Can I schedule meetings in my expo booth?

Note: This feature is reserved for virtual events and enterprise customers. 

Exhibitors can now create meeting rooms and conduct meetings within their booths. This enables exhibitors to meet one-on-one with interested leads without waiting until after the event, which increases both conversions and ROI for event partners. 

Hosts can also pre-schedule meetings with potential customers or job candidates using booths, making it a versatile tool for your marketing and recruiting needs. 

In this article, learn how to build, customize and schedule meetings in your expo booth. (To skip straight to scheduling meetings, use the CTRL-F function or scroll down to "How to Schedule Meetings In Your Exhibitor Booth.") 

 

How to Create an Exhibitor Booth 

1. Log into BigMarker and select the series associated with your virtual event. Select the Main Series tab, then Manage Event (Beta). 

2. From there, you'll proceed to the Manage Virtual Event dashboard. On the left-hand side of this page, select Exhibitors. 

3. The Exhibitors tab lists all of the exhibitor booths in your Expo Hall. To create a new booth, select Create Booth. 

(To make changes to an existing booth, select Manage instead.) 

How to Access the Exhibitor Dashboard

There are two ways to enter your booth.

If you're an admin of your event, navigate to the exhibitor tab, then select Manage.

 

Exhibitors can also enter their booths via a personalized access link sent via email. Learn how to set up exhibitor access links below: 

1. To create your exhibitor's access link, enter their booth dashboard. Then select Launch Builder, which will redirect you to a preview of the booth. 

2. Click Save & Exit. From there, you'll proceed to the Manage Webinar tab of the booth.

3. Select the Presenter tab, then enter your exhibitor's information in the prompts that follow. 

4. Here, you'll create a profile for your exhibitor, set their access levels, and create their access link.

To send a personalized access link to your exhibitor, check Send presenter invitation email notification and send presenter reminder emails. Your exhibitor will receive an email with a personalized access link within minutes of the booth's creation, as well as reminder emails in the days leading up to the event. 

Note: If you want your exhibitor to be able to upload content to their booths, engage with attendees, independently, etc., make sure that you check Can Manage Webinar Page. 

The Booth Main Dashboard

On the Booth’s main dashboard,  you can view the audience for the Expo Booth, view current meetings and view/customize the settings of those meetings. You can also edit the booth, go-live in the booth and enter the booth. 

 

Booth Dashboard Settings 

From the Booth Dashboard, you can customize the settings, accessibility, and design for the booth.  On the right hand side, there is a Completion checklist, letting you know what has been completed for your Booth and what still needs to be completed. Additionally, the status of your Booth (published or unpublished) will be displayed for easy reference. 

You can select whether you would like your booth to be Automated (run on an automated timeline) or Live Interactive (a live event), and you can enter the booth to preview with Enter Booth buttons both at the top and next to the automation selections. 

There is also an option to share the attendee link for Booth Admins under the Share Booth section on the right. Copying and sending that link to anyone will give them access to the Booth Dashboard. 

Scrolling down, you will see all the general settings for the Booth. On each section, you will have the option to Edit the section, which will take you to the main page to Edit your booth. 

For the Booth Basics, you are able to edit the: 

• The Logo of the Booth 
• Exhibitor Name 
• Booth Size 
• Booth Title 
• Description of the Booth  

Scrolling past the Booth Basics, you will see the ability to edit and invite Expo Booth Staff, those presenters that are able to access the backend of your booth. Right off the bat, you can view the exhibitors, email their Join Expo Booth link, copy their personal link, and remove them if needed. Click the + to add more exhibitors. 

When adding more exhibitors, you will need to add them by their first name, last name and email address. In the message below, you can keep the original text or customize it if desired. Click Invite to invite the exhibitor. 

Additionally, you can manage their roles within the booth’s backend. There are 4 roles to select from (from most accessibility to settings to least): Booth Admin, Booth Builder, Booth Presenter, Meeting Builder. When the invite has been created, you will be able to go here to toggle their role. 

The Graphics tab is where you can add images to your Expo Booth. You can add images to the: Expo Hall Thumbnail, Expo Hall Mobile Thumbnail, Booth Logo, Booth Background and Sponsor Banners. For the Expo Hall Thumbnails and Booth images, the recommended pixel sizes are located right below each title. 

Click the Add link in the middle of each to search through files and add into your graphics. Click Edit to remove the image for a different one and Cancel to cancel the action. 

For the Sponsor Banners, click the + in the right hand corner to add sponsor banners. From there, add the Banner Image and Banner URL. 

In the Content tab, you can preload any content —  including presentations, presentations, videos, on-demand videos, polls, handouts and offers — to your booth. (Learn more about preloading content to your event here.) You can upload files to each section or in the case of video content, link a Youtube video. 

Any content that's already been uploaded will also appear on this page. Select edit to make changes or remove if needed, as shown below. 

In the Automation tab, you can create and manage your booth's automated timeline. (Learn more about creating automated timelines here.)  

