Join Us Online

For everyone’s safety, this year’s annual homeowners association (HOA) meetings will be available through an online Zoom webinar. In this article, we will help you navigate connecting to and using Zoom to attend the annual meetings being broadcast. You’ll learn how to join a Zoom webinar using a registration link (sent via email) on your mobile phone or computer.

Register for the Webinar

To join the webinar, you will first need to register.  This can be done anytime before and during the webinar.  We strongly encourage you to register before the meeting because it takes a few minutes to register.  If you wait until it’s time for the webinar to begin you may miss part of the meeting. To register, follow the instructions below:

1. Click on the registration link found in the webinar announcement. It will look something like the following example:
2. A website will appear similar to the below example. Here you will enter your first and last name, and your email address. Then, click “Join Webinar” or “Join Webinar in Progress” to register for the meeting. 

After registering, you will receive a registration confirmation email that gives you the link to join the webinar. If the webinar is already in progress, the button “Join Webinar in Progress” will take you directly to the following screen. From there, click “Open Zoom” to open the webinar.

Join the Webinar by clicking the Registration Confirmation Link

1. Locate the “Click Here to Join” link found in your registration confirmation email (see the red arrow below). It will look something like the following: 

For those first time users, Zoom requires you to download the Zoom app. If you choose, you can download the app before the Zoom meeting. Otherwise, you’ll be prompted to download and install Zoom when you click the registration link found in the webinar invitation.

If you’ve previously downloaded the Zoom app

1. Once you have clicked on the link, a prompt to open the Zoom app will appear. 
2. Click “Open Zoom”. 

If the Zoom App has not previously been downloaded

1. Once you have clicked on the link, a prompt to download the Zoom app will appear. 
2. Follow the prompts to download Zoom.
3. Once Zoom has been downloaded, the webinar will open.

Waiting for the Host to Start the Webinar

If we haven’t started broadcasting the webinar, you’ll receive a message similar to the following image:

Be sure to check that the date and start time (including the timezone) are correct so that you are joining during the correct time and day of the webinar.

What You See During a Webinar

Some of you may be familiar with an online Zoom meeting.  A Zoom webinar is a bit different in that when you join the webinar, you will only see the faces of the panelists (or in this case the HOA’s Board of Directors) and not all the attendees.  The webinar will look similar to the below image. Learn how to make a comment, participate in a poll, or ask a question in the next section.

Webinar Controls

As you view the Zoom webinar, you will be able to virtually raise your hand, submit questions in Q&A, send messages to others, and participate in polls using the following icons:

Chat

This will open in-meeting chat, enabling you to send messages to the panelists.

Raise Hand

This indicates that you need something from the panelists. We may instruct you on how we plan to use this at the beginning of the webinar.

Q&A

This will open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the panelists. The panelists can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live.

To ask a question:

1. Type your question into the Q&A window. Click “Send”. If you do not want your name attached to your question, check “Send Anonymously”.
2. If responding via Q&A, you will see a reply in the Q&A window.

You can also like or comment on other people’s questions. This helps us identify popular questions.

1. Click the thumbs up icon to like a comment.
2. Click the red thumbs up icon to unlike a comment if you accidentally liked it. 
3. Click “Comment” to write a reply to an existing question. 
4. Type your comment and click “Send”. Your comment will appear beneath the question. 

Polls

When the panelists have activated a poll question, an image similar to the following example will appear.

Once attendees have submitted their responses, a screen displaying the responses will appear similar to the below image.

If the poll window has closed while the poll or responses are still available, click the “Poll” icon at the bottom of the screen to reopen the poll window.

Leaving the Meeting

Click “Leave Meeting” (in red on the right of the tool bar) to leave the webinar at any time. If you leave, you may rejoin if the webinar is still in progress by clicking again the registration confirmation join the meeting link.

Need More Info?

For more details regarding connecting to and using Zoom, see the official Zoom how-to here: https://bit.ly/howtozoomwebinar

We’re Here to Help!

If you are still unsure on how to join your online annual homeowners association meeting, please don’t hesitate to call our owner services team at 888-913-4477 who will be happy to assist you.

See you at the meeting!