Unifying voice and video was a long-standing vision of the 20th Century and made possible in the 1990s with increasing Internet speeds and more powerful CPUs. Fast forward to modern day, and you’ll find video conferencing has become a crucial business tool that can be utilized in several ways by small business owners and large corporations alike.
Ways to Use Video Conferencing Today
Video conferencing is not just for business purposes. In today’s fast-paced, technology-rich world, just about anyone with a broadband connection can participate in video conferencing, and it is increasingly being used in the classroom as well as at home. However, here are some of the unique ways your business can use video conferencing today.
One-on-One Meetings
You may not always be able to have face-to-face meetings with your staff or team. Video conferencing is an excellent way to connect with coworkers while they are on-the-go, in satellite offices, or working from home. This is especially important when your team members are not in a position to meet frequently. Having a face to go with a voice helps create relationships, increasing collaboration and productivity.
Speed Up Recruitment
Recruiting expenses are costly for a company as potential candidates are pre-screened and selected for interviews. Video conferencing helps eliminate some of these costs by allowing management and hiring staff to give initial candidate interviews without the expense of travel. By the same token, video conferencing allows businesses to deepen the talent pool by expanding the recruiting area, ensuring the best possible candidates are selected for future in-house interviews.
Training and Announcements
Your staff may be spread across the globe, or your company may have an important message to share with its employees. Video conferencing allows businesses to set up corporate-wide video transmissions for training and announcement purposes. Though video transmission is usually limited to one-way, participants can make comments or participate in Q&A sessions that are moderated by those managing the communication.
Mobile Tours
Video conferencing is not limited to the studio, and today’s mobile technology and broadband connections allow users to take audio and video mobile. Mobility is helpful when giving corporate tours or remote inspections at facilities. Being able to visit a remote location or show off your facility to teams, management, and clients helps to make connections.
Video and Screen Sharing
Video conferencing allows you to share both video and personal screen for in-person or remote meetings. Screen sharing helps the presenter demonstrate ideas intended to support the purpose of the meeting and is particularly helpful when reporting and in closing sales and deals. Increasing video conferencing usage for sales also means the sales team will spend less time traveling and more time with prospective and current clients.
Stream Your Event Online
If you are planning an offline event, you can stream it for those who are unable to attend in person. Broadcasting your offline event online allows you to reach a greater audience and increase participation or sales.
Host a Paid Webinar
Video conferencing can be used to host paid webinars, where prospective participants register and pay to gain secure access to a live webinar. Like training webinars, video transmission may only be one-way and depends on the size of the conference must also be taken into consideration. However, participants are usually allowed to make comments and participate in Q&A sessions during and after the presentation is given.
Video Conferencing is Not Just for Business
In today’s world, video conferencing is not just for corporate meeting rooms and companies. As faster, more powerful technology penetrates the environments in which we operate, we find more ways to use this technology. Video conferencing in the classroom is a perfect example of how the field of education has been able to implement this technology in beneficial ways.
Video Conferencing in the Classroom
Classes can take virtual field trips to distant places, allowing students to experience different cultures, geographies, and history like never before. Learning becomes even more personal when connecting new people and experts in a vast array of fields, whom students can then ask questions and receive instant answers. Video conferencing in the classroom also gives students greater access to courses not offered at their schools and helps educators develop well-rounded curriculums at lower costs.
Getting More Done Now
The uses for video conferencing are limited only to the imagination, but selecting the right software and provider is a major factor in delivering high-quality audio and video. With video conferencing, you save the cost of travel in terms of time and money, which allows you to direct your efforts towards things that matter more. Connecting your team, management, and clients at all your satellite locations also increases productivity and success. In today’s fast-paced, globally connected world, video conferencing helps to secure the human element in place.
