Spotlight 34: Handle event engagement in one space

Spotlight 34: Handle event engagement in one space



Having one place where you can run sessions, promote networking, and drive attention to exhibitor booths can help increase engagement at events.

In Zoho Backstage's Virtual Space, you can provide event participants with a unified experience to join sessions, participate in discussions using networking tables, and interact with exhibitors, all from one place.

Set up the Virtual Space

Every time you open a session, visit a booth, or join a networking table, you will be redirected to the Virtual Space. Once you have entered the Virtual Space through any of the above options, you can easily switch between these options inside the Virtual Space itself. Event participants also get to experience the same thing when they do this from the event microsite.
 

 
You can customize the Virtual Space to reflect your brand or event's theme by choosing a logo, a background, and the ambience. The logo you've set for the event will be chosen for the Virtual Space by default, but you can select a different one if needed. For the background, the option that you choose will be applied for all sessions, tables, and meeting rooms in exhibitor booths. You can even modify the background scheme at a granular level by selecting a different background for individual booths, sessions, or tables. The Virtual Space ambience can either be set to Dark or Light.

Set the stage for sessions

When hosting a session, you can go to the event microsite and visit the Agenda page. There you can click the Start session button. Alternatively, you can also do this from Backstage. Go to the Conduct Dashboard and click the Present sessions tab. Next, click a session in the timeline on the left and click the Start session button. You can then broadcast the session with the help of the webcasting service that you've selected.
 

 
The session area will be designed based on the Virtual Space settings you've chosen. To change the background color for a specific session, click the Session stage background icon [] at the right and choose a background option from the list.
 

Facilitate communication with networking tables

Networking tables can be an opportunity for event participants to make important connections. Think of them as similar to round table discussions that take place at a physical event. Attendees can take a seat at a virtual networking table and interact with others there. Networking tables can be used by anyone who is a part of the event such as speakers, attendees, sponsors, or event exhibitors.
 

 
To create a networking table, go to the Manage Dashboard and click the Virtual tab, then click the Networking tab. Here you can say how many seats must be available and  enable options such as chat, video stream, polls, or screen sharing for everyone at the table, if necessary. You could also choose to make tables exclusive so that they will be available only to certain participants. To do this, select the Open for a specific group radio button, and select the group you want to make them available to.


 
Event team members can join networking tables to take part in the discussion or just observe the conversation. Event members who join networking tables can manage ongoing interactions by muting or unmuting the mics or pausing the video stream of participants.

Each table can have a background of its own too. You can do this by clicking the Networking tab in the Virtual Space and clicking the Table background icon [].

Showcase exhibitors to interest attendees

The Virtual Space also includes the Exhibitors tab, which lists all the exhibitors who are associated with your event. Exhibitors can send a request to the event team through the event microsite. Once the request is approved, they can conduct meetings with interested booth visitors during the virtual event.


 
Exhibitors can use the rehearsal option before the event to practice meeting flow with test participants. During the event, the My Booth tab in the Virtual Space gives an overview of the exhibitor's information and also the members who are available in the booth. The number of ongoing meetings and visitors who are in the waiting room will be visible here. An exhibitor's booth background scheme can also be modified in the Virtual Space using the Expo meeting background icon [].


 
Exhibitors can also use the chat and questions option to interact with visitors when meeting with them. When viewing information for other exhibitors in the Exhibitors tab, you can do this without leaving an ongoing meeting, if you're a part of one.

After the event is over, exhibitors can export chat messages from the event microsite and, based on the permission given, they can also view and export the lead list from the Leads tab.

In Backstage, you can see an overview for details regarding exhibitors and their booths. To view this, go to the Overview tab in the Manage Dashboard and click the Exhibitors tile. Here you can keep track of booth purchases, view the sales overview for booths, and also examine analytics for meetings in booths.

Engage event participants in the Virtual Space and customize it to match your event's style. You can also start a discussion about this in our community or write to us at support@zohobackstage.com with your thoughts or questions.

Happy organizing!

    • Recent Topics

    • Add views to new CRM UI navigation + Unlimited Webtabs

      Zoho CRM is so close now to being the ultimate business application with the new UI, as soon as this one feature is added. This is probably where Zoho is headed but if it's not I want to BEG for this to be incorporated. What we need is to be able to put

    • E-Mail Distribution List

      How do I create an e-mail distribution list in Zoho Mail?

    • Custom "create meeting" button with more functionality than Zoho currently has?

