If you’re wrangling a big sales team and need to get everyone using video without chaos, you’re in the right place. Setting up permissions and roles in Vidyard might not be glamorous, but it’s the difference between smooth sailing and a total mess. This guide is for admins, ops folks, or anyone who gets the “can you just set this up?” job. I’ll walk you through how to do it, what actually matters, and where you can stop worrying.
Why Permissions Matter (And Where They Usually Go Wrong)
Before you dive in, know this: most permission setups get too complicated, too fast. You don’t need a different role for every little thing. The main goal is to keep people from accidentally messing up stuff they shouldn’t touch—like deleting the CEO’s video, or sending out a template that’s still a work in progress.
Here’s what you’re really after:
- Sales reps: Simple access—record, share, track their own videos.
- Managers: See their team’s results, maybe edit or review content.
- Admins: Full control, but hopefully not overwhelmed with requests.
Overkill with permissions just means more headaches for you. Keep it simple.
Step 1: Map Out Your Team (On Paper First)
Don’t even open Vidyard yet. First, sketch out what your sales org looks like. This saves hours of rework later.
Ask yourself: - How many reps? Are they divided into regions or teams? - Who needs to create videos? Who just needs to watch or report? - Which content should be shared across the team? What’s private? - Who’s going to manage all this (hint: hopefully not just you)?
Pro tip:
If you’re stuck, default to three buckets: sales reps, managers, admins. You can always tweak later.
Step 2: Understand Vidyard’s Role Types
Vidyard has a few built-in roles. Here’s what they actually do:
- Admin: Can do everything—users, groups, content, settings. Only give this to people you trust to not break things.
- User: Can create, view, edit, and share their own videos. They can see shared content if you set it up.
- Viewer: Can only watch videos and see reports you share with them. Good for execs who like dashboards, not details.
- Custom Roles: Vidyard lets you tweak permissions, but unless you have a very unique setup, you probably don’t need custom roles right away.
What to ignore:
Don’t bother making a role for every sales title. “User” covers almost everyone. If you need a “Manager” role, see if you can use a group instead (more on that below).
Step 3: Set Up Groups to Match Your Sales Structure
This is where Vidyard gets handy. Groups let you organize users and content—think of them as folders for people and videos.
Typical setup for a big sales team: - One group per region or sales team (e.g. “East Coast Reps,” “Enterprise,” “SDRs”) - A “Managers” group for people who oversee multiple teams - An “All Sales” group for content everyone should see
How to do it: 1. Go to Admin > Groups. 2. Click “Create Group” and name it clearly—no cryptic acronyms. 3. Add users to each group based on their team. 4. Set group permissions: who can create, edit, or just view content in each group.
What works:
Groups keep shared content tidy, and you can easily assign new hires to the right place.
What doesn’t:
If you make too many groups, you’ll spend all day moving people around. Keep it to what you actually use.
Step 4: Assign Roles to Users
Now you’re ready to put people into the right buckets.
- Go to Admin > Users.
- Add users by email—or bulk upload if you have a list.
- For each user, pick a role (Admin, User, Viewer).
- Assign them to the correct group(s).
Pro tip:
When in doubt, start everyone as a “User.” You can always promote someone to Admin if they need more access later. It’s easier than cleaning up after someone who accidentally deleted a bunch of videos.
Be careful:
Don’t make everyone an Admin just because it’s easier. You’ll regret it the first time someone wipes out your team’s content.
Step 5: Set Content Permissions and Sharing Defaults
This part matters if you want to keep things private, or if you have sensitive prospect info in videos.
You can control: - Who can see videos (just the creator, a group, or everyone) - Who can edit or delete videos - Who can share videos outside your company
How to do it: 1. For each folder or group, set default sharing permissions. 2. Make sure sensitive content isn’t set to “public.” 3. Decide if reps should be able to share directly to social media, or just via email.
What works:
Default everything to private or “internal” unless you have a reason not to. It’s easier to loosen up later than lock things down after a leak.
What doesn’t:
Don’t give blanket sharing rights unless you trust everyone. It only takes one person to share something embarrassing with a prospect.
Step 6: Test with a Dummy User (Seriously)
Before you launch, create a test account with “User” access. Log in and try to do everything a normal sales rep would: record, upload, share, view team templates.
Check: - Can they see the right videos? - Can they accidentally see or edit other people’s stuff? - Are they blocked from admin settings?
Pro tip:
Find a skeptical sales rep to test-drive for you. They’ll find problems you missed.
Step 7: Train Your Team—But Keep It Short
Most salespeople don’t need an hour-long training on permissions. Give them a five-minute rundown:
- Where to find their stuff
- How to share safely
- Who to bug if they’re locked out
Send a quick checklist or screen recording. Done.
Step 8: Review and Tweak as Needed
After a week or two, check in:
- Are people asking for more access? Or getting into things they shouldn’t?
- Is anyone locked out of content they need?
- Are you getting too many “can you fix my permissions?” emails?
Don’t be afraid to simplify. Remove unused groups, drop custom roles, and keep permission sprawl in check. You’re not building Fort Knox—just making sure nothing gets broken by accident.
What You Can Ignore (Most of the Time)
- Custom roles: Unless you have a complicated approval process, skip them.
- Granular video-by-video permissions: Use folders and groups. No need to micromanage every file.
- Reporting permissions: Most sales reps don’t care about analytics beyond their own results. Managers and admins can handle the rest.
Honest FAQs
What if someone messes up?
You can usually recover deleted content if you catch it quickly. But prevention is easier than cleanup—keep admin access tight.
Do I need to update permissions every time someone joins or leaves?
Yes. Remove ex-employees ASAP. For new hires, template your process so it takes two minutes.
Will Vidyard send people a bunch of confusing emails?
Users get an invite and maybe a reminder. Nudge your team to check spam, but you don’t need to babysit this.
Keep It Simple—And Don’t Stress
Setting up permissions isn’t rocket science. Most teams make it harder than it needs to be. Start simple, watch how people actually use Vidyard, and adjust as you go. You’ll spend less time fixing problems—and more time watching your sales team actually use video the right way.