Announcing Backstage OnAir, our in-house virtual events solution

Announcing Backstage OnAir, our in-house virtual events solution

These past months have seen a huge rise in the number of virtual events with some of the biggest events of the year going online. Though there's little possibility for virtual events to completely replace in-person ones, COVID-19 has shown how flexible and feasible they can be. Considering all of this, it's likely organizations will continue hosting online events in the future if only for the sheer convenience of it.
 
At Backstage, we started work on our own virtual events solution back in March. Since then, we've steadily added on to our existing features so you can leverage virtual events as soon as possible. However, our ultimate goal has always been to build a virtual events solution that is just as intuitive and seamless as Backstage is for live events. Today, after a little more than four months, we're ready to introduce Backstage OnAir, our virtual events extension.



From webcasting sessions and engaging with attendees in real-time to getting detailed post-session analytics, Backstage OnAir's features will help you host virtual events that are just as good as in-person ones. The best part—you can host both your online and live events from a single platform. Convenient, right?
 
Here's a quick rundown of how the many features of Backstage OnAir—combined with tools Backstage already possesses—can benefit you before, during, and even after your online event.
 

Before the event 

Creating an online event on Backstage is pretty similar to creating a live event. Begin with the usual stuff—create your online event just as you would an in-person one or convert one of your existing events from in-person to virtual.
 
Then add event details like the agenda and speakers, onboard your team, and set up event registration. The next step is designing your event microsite. Here, you can use Backstage's 10 themes and various custom pages and sections to build an event microsite that's spot-on with your brand.
 

 
Other things you can do at this stage include promoting your event with promotional codes, affiliates, and social sharing, as well as sending emails to attendees and prospects to keep them updated with the latest event news.
 

During the event 

The difference between virtual and in-person events is mostly seen on the event day—from attendee check-in to session presentation, everything has to be done through online means, and this can lead to a lot of challenges. At Backstage, we've made all the options flexible so you have more choice and control over how things proceed.

Attendee check-in


 
Checking in to an online event is the attendee's responsibility in Backstage. On the event day, a banner will run on the event microsite to inform attendees about the status of the event—whether it has begun or not and if sessions are running. It will also prompt them to check in to the event. Once they've checked in, they can participate in the sessions, network with other attendees, and contribute to discussions. 

Session presentation


The next step is presenting your sessions remotely. We've got three options for broadcasting your sessions, and you can use any of them—Backstage OnAir, Zoho Meeting, and other third-party web-conferencing software.


 
The actual session experience depends largely on the tool you're using and the features it has to offer. We, of course, recommend Backstage OnAir for this. It comes with options like webcasting live sessions, detailed session analytics, and virtual engagement tools (polls, chat, whiteboard, and questions) to interact with attendees in real-time and make them feel like they're a part of the event. Currently, you can webcast your session to a maximum of 200 attendees though in the future, we will be increasing this number to accommodate more attendees. In addition, after each session ends, attendees can join the next session automatically. 
 

Networking


Most event organizers find networking to be a real challenge with virtual events. At Backstage, we've got a pretty handy feature to help you with this—discussion channels. You can create both public and private channels to help attendees network with others who share the same interests or even continue their discussions with speakers after the session is over.


 
You can also announce impromptu discussions or meets so everyone knows what's happening and they don't miss out on the opportunity to interact with others.
 

After the event

 

 
Once your event is over, you can post behind-the-scenes photos in the event gallery and give your attendees a peek into what really went on backstage. You can also ask your attendees to post photos. The gallery is a good place to bond with them over photos and memories. This is especially important with virtual events as a lot of things here happen over text and voice. Pictures can help make the experience more authentic, real, and personal.


 
The other important thing to do after the event is study the analytics so you know what went right and what went wrong. Backstage already offers two equally important types of analytics—sales analytics and session analytics—and the great thing about the OnAir extension is that your virtual event can still leverage all the Backstage features you normally use for in-person events. While the former tells you how interested people were in your event, the latter tells you how satisfying the experience was. You can also make use of our PageSense integration to step this up a little and get detailed website analytics.
 
Also, members subscribed to our Enterprise and Ultimate plans can use Backstage OnAir free of charge to present remote sessions and host virtual events until September 30, 2020.
 