      I'm looking for a little help/direction in how to do this. Even just some general high level pointers on how this might be able to be done. The current Zoho Meeting Activity functionality is not ideal for my org's workflow. I'd like to try and create

    • Error Code 4: Invalid value passed for JSONString

      Okay, I want to start by saying I know I'm a terrible scripter, so sorry if this is a dumb mistake. I just can't figure it out, even with LLM help. Here's my code: // --- Input Variables --- customer_id = salesorder.get("customer_id"); so_id = salesorder.get("salesorder_id");

    • Organizing contacts/members by company

      I work for a membership organization (representing businesses) and am trying to use Zoho CRM more effectively for managing the points of contact for our members. Currently, our members are listed in our CRM by the primary point of contact's name, but

    • Unable to search in Zoho Email

      I've started using Zoho Email (free version) recently and realized that it doesn't have email search functionality. Am I missing anything here? I've gone through the Zoho tutorial which does show the search bar on the right top of the Zoho UI. But in

    • Response Time Report

      From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports Every organization that interacts with its customers should have an established timeframe for how soon an agent is expected to send the first response and any reply to any follow-up messages.

    • Zoho - Outlook plugin

      Does anyone know if there is a way to modify the autofill in the Zoho plugin in outlook? When we create a contact, it enters the correct email address and name, but then pulls information from our own signature line to add phone number, address, etc.

    • Zoho Books - Sales Person Information

      Hi Team, On Invoices, Quotes, etc... I can include the Sales Person, but it only shows their name and not their email or phone number. It would be great to have place on invoice templates where we can manage what sales person information should be shows

    • Offline working in Zoho Creator portal

      Zoho's help says that offline working is only available in the Creator mobile app and not in the portal app. But I can see offline options in the portal app too and it seems to work when I test it. My portal users are often in areas where there is poor

    • Fetch Records using Dynamic Criteria

      Hi,  I have a form that builds a filter based on user input.  I need to fetch the records based on dynamic criteria.  How would I accomplish this as there is no eval function? For example: desiredRecord = Form1[dynamicCriteria];

    • Url filter Report date (pivot chart)

      Hello. Is it possible to filter the data in pivot char using parameters in the url? I'm trying but I should not doing very well. Something like: https://creator.zoho.com/.../....../#Report:MyPivotChartReport?MyDate=01-Jan-2012;31-Jun-2012;MyDate_op=58 Saludos

    • Sending gmail to a particular person fails because the address gets changed to "gmaill", with a second "l" typo somewhere

      I send to bob@gmail.com (example) and get an error sending to bob@gmaill.com, only for this one person. Note the extra "l" in the email the system tried to send to, which was not in the address I entered. Can't find a typo in the contact or anywhere else

    • Emoji Support in Bigin CRM

      We request the implementation of emoji support across Bigin CRM. This feature should allow users to seamlessly use emojis in text fields, headlines, and deals. It would enhance communication, improve the visual appeal of records, and bring more personalization

    • Bigin Booking Pages enhancements

      I would like to ask for several enhancements for the brand new (and promising) Booking feature. 1. Add "Contact/Mobile" Field to Booking form We use Mobile as key (id), but unfortunately it is missing from the Booking form, only Home Phone is available.

    • Amount in words in Indian format

      Hi, I had coded the following code to convert amount in words. But in the code in the format of US like million. But i need in Lakh and Crore. So pls suggest ideas r post corrected code string Num2Words(int val) {     val_s = input.val.toString();     th = {"", "thousand", "million", "billion", "trillion"};     // uncomment this line for English Number System     // th = {"","thousand","million", "milliard","billion"};     dg = {"zero", "one", "two", "three", "four", "five", "six", "seven", "eight",

    • What are people using to send Service based emails?

      Zoho Campaigns is for marketing. Users can unsubscribe from these emails. Service based emails need to be delivered and can without the worry of Can-spam act. What are people using to send service based emails? My mailing list is derived from a database

    • Standalone LMS tool

      Will Zoho release a standalone LMS (Learning management System) than can be used by external parties (guest)?

    • Announcing Kiosk 1.1 - Customize screen titles, configure new fields & actions, use values from your Kiosk to update fields, and more.

      Hello all We are back again with more enhancements to Kiosk. So what's new? Enhancements made to the Components Add titles for your Kiosk screens and adjust its width to suit your viewing preferences. Three new fields can be added to your screen: Percentage,

    • An Overview of Dario Schiraldi Deutsche Bank Executive

      Hello Community, Dario Schiraldi is an executive at Deutsche Bank, focused on advancing the firm’s financial services and crafting its global strategic vision. With 20 years of expertise in leadership roles, he has spearheaded successful market acquisitions

    • Emailing a document to WorkDrive

      Does WorkDrive include the ability to upload a document by sending an attachment to an email address? (Books and Expenses include this functionality) If it doesn't is it under consideration? on the Road Map?

