Video conferencing tools have been around for decades, but it took a global pandemic for the popularity of the technology to really explode. What’s different today, though, is that there are newer, interactive features within the best video conferencing tools that make this software more engaging. Let’s look at six of the best video conferencing tools within collaboration software that improve the experience for end users.
Best Features for Video Conferencing Collaboration Tools
Video conferencing tools are some of the most important collaboration software that your company will use. This is particularly true if you have remote workers as part of your team. Video conferencing solutions today are feature-rich, allowing your company to connect with your internal and external audiences, without the expense and hassle of traveling to meet them face-to-face.
The best video conferencing tools let you collaborate and be more productive, sell more products, and even build a better culture with your remote staff. But it’s not just the video and audio alone that brings people together and makes your company more productive. Here are some of the must-have features to improve the experience and accomplish more during your next virtual meeting.
1. Chat tools allow for the same lively conversation that would occur in your office. Instead of, or in addition to, a full-on video conference or webinar, today’s chat features allow your teams to cross-collaborate by talking back and forth in real time without picking up the phone. Also called instant messaging, it’s the “instant” part of this dialogue that allows people to spontaneously share back and forth, capturing ideas quickly and providing support or feedback in real-time during a presentation.
The best video conferencing tools allow group chat or direct messaging, so that sidebar conversations can be captured, including emojis and texts during an online event.
2. Integrations with other software tools is a key feature of the best video conferencing tools. Look for a video conferencing solution that is web-based so that the tool can easily integrate with your existing software. Web-based video conferencing collaboration tools connect to your existing software through the use of powerful application program interfaces (APIs).
The benefit of this is easy to understand: If you’ve ever had to switch back and forth between multiple layers of software, retyping or cutting and pasting, you know how valuable video conferencing integration can be. Without it, you end up with a patchwork of software products that sometimes work against each other to slow down your productivity. Integration also allows you to build your own, customized front-ends that incorporate the video conferencing application application.
3. Polls engage your audience. If you’ve ever done a webinar without real-time audience feedback, you know how one-sided the conversation can feel. The best video conferencing tools allow collaboration via a polling tool. A polling feature asks the audience questions as part of your presentation. Then, you can incorporate this real-time feedback directly into your speech or session.
Polling opens a door to better audience engagement. A live poll goes beyond emojis and chat to hear what an audience wants, what their opinions are, and even confirms for the speaker that, yes, the audience is listening. You can use these video conferencing tools to better engage your audience at various points throughout a speech or presentation. You can use the data you gather after the conference to share polling details with your audience, as well as refresh their memory after the event is over. You could even work the polling into a blog or other content later on and keep the conversation going.
4. Screen sharing is such an important video conferencing collaboration tool that you may take it for granted. Visual aids are so important to meetings now for keeping everyone on the same page. Screen sharing of your desktop, presentation, or charts and videos can all help in keeping your teams engaged. Screen sharing can also save time; instead of trying to describe an edit on a document, or a change to a design, you can just show it. It gives meetings an efficiency boost that speeds up a collaborative process.
Screen sharing is also a point of interest for a video conference that allows for a visual display, instead of the camera just focusing on who is speaking. You can use screen sharing to toggle between documents and compare them. Run a slideshow or share files, show your desktop, and more—it’s all possible with screen sharing, which is why it’s one of the best video conferencing tools in use today.
5. Whiteboarding is a relatively new feature offered by video conferencing solutions and is very popular. The idea is that, in the same way you would whiteboard an idea in a collaborative in-office meeting, virtual whiteboarding allows people to take notes in real-time right in front of the participants. Incorporating a whiteboard into a video conference adds another visual layer that will keep your participants interested in what’s going on. This is crucial if the meeting is a long one.
Incorporating a virtual whiteboard lets you add documentation and brainstorming to a meeting where normally ideas or tasks would be jotted in the end users’ notebooks or on their laptops. Instead, the meeting facilitator has a tool that can capture ideas as they happen, documenting them for the team and improving accountability and engagement.
6. White labeling is powerful and versatile, however it isn’t available on every video conferencing collaboration tool out there today. But if you can find it (MegaMeeting offers white labeling), it’s one of the best video conferencing tools available today for increasing your customer engagement. White labeling works when your video conferencing solution allows you to rebrand their tool as your own.
Imagine an embedded video conferencing player right in your corporate website. The benefit is that your video conferencing tool will seem like an integrated part of your company instead of a disconnected third-party application. It can imprint your brand directly into the presentation that’s playing, making for a more personalized communication approach. It’s a seamless way for you to incorporate a “cool tool” directly into your brand image. Your customers won’t be distracted by the MegaMeeting logo, for example, but instead see your company's logo and colors; and will focus on one thing—your brand.
If you’re searching for the best video conferencing tools, look no further than MegaMeeting. We offer all of these features in a smart, web-based platform with no app or software to download. Our secure, fully encrypted solution is HIPAA compliant and can be fully branded with your organization’s logo, name and colors. Talk with a MegaMeeting representative and find out why our video conferencing collaboration tools are right for your business.
MegaMeeting solves the biggest challenges of modern video conferencing. For users, it is an all-in-one platform that delivers both video conferencing and webinars in a single, simplified interface. For attendees, it is 100% browser-based, making it highly accessible; joining a meeting is instantaneous from a single click. For enterprises, it is highly customizable, with white-labeling options for a private branded solution. For developers, it is API-driven and easy to integrate.
Powered by WebRTC, Node.js, React, and GraphQL, it is a cutting-edge platform that is fun and easy to use for users and developers alike.