Power your virtual events with Backstage OnAir and give your attendees an experience they won't forget any time soon! Let us know what you think in the comments below. For product-related questions or suggestions, write to us at support@zohobackstage.com.

Happy organizing!


    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community




                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts



                                                            • Sticky Posts

                                                            • Important notice: Changes in sender domains

                                                              Hello Backstage users, This is a heads-up about a major change with sender domains in Zoho Backstage. In response to Google's new guidelines for email senders, Backstage won't be able to send emails with the sender domain "gmail.com" or "googlemail.com".
                                                            • Announcing Backstage OnAir, our in-house virtual events solution

                                                              These past months have seen a huge rise in the number of virtual events with some of the biggest events of the year going online. Though there's little possibility for virtual events to completely replace in-person ones, COVID-19 has shown how flexible
                                                            • Introducing the mobile app for event organizers

                                                              It doesn't matter if you're planning your first trade show or an annual executive retreat—organizing an event requires your undivided attention. This is especially true on event day, when things can quickly get out of hand. So how can you stay on top of everything happening at your event? Introducing the Zoho Backstage for Event Organizers mobile app, for Android and iOS—designed to improve and simplify your event management. Getting things started on time, checking in attendees on event day, following
                                                            • Announcing Zoho Backstage: Your complete event management software

                                                              With just a few months till the event, you're still racking your brain. Did you advertise to the right audience? Is your event website design appealing? How will you keep attendees engaged and interested during sessions? It doesn't matter if you're organizing


                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner









                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                              Zoho Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方




                                                                                                              • Recent Topics

                                                                                                              • Zoho Analytics & Zoho Desk - but not all desks

                                                                                                                I have several desks in our company and one of those is used by our HR department. I want to bring through the data to the shared Zoho Analytics workspace - except for the HR desk. Can this be excluded at data import stage ?
                                                                                                              • Incoming Emails Not Showing Up in Zoho Inbox

                                                                                                                Hi - I have my Zoho email account set up to forward a copy of all incoming emails to a secondary Gmail address, whilst retaining the original email in the Zoho inbox. However, all my incoming emails are currently not showing up in my Zoho inbox, so I'm
                                                                                                              • SHEET - Send email when a cell changes

                                                                                                                I would like to create a custom function for Zoho Sheet that triggers when a paticular cell changes to a specific value. This would result in sending an email to a recipient (this would be an address that remains the same and included in the script). Example: = IF(N4= "Drafted", <>EmailFunction) 1)     Cell N4 changes to "Drafted" 2)    Email is sent to recipient            or alternatively 3)    Post to chat channel I have found the Custom function editor in Sheet. I am not bad at scripting, but
                                                                                                              • 【開催報告】 福岡 ユーザー交流会 2025/8/8(金)

                                                                                                                皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 8/8(金)に、福岡 ユーザー交流会を開催しました。 本投稿では、その様子をお届けします。当日の登壇資料などもこちらに共有しますので、参加できなかった皆さまもご参照ください。 今年初の開催となる福岡 ユーザー交流会では、CreativeStudio樂合同会社 前田さんによるZoho CRM / Sign / Survey の事例セッションのほか、 Zoho社員セッションでは、Zoho Forms の活用法を解説。 さらに、「見込み客・顧客データの管理/活用方法」をテーマに参加者同士でZoho
                                                                                                              • Error: Invalid login: 535 Authentication Failed

                                                                                                                I have used zoho with nodemailer. const transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({ host: 'smtp.zoho.com', port: 465, secure: true, auth: { user: 'example@example.com', pass: 'password' } }); While sending the mail, it shows the following error: Error:
                                                                                                              • Zoho Renewal

                                                                                                                Hello, If I am not going for zoho email renewal. will i get back my free zoho account? and if yes then is it possible to get back my all free user. how many user get back 10 or 25?
                                                                                                              • Not reciving emails

                                                                                                                Apparently i cannot recive emails on my adress contact@sportperformance.ro I can send, but do not recive. The mail i'm trying to send from mybother adress gets sent and doesn't bounce back... but still doesn't get in my inbox. Please advise
                                                                                                              • Not receiving MailChimp verification e-mail

