Amidst COVID-19 concerns and coronavirus quarantine policies, working from home has become a new reality for many companies. As such, video conferencing and online meetings have quickly become the new normal. We thought we would share our top tools for webinars and conferences to keep your communications running smoothly.
While a full quarter of the U.S. workforce already works from home, many businesses weren’t fully prepared to take their workflow completely remote – and if you’re looking for quick solutions for your team, you’re not alone. Many companies have had to scramble for a quick solution that will keep day-to-day operations sustained for what seems like an indefinite period of time.
It’s not all bad news, though: This is a great opportunity for many businesses to modernize their systems, allowing them to stay prepared for more crises to come – both small, like travel delays and weather mishaps, and large, like the pandemic we find ourselves facing today. It is also an opportunity for businesses to put their business continuity plans into practice, which should include cybersecurity standards to keep company and client data safe while working from home.
There are a few key functions that any remote conferencing and webinar tool needs to have to make your company’s transition as seamless as possible: The ability to meet virtually as a team, of course, plus the ability to offer managerial support, check-in with employees daily, schedule meetings, facilitate instant messaging, and create time for basic social interactions. It’s a lot of boxes to tick, but as businesses have made working from anywhere more and more feasible over the years, more and more platforms have stepped up to the plate to ensure that working from home is a piece of cake.
Social distancing doesn’t mean that your productive meetings, webinars, and conferences need to come to a halt. There are several useful software options with tools that incorporate screenshare, video, audio, and interactive collaboration. Here are our top 3 recommendations to keep your business communications running smoothly while working remotely:
Microsoft Teams capitalizes on the infrastructure of the entire Office 365 platform, making it a no-brainer for companies who already utilize the product suite. Aptly named, it facilitates team management for up to 10,000 people, making space for meetings, company-wide events, presentations, and check-ins of almost any size.
More features include:
Some of the major pros for Microsoft Teams includes:
There are a few cons, too, depending on what your existing platforms are:
The price for Microsoft Teams varies. It’s included with Office 365 Business or Enterprise accounts, which means you may already have access to this awesome tool. You can also sign up for the free version so long as you and your employees have Microsoft email addresses. This is also what makes it difficult to compare the price of Teams to other conferencing platforms – all the other Office 365 apps come with it! If you’re looking for a major update for your business that will last far beyond the coronavirus pandemic, this may be your best bet.
Prices for the various Office 365 accounts, all of which have different benefits beyond Teams, are as follows:
Zoom is perhaps one of the top tools for webinars and conferences. It’s easy to set up, easy to use, and integrates with most web browsers, email platforms, and sales tools. Zoom is a great option for companies who use video conferencing and webinars to communicate with their audience in addition to their staff, thanks to robust marketing automation.
Features include:
The major pros of Zoom include its ability to track attendee information in detail, the way it aggregates meeting and webinar data, and its ability to allow multiple people to facilitate presentations. Zoom is unquestionably one of the top tools for webinars and conferences.
Other pros are:
Cons:
Prices for the different levels of Zoom are:
Last but certainly not least is GoTo Meeting and GoTo Webinar. Like our other recommendations, GoTo offers screensharing, virtual meeting, business messaging, personal meeting room, and dial-in conference capabilities.
It has a number of other fun, useful features that are unique to their brand, too:
GoToMeeting has impressive security measures as well: It has SSL encryption, is HIPAA-compliant, and uses risk-based authentication to prevent shady, unwelcome guests from entering a meeting.
Other pros include:
Cons:
GoTo Meeting and GoTo Webinar offer a free seven-day trial. After the first week, the prices are:
The best things about all of these virtual conference and webinar tools? They offer more than safeguarding against future catastrophes. Each of these platforms creates global, efficient meeting options that can be a boon even when everyone is back at the office.
COVID-19 has been a major setback for many companies, but it also offers the opportunity to make your business workflow modern, flexible, and resilient. Use these top tools for webinars and conferences and your teams will stay connected during these challenging times.
And working from home doesn’t mean that your marketing efforts should stop. Now is the time to consider what can be done to adjust your marketing strategy and tactics. Need some help? Contact Gate 39 Media.
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