Posts Tagged ‘Video Conferencing’

Webinar 101

Lucas Mattioneli asked:




You probably have heard of video conferencing before but what about webinar? What is this term exactly? Well to put it simply, it is basically a web conference that is directed towards an audience from its speaker. This method of conferencing is different from the other conferences because it is usually one-way and the audience will not be able to interact with the speaker during the conference. To put things simple it is just a seminar done on the web; hence that is how the word itself came about, using the combination of ‘website’ and ‘seminar’ put together.

Webinars are most often used for marketing purposes such as introducing a new product or service to a large audience online. What happens is that the speaker will be delivering information on his video and the audience will be able to watch it online.

A webinar is mostly done in real-time. So preparation before these sessions are held is just as important as the content. That’s because you need to make sure your audience are tuned in at the specific time when the webinars are being conducted. If they are late for it, then they could have missed the earlier part of the webinar.

During the conference session is being presented, audiences will be only watching it and unable to converse with the speaker. However, polls or a chat box would be available for the audience to submit their queries should there be any. After the whole entire session is over, the speaker will then check the questions and will reply them depending on the speaker themselves. There will also be surveys that are conducted in real-time so that the speaker will know what the audience’s response is as well.

After the live online seminar session is finish, the video of the conference would most likely be saved as a replay. That way, audiences who missed the live session the first time will be able to watch it again some other time. This also benefits the speaker since he only has to do the presentation one time and not have to repeat it again.

Webinars are also very effective because of the mass audience it is able to reach in a short period of time. Unlike live seminars where there is a limit to the number of people you can deliver your speech to, this form of online seminar conferencing has an unlimited number of audience. That is because webinars are channeled through the internet which has a vast audience.

There are many ways that this form of online seminar can be fully utilized. For example, a sales representative no longer has to travel all over the country just to give the same presentation countless of times. All he needs to do is to make a video and upload it to the internet. Besides that, webinars can also be used to demonstrate work or tutorials for customers.

Not only does webinars save time and money, it is also very efficient and affordable. A person does not need to spend a fortune to create his own webinar at all. Nowadays, there are many websites that offer free tutorial on how to create your own webinar easily. All it takes is a little time and you will have created a marketing tool targeting the whole world.

Louis

6 Tips on Planning a Successful Video Conference

Alexander Ehrenzweig asked:




Video conferencing is a useful business tool that brings close people located all over the world. The magic of videoconferencing is that it has erased all borders, cut down travel time, as well as costs. Companies as well as research units can choose to conduct important business meetings as well as training modules by using videoconferencing.

The steps to planning a successful video conference are simple. First you need to decide on a day and time taking into consideration time zones and holidays.

1. Send out a notification to all concerned about the videoconference and confirm attendance.

2. Decide on a format for the videoconference and ensure smooth functioning by checking whether all participants have the necessary equipment.

3. When choosing a venue think about audio and video quality. The room should be simple and windows must be ideally behind the videoconferencing system or covered with blinds. Choose the right seating arrangement considering aspects like audio echo. Light furniture and an amply lit room with florescent lights are recommended. If the walls are blue its ideal. Insulate the room from external sounds as far as possible.

4. Check whether you have a suitable network connection. It should be a digital network service such as an IP or ISDN service. Consult your local VSGi representative. You will need a Lan connection, suitable power sockets, and cable runners or conduits.

5. Arrange for equipment such as a second monitor of size 27” to 60” plasmas, a VCR or DVD player, document camera, auxiliary camera, lap tops, wired or wireless touch control panels and so on. In case of doubt take professional help.

6. General tips for a videoconference are:

a. Ask participants to be seated at least 10-15 minutes before the conference begins.

b. Send out a short note to all speakers on how to speak/present slides at a video conference.

c. Position the camera such that all participants will be within view.

d. Every one needs to speak normally just as in a face to face meeting. There will be no need to speak louder.

e. Avoid shuffling of feet or papers. Microphones will pick up all sounds even whispers.

f. Use normal meeting etiquettes.