    • Allow Changing Appointment Status from "Completed" to "No Show" or Other Valid States

      Hi Zoho Bookings Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to submit a feature request regarding appointment status management in Zoho Bookings. 🎯 Use Case Sometimes, an appointment is mistakenly marked as Completed, but later we realize that the

    • Zoho One and Tally Integration

      Has Anyone in this forum done any implementation with Zoho CRM and Tally accounting software. If so who have you used and how easy was it?

    • Microsoft PowerPoint files Extremely slow to save

      I and others on my team have noticed that Microsoft PowerPoint documents are extremely slow to save when using WorkDrive. It always takes over 30 seconds to save a file. Word and Excel files seem to save in a typical length of time, but PowerPoint is

    • How can users unblock their blocked Zoho Mail accounts?

      After the reason for the account block (storage exceeded, spam detection etc.) has been rectified, the user can unblock the account from the UnBlock Me page. Account support@edu2review.com  Edu2Review is an education review platform, we rate the quality

    • Adding additional fields for batch information

      Hello, I am looking at adding additional information into our inventory module. we would like to be able to see up to 8 attributes that will be individual & different for each batch (i.e. batch specific information) but currently I seem to only be able

    • Dynamic Pickup List Values using Deluge and Client Script

      I would like to dynamically show Pickup List Values For example we need to fetch some data from an on premise application and display it so they can choose and pick This can be done in Creator but I didn't find anything for CRM

    • Validation Rule for Controlled Stage Movement in Deals Module (Deluge Script)

      For keeping a control over module stage or status, you can use the below deluge script. The below deluge script defines validation control over deals module stages: // Function to validate allowed stage transitions in the Deals module map validation_rule.LeadStatustValidation1(String

    • Pick List Issues

      I have created a pick list that looks at a table in a sheet, it selects the column I want fine. Various issues have come along. The option to sort the pick list is simplistic, only allows an ascending alphabetical sort. Bad luck if you want it descending.

    • Four types of task dependencies

      "Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs."                                                                                                                  - Henry Ford Projects, small or large, are driven by simple work units called tasks. Monitoring standalone tasks might look simple but as the workflow becomes elaborate, tasks may start relying on one another. In project management, this relationship between tasks is termed as "Task Dependencies". Dependency between tasks arise

    • 1099 tracking

      Do zoho books offer feature of tracking for 1099's for contractors, etc? Quick books offers this feature and wondered when/if Zoho books will do same

    • VAT-type Taxes in US Edition?

      I'm located in the US, and I use the Zoho One US edition of Books. We are in the process of registering with Canadian authorities for their GST / HST, which is a VAT-type of scheme. It is not immediately obvious to me how one would deal with input tax

    • Schedule sms to be sent later

      When will you make available an option to send sms's at a later time??? You finaly have this option available on emails, so it will be very useful to have it also with sms. Our sms provider, has already this available but we cannot use it because you

    • Ecommerce integration with prestashop

      Development of campaigns integration with prestahop. When???

    • How to create an article containing images and rich text via the api?

      Hi, I'm trying to migrate our kb articles from our previous helpdesk service, and import them to ZohoDesk. Is there any way to create an article that contains images?  Is it possible to add formatting to articles created via the API? Thanks, Adam.

    • Number of statement execution limit exceeded on deluge scheduled function

      I'm working on a send email functionality in creator that sends out crew work orders at the end of the day each day for the next day. I'm running into the issue that zoho is unable to handle the number of statements that I am doing to be able to successfully

    • Zoho SignForm In Progress But Cannot Be Completed

      If a person starts signing a document (via SignForm), but closes the window before submitting, Zoho marks the document "in progress", but how do they finish signing it?

    • How to show Assemblies AND component items in a report

      Hi Is there any way in Analytics to create a report that shows the Composite Item AND the Component Items with mapped quantity? It seems that the component item is not exposed in any table that I can find. Also, the same question but for Stock on Hand.....this

    • Mandatory Messages for Specific Members in Zoho Cliq Channels

      Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request a feature enhancement to Zoho Cliq that would allow marking certain messages in a channel as mandatory for specific members — with built-in tracking and reminders. 🎯 Use Case:

    • Admin Access to Message Read Statistics in Zoho Cliq

      Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request a feature enhancement that would allow admins or channel owners to view read/unread statistics for messages, even if they were not the original sender. 🎯 Use Case: Currently, in

    • Next Page