                                                                                                                It seems that their verification e-mails are blocked. I can receive their other e-mails, but not their verification of domain ownership e-mail. I've checked and double checked how I typed the e-mail, using different e-mails (my personal e-mail can receive it), white listing the domain and all that is left is for the IP's to be white listed, but I don't have that power.  If a staff member could take a look at this -> http://mailchimp.com/about/ips/ And perhaps white list them for me, that would be
                                                                                                              • Creating my 2nd email account

                                                                                                                After creating my first email address, I decided to get another email address. I would like to use this new address as the primary address too. I don't know how to set it up there doesn't seem to be an option for that
                                                                                                              • Cannot - create more email account - Unusual activity detected from this IP. Please try again after some time

                                                                                                                Hello, I come across the error message in Control Panel. Unusual activity detected from this IP. Please try again after some time and i cannot create any more users We are an IT company and we provide service for another company Please unlock us.
                                                                                                              • "Unable to send message;Reason:553 Relaying disallowed. Invalid Domain"

                                                                                                                Good day. When I try to send mail through ZOHO mail I get the following error : "Unable to send message;Reason:553 Relaying disallowed. Invalid Domain" I need help with this. My zohomail is : @eclipseweb.site Thank you,
                                                                                                              • Transfert de domaine pour création des comptes emails

                                                                                                                Bonjour , je ne parviens point à créer des mails avec le domaine 'raeses.org' suite à la souscription du domaine auprès d'un autre hébergeur, dont j'ai fait la demande du code de transfert qui est le suivant : J2[U8-l0]p8[ En somme, attente de l'activation
                                                                                                              • Help! Unable to send message;Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

                                                                                                                Kindly help me resolved this issue that i am facing here.
                                                                                                              • How are people handling estimates with Zoho inventory?

                                                                                                                We are often using Zoho Books for estimates that then get converted to invoices within Books. We would like the sales team to migrate entirely to Zoho Inventory and no longer need to use Zoho Books so that they are only on one system. How are people managing
                                                                                                              • Relative Date Searches

                                                                                                                Currently in the search options, it has "date", "from date" and "to date". I think it would be great if there were options like "date greater than x days ago" and "date less than x days ago". I realise that as a once off you can just use the existing
                                                                                                              • Ask the Experts 23: Customize, utilize, and personalize with Zoho Desk

                                                                                                                Hello everyone! It's time for the next round of Ask the Experts (ATE). This month is all about giving Zoho Desk a complete makeover and making it truly yours. Rebrand Zoho Desk with your organization’s details, customize ticket settings based on your
                                                                                                              • Please review and re-enable outgoing emails for my domain

                                                                                                                Hello Zoho Support, I have recently purchased a new domain and set up email hosting with Zoho. However, my account shows "Outgoing Email Blocked". I am a genuine user and not sending bulk/spam emails. Please review and re-enable outgoing emails for my
                                                                                                              • Payroll without tax integrations (i.e. payroll for international)

                                                                                                                It seems as though Zoho waits to develop integrations with local tax authorities before offering Zoho Payroll to Zoho customers in a country. Please reconsider this approach. We are happy Zoho Books customers, but unhappy that we have to run payroll in
                                                                                                              • goingout e mail block

                                                                                                                info@ozanrade.com.tr
                                                                                                              • Incoming mails blocked

                                                                                                                Zoho User ID : 60005368884 My mail Id is marketing#axisformingtechnology.com .I am getting following message "Your Incoming has been blocked and the emails will not be fetched in your Zoho account and POP Accounts. Click here to get unblocked." Please
                                                                                                              • Configuring Email Notifications with Tautulli for Plex

                                                                                                                Hi I'm new to Zoho. I am from Canada and I have a I use a web based application called Tautulli for Plex that monitors my Plex media server. It also sends a newsletter to my followers. To set this up they require a "From" email address., a smtp server
                                                                                                              • How to Set Up Zoho Mail Without Cloudflare on My Website

                                                                                                                I'm having some trouble with Cloudflare here in Pakistan. I want to configure Zoho Mail for my domain, but I'm not sure how to set it up without going through Cloudflare. My website, https://getcrunchyrollapk.com/ , is currently using CF, but I'd like
                                                                                                              • Spam is Being Forwarded

                                                                                                                I am filtering a certain sender directly to the Trash folder. Those messages are still being forwarded. Is this supposed to happen?
                                                                                                              • IMAP Block

                                                                                                                My two accounts have been blocked and I am not able to unblocked them myself. Please respond to email, I am traveling and this is urgent.
                                                                                                              • "DKIM not configured"

                                                                                                                Hello. I have been attempting get the DKIM verified but Toolkit keeps sending the message that it is not configured, but both Namecheap and Zoho show it as configured properly. What am I missing?
                                                                                                              • Zoho mail with custom domain not receiving email

                                                                                                                i registered zoho mail with my own domain. I can login and access the mail app. I tried to send email from an outlook email account and an icloud email account. Both emails were not received. My plan is free. I also tried to send email from this zoho
                                                                                                              • A Sales Ebook to help Sales representatives increase Sales.

