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

    • Adding New Domain to Zoho mail

      Hi, I have one Zoho account already called for example "Awesome Animals". Under this account I have one domain already setup with zoho mail, example: - awesomecats.com I have another website as well which I want to add under this "Awesome Animals" account,

    • I cannot receive emails.

      I need help, I've tried everything but I still can't receive emails from other people. I can send it but I can't receive emails, When I created the email it was all in order and suddenly I can't get emails from anyone anymore.

    • Incoming Gmail Email Not Coming Into Zoho

      My outbound email from Zoho is working, but when people respond to the email, it's not coming back into Zoho. I can see it when I'm in Gmail, but it's not in Zoho.

    • Não foi possível enviar a mensagem;Razão:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

      Preciso de ajuda não consigo enviar emails,conta recen criada

    • Average Costing / Weighted Average Costing

      Hello fellow maadirs. I understand Zoho Books uses FIFO method of dealing with inventory costing, but do you guys have any plans to introduce average costing? We indians need average costing. It's part of our culture. Please. I beg thee. Thanks.

    • Credit note

      By mistake I issued credit note in Jan 2025 for the invoice related to Dec 2024. Now I want to delete this credit note but anable to do so. Need help in this

    • CRM formula field help

      Hello! i was hoping to get some help with a formula i'm creating within a module. I'm looking to make a formula that changes based on a date field but based upon the present date. This is the formula i have so far: If(Now() < ${Instructors.Start Date},

    • Change to copy/paste functionality in Deluge code editor

      Recently there was a change to the Deluge code etidor where it now inserts backslashes into strings automatically when copying/pasting strings with double quotes, it's a nightmare to have to go delete all these. Is it possible to toggle this on or off?

    • BANK FEED - MAYBANK , provider from YODLEE IS NOT WORKING

      As per topic, the provider YODLEE is not working for the BANK FEED. It have been reported since 2023 Q3, and second report on 2023 Q4. now almost end of 2024 Q1, and coming to 2024 Q2. Malaysia Bank Maybank is NOT working. can anyone check on this issue?

    • Canadian payroll

      Hello ZOHO, is any updates on when payroll for Canada will be available?

    • Default reminders on Emails

      I have seen that it is possible to set, for each email, a reminder when the email remains unresponded for some time. This is very useful, so useful that I would like to set it for all my emails, by default. Because an unanswered email usually requires

    • in zoho assist I would like to temporarliy go into view only mode

      During a zoho assist remote support / remote control session, I would like an option to turn off control, and go into view only mode. Then later, turn back on control, all within the same session. (Many other remote login apps have this feature.) For

    • Zoho notes list issue

      Hi team, Suddenly my extension is not working and I could not find the extension in my marketplace list anymore. Extension version deprecated This version of the extension is no longer in use. Please update the extension and try again.

    • Assignment Rule: Immediate Ticket Assignment to Agents Upon Shift Start

      Dear Zoho Desk Team, I hope this message finds you well. Currently, when the option to assign tickets to offline agents is turned off, agents who come online during their shift have to wait for about 30 minutes before any tickets from the queue are assigned

    • Change email template depending on answer from form

      Is it possible to set up the following in Zoho Desk: When a user submits a ticket via the Zoho Help Center's form, they can select an answer from a dropdown field. In this example, the dropdown options are 'Option A' and 'Option B.' If a user selects

    • Kaizen #171: FAQs on COQL API

      Hello all!! Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series! In this post, we will address some of the most frequently asked questions about Zoho CRM's COQL API from the Zoho CRM Developer Community Forum. COQL API Query API lets you query for records

    • Issue with Date Placeholder Formatting in Ticket ID Customization

      Hello Support Team, I'm experiencing an issue with the date placeholder formatting in Zoho Desk's Ticket ID customization. Specifically, when using the `{{DD}}` placeholder for the day in the prefix or suffix, the output displays the day as a single digit

    • Time Field

      Good Day, I have a question, when I save a draft and reload it. Why does the time field format keeps goes from hh:mm to hh:mm:ss? Is there a way I can force it to load to hh:mm only? I have tried example = totime(input.TimeField, "hh:mm") in the -created

    • Feature Req - See imap emails in Timeline tab of a deal

      In many other CRMs such as pipedrive and hubspot, when you are looking at the timeline of a deal you can also see snippets of emails that have been sent or received and then click to view the full message. This gives users a fast way to catch up on EVERYTHING

    • HOW TO: Searching a thread (email body/text) with a custom function, allowing filtering and specific actions

      We are still trialing out Zoho at this time, but have found a major expected feature to be missing - the ability to search within the text of an email for automation/workflows. NOTE: You need to create a connection for zohodesk under settings -> Developer

    • Partnership Proposal for Supporting Number Porting Services in Singapore

      Dear Zoho Representative’s, I hope this message finds you well. My name is Honelito Gilos, and I represent Borderless Hub Pte Ltd (Singapore). We are a Telco here in Singapore specialising in providing seamless number porting services, and I’m reaching

    • Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

      How to automatically prefill a form with existing Zoho CRM data? Prefilled forms can be useful when you want your prospects to view and confirm their data, and in a wide range of other situations. In Zoho Forms, we prefill the fields with the values from Zoho CRM using the Zoho CRM field. What is a Zoho CRM field? A Zoho CRM field acts as a two-way communication channel, by sending data to Zoho CRM from forms and fetching information from CRM into Forms. The field will look up data from your CRM

    • Transform Your Customer Support with AI-Powered Chatbots in Zoho SalesIQ

      Ever wondered how some companies seem to have superhuman customer support? Let's uncover their secret! In the digital age, customer expectations are skyrocketing. Did you know that according to McKinsey, 75% of consumers expect a response within five

    • Quickbooks conversion and Internet sales

      Hello, we are considering converting from Quickbooks enterprise to Zoho Books and using MonotorZ for our mrp needs. Today we import Internet sales under a single customer with multiple ship to addresses. We want to maintain the detail in CRM for marketing

    • How to add two columns in Zoho forms

      I would like to have two columns in Zoho forms. How can i enable two columns?

    • When creating Sales Order / Estimate via API, the line item Tax Code does not get pulled in.

      I'm creating Sales Orders via API from CRM but it does not pull in the "Tax Code" I've read within the forums that this should be done automatically but it's not happening. Not sure if it's a bug or by design? Anybody else know? Should we be adding the

    • Chart showing schedule

      I want to be able to create a chart for everyday to check and which of which driver is available on the timeframe. Here's my table Name City Day Start Time End Time Driver1 Medicine Hat Monday 11:45 AM 4:45 PM Driver 2 Medicine Hat Tuesday 11:00 AM 7:00

    • Quais são os maiores desafios que você enfrenta ao implementar o Zoho CRM?

      Olá, pessoal da comunidade Zoho Brasil! Sou parceiro autorizado da Zoho e, ao longo do tempo, tenho notado que cada implementação de CRM traz desafios únicos, dependendo do segmento de negócio, das metas da empresa e até da familiaridade da equipe com

    • 2025 Just Got More Exciting for Developers!

      Hello, Greetings to the Zoho Books Community! As we step into the New Year, we're thrilled to roll out something truly special for our Zoho Finance enthusiasts – the "Zoho Finance Developer" Community! This is your exclusive space to connect with fellow

    • Error in executing On user input script

      I'm having problems with this  this script : ; Tipo_list=List(); Tipo_rec = Tabla_factores[Periodo == input.Periodo_anos.toLong()]; Tipo_list.addAll(Tipo_rec.Clase_credito.getall()); for each Clase_credito in Tipo_list { Tipo_credito:ui.add(Clase_credito) } Error in executing On User Input script of Periodo en años. Error. Error in executing Fetch Record task. Unable to fetch Tabla_factores and update variable Tipo_rec. Error in evaluating the criteria : Error. Error evaluating NUMERIC expression

    • sync data from outside of zoho plateform

      hii team , i am creating a platform using zoho platform, i want to sync the data from out side of the platform like people-soft, but i am not able to sync the data , if it is possible , then suggest me how can i do it , i want to sync data from other

    • How to add a Data Updated As Of: dynamically in text?

      I need to add a "Data Updated As Of" in the dashboard to show when was the last date the data was updated. I tried to create a widget but it does not look really good, see below. Is there a way I can do this through the text widget and update it automatically

    • Automate search in customer list and easilly initiate email

      Hello and happy new year ! I have a customer list with name, telephone, emails and some criterias like location, type of customer, etc. I want to search that form to extract part of it, for example all customers that have a location of "Québec city" and

    • "Select All" item in the context menu

      In the Client on Android, there is a “Select all” item in the note’s context menu. There is no such item in the PC client. Can it be added in future versions of the client?

    • Syncing Leave Calendar With Shared Google Calendar Does Not Remove Canceled Leaves

      Our organization has each employee sync their Leaves calendar with a shared Google calendar, but am I right that if an employee cancels a Leave in Zoho that it will not be removed automatically from the shared Google calendar through the same sync m

    • Is it possible to display formulas in cells instead of calculated results?

      I want to export my Zoho sheet as tab separated text without losing the formulas. In excel, I would use the settings Options - Advanced - show formulas in cells instead of their calculated results then save as tab separated values. How do I do this in

    • Creator Simplified #11: Create a custom button to download files

      Hey there! This time, let's see how to create custom buttons to download the files uploaded in the file upload field. Sample use-case A training app has a module that provides the materials for all the available courses. Students can click on the corresponding

    • Batch Tracking Enhancements In Zoho Inventory

      Hello users, We’re excited to announce that we’ve taken batch tracking to a whole new level in Zoho Inventory! We’ve made it more accessible and easier to use than ever. Here’s a quick look at the improvements: 1) A New Way To Create or Modify Batches

    • Zoho Desk Mobile App Year-End Roundup - 2024

      Hello Everyone, Greetings! As you gear up for the festive season, we are excited to share a quick journey into all that is released in 2024! Availability of each feature in iOS and Android released in 2024 are as follows: For more information on the above

    • Task Completion vs Estimated Time

      I need to represent the Estimated Date vs Actual Completion Date for multiple Tasks. How Can I Do this in Zoho Analytics.

    • Next Page