Yes |
| Attendee Limit | 1,000 | 200 |
| Registration Zoom |
Yes (Optional) |
Yes (Optional) |
| Registration Marketo |
Yes | No |
| Marketo Integration |
Yes | No |
| Automated Tracking and Lead Flow |
Yes | No |
| Confirmation Email | Yes (from Zoom) |
Yes (from Zoom) |
| Auto Reminder Email Send |
Yes (from Zoom) |
No* |
| Practice Session | Yes | Yes* (requires activating waiting room) |
| Breakout Rooms / Max participants |
0 / 0 | 50 / 200 |
| Polls | Yes | Yes |
| Q&A | Yes | No |
| Chat | Yes | Yes |
| Raise Hand | Yes | No |
| Livestream | Yes | Yes |
Chat announcements
Chat announcements allow specific users to send one-way announcements to everyone in the same account. Account owners and admin can add up to 50 users who can send announcements.
The question & answer (Q&A) feature for webcasts allows attendees to ask questions during the webcast and for the panelists, co-hosts and host to answer their questions. With the public Q&A feature, attendees can answer each other's questions and if enabled, they may also upvote each others questions.
You can enable polling in your meeting or virtual event to survey your attendees. See the prerequisites for how to enable polling.
You can also download the results of your poll - see reporting.
There are currently no networking features available in Zoom outside of the participation features listed above. However, there are some creative ways to continue the conversation after your event is over:
Please follow the prerequisites when setting up your virtual event. The prerequisites include steps for ensuring your virtual event and account are secure.
In order to stay compliant with all regulatory policies as it relates to marketing, please adhere the following guidelines when working with registration or attendee lists and event confirmation emails:
Please add the following language when creating your Zoom registration landing page:
By registering for this event, you agree that Gitlab may email you about its products, services and events. You may opt-out at anytime by unsubscribing in emails or visit our communication preference center.
If you are creating a self-service partner virtual event, please add the following language when creating your Zoom registration landing page and replace [partner name] with the name of the partner:
By registering for this GitLab and
[partner name]event, you agree that Gitlab and[Partner name]may email you about their products, services and events. You may opt-out at anytime by unsubscribing in emails or visiting the relevant company's preference center.
There are two types of reports you can export for virtual events from Zoom:
For registration lists:
Reports > MeetingRegistration Report. If you had polling enabled for your virtual event or meeting, you can select Poll Report to download the results of your poll.Generate.all and click Continue.Report Queue where you can download your results as a .csv file.For attendee lists:
Reports > UsageSearch. Maximum report duration is one month. The report displays information for meetings that ended at least 30 minutes ago.Toggle columns drop down on the right-side of the screen (optional).Participants column to view the number of participants hyperlinked in blue. Click the linked number of participants.Meeting Participants. From here, you can select the checkbox whether you want to export this list with meeting data or not. Meeting data includes the meeting ID, duration (minutes), # of participants, topic, start time, end time, and user email.Export. It exports the list as a .csv file.If you have a minimum of 20 leads to upload from a virtual event, you can utilize the same list upload process through marketing operations. Please create an issue in the marketing operations project using the event-clean-list-upload.md issue template and assign it to @jburton.
When driving webcast registration to a Zoom landing page, Zoom registration source tracking can be useful for tracking where the registrants are coming from.
Registration source tracking on zoom landing page is only available for MPM run Webcast type and not the self-service virtual events Meeting type set up.
Currently, we do not use Zoom's landing page for webcast registration as MPMs manage the webcast registration process by creating an about.gitlab landing page and integrating form fills to Zoom via Marketo. The Zoom integration tracks sources that drove the registration using UTM parameters. See full documentation on when and how to use utms.
Due to current security concerns, live streaming to YouTube from Zoom has been temporarily shut down. There is also a security concern regarding Zoom meetings that are recorded to the cloud. If you wish to record your virtual event and upload to YouTube later, record to your local machine (not to the cloud) and open an issue in the digital production project to have the digital production team review your recording prior to being uploaded to YouTube.
Review GitLab's general virtual events best practices for additional suggestions on how to make your virtual event a success. You may also want to review the GitLab Video Playbook, which offers guidance on creating engaging video content, much of which also applies to virtual events.