In the Features tab, you can enable or disable engagement features — including Chat Panel permissions, Q&A, Polls, Offers, Handouts — for attendees. You can also choose whether or not to show the attendee list in the booth — and choose which panel will be the default for attendees. 

In the Settings tab, you can activate or deactivate specific automated emails for your booth.

First, enable emails for your booth by selecting Edit, then toggling emails On.

To design your email, click Customize. From there, you'll be redirected to the Email & Invitations tab, where you can further customize your emails. 

Use the webinar-confirmation-link token in your emails to redirect users to your meeting's confirmation page. 

Additionally, you have the option to edit your Expo Booth in our Classic Settings. At the bottom of each tab, click the three dots to be redirected to the Classic backend of the Booth where you can manage the settings from there. You can also delete the session, by clicking the three dots and then click Delete Session 

The Audience 

In the Audience tab is a list of booth visitors, along with their title and company information. 

How to Schedule Meetings In Your Exhibitor Booth  

1. Navigate to your booth dashboard, then select the Meeting Settings tab 

2. Toggle Allow Attendees to Book Meetings? ON. 

From here, you can adjust settings and permissions for your meetings.

First, create the meeting’s location. To do this, scroll to Meeting Location section and select Add Location. 

Then set the meeting's location by completing the following prompts: 

1. Select whether the location is Virtual or In-Person 
2. Under Location Name, give your meeting a title. 
3. Enter the time zone of the meeting 
4. Under Time Duration, enter the length of the meeting. 
5. Under Available Time and Dates, enter proposed dates and times.  
   1. Click Add Date to add more times and dates 
   2. To account for any breaks, schedule a meeting that will serve as your break time. For example, if attendees can schedule a 30-minute meeting any time from 9 AM-5 PM, but you want to take a break at 6 PM, schedule another meeting from 6 PM to 7 PM.   
6. Click Save to complete. 

Once saved, the Meeting tab will populate with available timeslots. You can edit the meeting if needed by clicking Edit or delete the meeting by selecting the three horizontal dots, then Delete. 

You can edit the confirmation and reminder emails for your meeting as well. To do this, select the Edit Confirmation & Reminder Emails (shown below). From there, you'll proceed to an email builder, where you can schedule, design, and edit confirmation and reminder emails for your meetings. (Learn more about creating automated emails on BigMarker here.) 

From there, navigate to the next section of Meeting Settings, where you will have the ability to customize and create the custom messages your attendees will receive when confirming a meeting with you. Click Customize at the top right-hand corner. 

 Customize your meetings message  by the options below: 

1. Title of the meeting 
2. The Sub URL (if desired) (Note: If the Sub URL is changed, then the Booking Link will be changed too.)
3. Questions to ask Attendees when Booking a meeting. There are a few standard questions pre-set to ask that you can change, enable on/off, or add more on. 
4. Make questions required or optional. Note: Any question that does not have the trash can icon is not able to have its required status changed.
5. Confirmation Message 
6. Enable on Email Reminders for attendees 15 minutes before the meeting 
7. Enable on auto accept emails, where attendees will automatically have the confirmation email accepted on their behalf. 
8. Click Save when finished 

This will set up your meeting space location and scheduling messaging. You will be able to view this meeting under the Meetings tab. 

The Meetings Tab

The Meetings tab lists all of the new, upcoming, and past meetings hosted in that booth.

For each meeting, you can see the date, time, included attendees, the attendee’s email and company, the type of meeting, and the meeting location. Here, you can also view the status of each meeting and deny meeting requests if needed. 

How can I jump into live meetings? 

You can also join live meetings by pressing the Join button (upcoming meetings are listed under the Upcoming Meetings section). 

How can I send scheduling links to my booth visitors? 

To send a scheduling link to attendees, select Copy Link under the Booking Page Link, then send it to your attendees via your booth's Chat Panel or Private Chat. You can also include this link in the Offers section of the booth, so attendees can schedule meetings at any time. 

To Enter the Booth 

To enter the booth, navigate to your booth's dashboard, then select Enter Booth. When entering the booth, this will be the main location for Exhibitors to chat with attendees and enter in the meeting’s booking link in the Offer sections for attendees to set up meetings. 

To add pre-loaded Offers to your Booth, follow the instructions here.  You can also add your Booking Link to the Offer section within the Booth by clicking Add Offers on the bottom engagement panel. 

When entering the booth, exhibitors will have the opportunity to conduct a quick system check (What is covered in a system check can be found here) before entering the Booth. It is important to note that when Exhibitors enter the booth, the booth is separate from the meeting room. Meetings are only accessible by clicking Join on the Meetings tab.  

When attendees go to schedule a meeting, they will click the Booking Link and be redirected to the first steps in the scheduling process. Watch below to see a video of this in action: 

In this video, learn how to add meeting links to offers in your expo booth – and how attendees can book meetings in expo booths. 

To learn more about Expo Halls, click the link below: 

• How to Create your Virtual Event’s Expo Hall