The World Wide Web has changed significantly the way the world functions. Today e-meetings or videoconferences are common place and participants can be in any corner of the world and yet be present in the meeting. Participants can exchange ideas, present slides and data, discuss and debate issues and interact just as they would in face-to-face meetings. Participants will just be seated in their own offices instead of a conference room. Video conferencing has become state of art with excellent sound and picture quality and the process saves business considerable amounts of time as well as money.



Pearl

Video Conferencing Makes Doing Business Easier

Ajeet Khurana asked:




Twenty years ago no one would have ever dreamt of something as sophisticated as video conferencing, but today this is a really convenient way to do business. More and more businesses are taking advantage of this high tech ability to do business even if they are half a world away from one another. When you have the need to speak with people from other offices, even if they are in different parts of the world, video conferencing makes it simple and straightforward.

Benefits of Video Conferencing

Many businesses have adopted video conferencing because they believe that it actually increases production. When people are able to meet face to face in their respective offices or locations and brainstorm or simply see eye to eye on topics it will energize everyone involved in any given project, which generally results in more productivity. This is something that more businesses are picking up and they like the increase in productivity so much that they are willing to continue the video conferences for that benefit alone.

Another aspect that a lot of corporations like about video conferencing is that it can actually save money. The reason for this is that people from different offices no longer need to be in the same geographical location to get things done together. Instead employees can meet and discuss things, even share physical progress on projects because they are linked via video. Video conferencing is much more economical than flying several employees to another location, paying for lodging and food. This is simply a more efficient means of communication.

One more benefit of video conferencing that cannot be overlooked is that it actually saves time. Sounds odd, but when you consider that employees will no longer need to spend work time traveling, there is time to be maximized. Employees will have a lot less travel time, which is usually time that cannot be utilized, and so more will be able to get done in less time. This goes hand in hand with saving money and an increase in productivity, since there will be more time to get things done in.

Video conferencing is relatively new to the world of business but it works. There are many different services that will provide video conferencing capabilities to businesses, whether they need the service once a month or once a day. Shop around a bit to see what is out there and how video conferencing can benefit your business. You’ll likely be impressed at how easy it is to set up these services and put them to use for your company. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re involved in, chances are that you can use video conferencing services to build a better business.



Chris

Web Video Conferencing in the New Millennium

Magdi Mikhail asked:




Are you in need of something that can boost your business by more than half and still be able to save on the cost of production? Do you want to be able to monitor your factories and met with your staff on a regular basis though you are miles away from corporate? Web videoconferencing allows you to work on these things without having to worry about cost and impact on the business.

All that you need to do is just a website away. The need for expensive equipment has also been taken away since all the equipment you would need is inside the Internet and all of it is waiting for you. So let’s start web videoconferencing.

So how exactly does web videoconferencing works? Well, like the name suggests its videoconferencing through the web or the Internet. A participant needs a computer to start off and Internet access. Basically that’s all you need. Other things that may or may not be necessary are web cams, web conferencing software and a website to conduct the virtual meeting. Usually websites may refer to URL’s that act as the conference room for the meeting.

There are different kinds of web videoconferencing and different kinds of purposes. First one is the web meeting (web videoconferencing), this usual kind of web conference that let’s participants interact in a controlled Internet environment. Usually CEO’s and business executives have web meetings when they are out of town and on business. Not only can they visit their site often they can keep close tabs on people. Usually Web conferencing allow people on the go to keep up with the requirements of the office.

Live video is another kind of conferencing over the Internet or what young people call video chat. live video or video chat is just like text chatting only it’s done through the web cam. Just like web video conferencing live video is more or less like it in purpose and setup. While web videoconferencing uses software to support the video format of the live video this is because of the limited number of formats that can be streamed over the web.

Another kind of web conferencing tool is VoIP or Voice over the Internet Phone. The concept of VoIP is no longer new to us. Some people have started using VoIP software and sites as their primary phone for business, personal and technology use. Because of it’s virtual endless capacity to call inside and outside countries and not to mention computer call functionality.

