In-person interaction might be at an all-time low, but that doesn’t mean we want zero interaction! Virtual conferences and events are rapidly becoming our best replacement for social connections. It’s a new playing field for many, and Zoho Backstage is here to make sure your virtual events go just as smoothly as your three-dimensional ones. Manage your events, without chaos or confusion, all from the comfort of your couch.
What is Zoho Backstage?
First, create your event websites with tiered ticket sales and payment collection, all without any code. Then, promote your event with scheduled emails, social media posts, and banner ads. Finally, conduct interactive virtual events, capturing per-session audience analytics for later review. Zoho Backstage bakes that all into a single online app. Backstage is an enterprise event management that anyone can use.
Zoho Backstage OnAir extends Backstage by providing basic webcasting functionality. This can be modularly expanded with Zoho Meeting, Zoom, WebEx, or other popular webcasting platforms.
Pre-built websites for every step
When you create an event in Zoho Backstage, you also create its website. Backstage comes with appealing pre-built website templates for registration, ticketing, attendance, session management, and more, all displayed on your brand’s domain. Also, registration forms are built with simple drag-and-drop tools, collecting information digitally and, if configured, integrating it with other Zoho database products.
Zoho Backstage’s ticketing platform is robust and capable, with multiple ticketing classes available alongside promo codes, discounts, sponsorship levels, and promotional purchases. Zoho takes no commission on event ticketing and integrates with every popular payment processor for timely payouts. Backstage’s website templates are modern and mobile-optimized, with the features you need to quickly build out a powerful and complete system just in time for your next debut—all with no coding required.
Masterful marketing, preloaded
Each event website includes social media integration for improved network SEO and greater audience reach. Natively connected with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, your event website is ready for you to go viral.
Outside of social media, you can share your event directly by URL, or announce the newest updates to your most dedicated fans over email, using Zoho Mail or your own email provider. Use promo codes to encourage early registration, and produce digitally-branded event “badges” to prominently display sponsorship information.
Interactive multimedia sessions
Event sessions don’t have to be a one-way broadcast. With Backstage OnAir and other webcasting services, you can produce interactive multimedia sessions that will wow attendees, even if they’re sitting in their living room.
Boost attendee engagement with live attendee chat. Get feedback and have some fun with session polls. Additionally, illustrate your point with a digital whiteboard. Easily share session material in PDF or other file formats, and illuminate as needed.
Remember too, that right now, your event’s website is the event. So don’t be afraid to jazz it up! While embedded playlists would be awful in any other case, they’re perfect for setting the mood on your event microsite on the event day. Use vibrant imagery, embedded video, live streams, and whatever you can to get people engaged with the website.
Add a live chat for attendees. You can recreate the exciting, chaotic environment of a convention hall—at least in function, if not form. Also, dedicate a specific time for networking. You can ensure everyone gets the chance to connect in a less formal environment, retaining an in-person event’s most valuable feature.
Livestream and Webcast with Backstage OnAir
Depending on your event’s format, live-streaming to the public can be a great way to connect with a greater audience. With Backstage OnAir, up to 200 people can view your webcasts simultaneously. Also, for additional capacity, you can integrate with your existing webcast service provider. Backstage OnAir plugs into your current webcasting software of choice, coordinating and integrating with the most popular platforms effortlessly.
You might also choose to broadcast segments of the event later. Or, preserve an archive for your attendees. But either way, there’s value in the video content you’re creating. Don’t just let it fly by unrecorded!
Producing an Effective Virtual Event
It’s not easy to keep an audience engaged from afar. Producing a successful virtual event is about more than just the paperwork. But with Zoho Backstage to take care of the details, you can find the time you need to upgrade your event from good to great. Whether you’re presenting or producing, you’ll find useful affordances to simplify your life and take care of the details. Do what you do best. Let the software handle the rest.
Drop us a line and we would be happy to see what we can do to fill that gap!
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Are you looking to give Zoho Backstage a try? Here is a free trial to see if it is a fit for your business.
