As marketers nothing is more important than communicating the message. But trying to do this via video has always been too expensive, hard to access and deploy and difficult to use without specialist technical knowledge. With the arrival of online video conferencing services though, marketers can use an Internet link to connect to clients and colleagues both within and outside their organisations, anywhere in the world. Following are my Top Tips for making the most of video conferencing, which is now truly a tool for everyday business use.
1) Save time and make it virtual –
Why travel when you can have a face-to-face meeting with not just one, but multiple colleagues or clients without ever leaving your desk? The quality available from today’s video conferencing solutions ensures that both sound and video are in-synch and in HD resolution.
2) Adopt an ‘always on’ policy and bring remote workers back into the office-
Our workforce is increasingly becoming remote from the central office, with employees or contract staff working from another location, even other countries. If you pick the right kind of video communications package, you won’t be charged any extra for keeping your video link ‘open’ so that remote workers are virtually connected to their team, improving productivity and staff morale.
3) Avoid ‘bill shock’ and pay a flat fee –
Know how much you are paying every month regardless of how many video calls you host or take part in. The right monthly subscription service guards against ‘bill shock’, the familiar sinking feeling after receiving an unexpectedly high bill, and you are free to connect by video conference 24/7 if you want to.
4) Share BIG data and collaborate –
Sharing presentations, sales and marketing reports, product development roadmaps, or even just Word files via a stable high quality video link enables easier collaboration, leading to faster completion of projects and an increase in productivity.
5) Gather your team on a regular basis for a face-to-face meeting –
From across the building to across the world, your team can be brought together seamlessly from multiple locations for a regular meeting. Online video comms are available from tablets and smartphones now, as well as desktop PC’s and traditional video conferencing room systems, no one needs to miss out and the cost of using video rather than audio could be considerably less.
6) Cross borders across the globe –
Geographical location is not a barrier. As long as you have an Internet connection, an online video conferencing service is accessible from a simple web link. Even poor, slow connections can be overcome enabling virtually face-to-face connections to be made from every corner of the globe.
7) Make unreliable Internet connections a thing of the past-
Good quality online video communications are built on proven technology with a unique architecture. This enables low latency calls, resulting in synchronised audio and video in even the most remote locations.
8) Access face-to-face meetings from any device, anywhere at any time –
You can video conference at your desk, on the bus, even in the bath if you want to. Access is through the Internet, which means that you can join a conference from your iPhone or tablet just as easily as joining from your laptop or desktop.
9) Improve communication in your organisation –
Where could your company benefit from instant, face to face contact? In human resources perhaps, or between the marketing department and sales? Internal conferencing is very easy and brings different departments together more effectively.
10) Cut out the IT middleman and make video comms a hardware free zone-
No more relying on the IT manager to connect the cables with the screen and make sure the hardware is compatible with the software. By communicating online the hard work has already been done and you simply click on the web link and you are in your conference.
11) Gain instant access to video communication without heavy upfront costs –
Because there is no hardware and no software either, there is almost nothing to pay upfront. A monthly subscription, for example, will give you unlimited access to video conferencing, so if you use it as planned, you will get a return on your investment before the first month is even finished.
12) Bring expertise directly to your screen –
You can invite anyone to communicate with you, and this includes professional experts. This provides you with instant access not only to clients, but also doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, professors and consultants wherever they happen to be located.
13) …and of course save money by cutting down on travel costs –
Once the main argument for video conferencing, but now, just one of 14. You do save money, not just on the costs of travel, but also on the time it takes to get from A to B and back again. Still an important consideration.
14) Wear what you like and still attend your meeting –
Within reason of course. Just make sure your camera is carefully angled!
