Spotlight 30: The virtual attendee experience in Zoho Backstage

In recent months, we’ve written quite a bit about how you can host virtual events with Backstage, from conducting virtual sessions and integrating with webcast services to virtual event networking and more. This time around, we thought we’d give you a glimpse of what things will look like for attendees during your virtual event.

Checking into the event

For virtual events, attendees can check into the event by themselves in Backstage by clicking the Check in button on the Home page. There will also be a horizontal banner at the top of the event microsite that informs them that the event has started and they should check in to attend live sessions. Lastly, if an attendee hasn’t signed into the event, they’ll be asked to sign in first and then check into the event.

Personalizing the agenda

Signed-in attendees can also plan the event day by bookmarking sessions they like. All they have to do is click the Bookmark icon to the right of a session in the Agenda tab. All bookmarked sessions will appear in the Your Sessions tab. Once they’ve chosen the sessions they’d like to attend on the event day, they can also add a reminder for those sessions in their personal calendars by clicking the Download button.

Participating in virtual sessions

Attendees can join live sessions by either clicking the banner at the top of the event microsite or from the Agenda tab. Once they’ve joined a session, they can ask the panelists questions (and upvote questions asked by other attendees) in the Questions tab, respond to polls from the Polls tab, and start a conversation with other attendees in the session from the Chat tab. They can also use the Request mic option to share screen space with the panelists and take an active part in the discussion.

Note: All of these options are particular to Backstage OnAir, our virtual events solution. If you’re using one of our integrations or a third-party webcast service, these options will vary.

Networking at the event

A common attendee goal is making connections. At virtual events, networking is completely dependent on the software the virtual event uses. In Backstage, attendees can network with each other and the speakers through discussion channels. This is a good place to create a community and talk about various topics. They can either create a public channel open to all event members or a private one open to a select few. From your side, you can also create a few themed channels and start discussions to get your attendees involved.

Another place where attendees can connect with each other is at the event gallery where they can post their photos and like and comment on other people’s photos.

That’s not all. The best part is that attendees can do all of this and more with the Zoho Backstage for Attendees mobile app.

Share this post with your attendees or send an email with this information to them so they can get a better understanding of how Backstage works and make the most of your event.

Subscribe to our forum to be updated with the latest Backstage news. If you have any feedback or questions, please write to us at support@zohobackstage.com.

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