                                                                                                                I worked in sales for twenty years with the same company. I was an outdoor sales representative selling health insurance. My first Year I made it into the company's President's club. I wrote an Ebook sharing how I was able to achieve success in sales
                                                                                                              • Waterfall Chart

                                                                                                                Hello, I would like to create a waterfall chart on Zoho analytics which shows the movement in changes of budget throughout a few months, on a weekly basis. Should look something like the picture below. Does anyone know how to?
                                                                                                              • Issue with Importing Notes against Leads

                                                                                                                Hi, I am attempting to import some Notes into Zoho CRM which need to be assigned to various Leads. I have created a csv file which I am testing that contains just one record. This csv file contains the following columns: Note Id Parent Id       (I have
                                                                                                              • Option to Hide Project Overview for Client Profiles

                                                                                                                In Zoho Projects, the Project Overview section is currently visible to client profiles by default. While user profiles already have the option to restrict or hide access to the project overview, the same flexibility isn’t available for client profiles.
                                                                                                              • Creator Add Records through API - Workflows not triggered ?

                                                                                                                Hi Everyone, I am trying to add records to my Creator application through a third party app that I am developing. Currently, I am testing this through Postman. The records I need to add have a lot of workflows to run to populate dropdowns, fields, use
                                                                                                              • Important Update: Changes to Google Translate Support in Zoho SalesIQ

                                                                                                                We’re updating our default chat translation options across all Zoho SalesIQ data centres to offer a more secure, in-house solution for your translation needs. What’s changing? We will be offering Zoho Translate (our in-house tool) as the default translation
                                                                                                              • Zoho CRM Community Digest - July 2025 | Part 1

                                                                                                                Hey everyone, The start of July 2025 marked a special milestone: 200 posts in our Kaizen series! For those new here, Kaizen is a go-to series for Zoho CRM developers, where we regularly share best practices, tips, and expert insights to help you build
                                                                                                              • What’s New in Zoho Expense (April – July 2025)

                                                                                                                Hello users, We're happy to bring you the latest updates and enhancements we've made to Zoho Expense over the past three months, which include introducing the Trip Expense Summary report in Analytics, extending Chatbot support to more editions, rolling
                                                                                                              • Weekly Tips: Insert frequently used phrases in a jiffy using Hotkeys

                                                                                                                You often find yourself using similar phrases in an email —like confirming appointments or providing standard information. Constantly switching between the mouse and keyboard interrupts your flow and slows you down.Instead of typing the same phrases over
                                                                                                              • Undo Command in Notebook

                                                                                                                It would be handy to have an Undo in the row of icons at the bottom of the notes.
                                                                                                              • Narrative 9: GC—Meaningful conversations that benefit your customers

                                                                                                                Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system - BTS Series Narrative 9: GC—Meaningful conversations that benefit your customers Customers often seek immediate solutions, which is why self-service options are essential. Guided Conversations provides
                                                                                                              • FSM App Oddity

                                                                                                                We recently rolled out FSM to our technicians, and only one technician is having an issue. He's using an iPhone with iOS 18.6 installed. When he goes to service appointments using the calendar icon at the bottom of the app, he gets a list view only. Typically,
                                                                                                              • Cliq Not Working !

                                                                                                                Zoho Cliq has been experiencing connectivity issues since this morning. The app is unable to establish a connection with the server.
                                                                                                              • Injecting CSS into ZML pages

                                                                                                                Is there a way to inject CSS into ZML pages? Use case: 1. Dashboard displays 'Recent Activities' card displaying a list of newly added records 2. Each item in list links to the record onClick 3. When a user points the cursor over an item in the list,
                                                                                                              • Next Page