That means even without a regular or mobile phone people can communicate anytime anywhere. Now if you apply that to whatever your web videoconferencing needs that you have, you are sure to get your money’s worth.

And lastly a dedicated Internet website that would cater to all the web conferencing needs that you have. As the name mentions it is a dedicated server that acts as the conference room of your company and a gateway for all other video conferencing you will have even outside the company.

Since this is a new tool for your company to use in it’s quest to become one of the best in the world, it would be wise to master all the requirements and the processes of web videoconferencing to reap the best results from it.

Edith

Information About Video Conferencing – What You Need To Know

Shakir A. asked:




Video conferencing is the technique of meeting in a group over a network employing video and audio transmission technology and equipment. Armed with information about video conferencing businessmen, technologists, scientists and government heads started to explore ways to bring the world closer together and enable meetings of many people located in different parts of the globe. Video conferencing is the process of being able to see and interact with a group of people located at any point of the world at the same time.

Increased information about video conferencing has enabled even small businesses and organizations to communicate virtually face to face and not being in the same room at the same time. Businesses find this the most convenient way to interact with partners across the globe. Medical service providers such as surgeons have been known to use their information about video conferencing to provide invaluable advise to doctors treating patients half way across the globe. Doctors can view the patients and advise their colleagues about the treatment that must be administered to the patient. Surgeons have been known to conduct operations in distant countries through video conferencing; they observe the operation being conducted by a surgeon and advise him through the conferencing. This would not have been possible in the early 1990’s as the video quality was very low and the connectivity of the video conferencing was not too good either.

Today the general man-in-the-street can use video conferencing software like any professional. Desktop video conferencing has brought the world closer and bridged the divide of the oceans for many a family. Information about video conferencing has given expansion opportunities for education and communication like no one ever expected. Someone somewhere has availed of the benefits that information about video conferencing has provided to the world. This is a technology that has achieved a lot in a few years and still has a very long way to go. Video conferencing enables scientists on the earth to communicate with astronauts in space, Generals to observe the activities on the frontlines, Doctors to monitor the progress of patients from distant lands, scientists to take part in crucial experiments from different countries at the same time and the old grand parents to have a look at the newborn grandchild just a few minutes after birth.

The information about video conferencing that you need is available all over the Internet. You need to know what video conferencing is, what you can use it for, what is the technology available to you and what is the equipment you need to set up video conferencing. In the past there was just the ISDN line linking the Internet across the world. Then there was the limited video compressing technology that could enable video transmission across the Internet. Businesses and organizations were unable to put video conferencing to its greatest use as they were bound to the limited technology at the time. The more their information about video conferencing technology advanced the better equipped they became to put it to wider use.

Anita

Web Conferencing Services

Tom Cruz asked:




If you want to get started with online meetings, there are many different types of web
conferencing services you can purchase to help meet your needs. These include such
services as Webinar, Gotomeeting, Webex, the GlobalTalk and more. What you need to
look at when choosing the service you want is not only the price, but the type of
equipment that is required and how many people you can have at one meeting. You really
do need to look for a service you can use with any browser.

If you are in a business where you need to be in constant communication with people and
partners in other locations, services for web conferencing can save you thousands of
dollars. You can be in touch with people all over the world in real time. Such services
allow you to conduct meetings and conferences with groups of people online. The
participants can view presentations, give feedback and interact with one another through
chat rooms, video conferencing and interactive boards. Sharing desktops is another
feature you can employ with such a service and you can still give power point
presentations, just as you would in a face-to-face meeting.

When you engage this type of service for your business, you have a conference room in
cyberspace from which you can communicate with employees and customers. This is the
perfect way to provide training or to make presentations to groups of people you
otherwise would have to travel to connect with. In order to compete in the modern world
of business, services that give you web conferencing capabilities are essential. You can
book a web conference on a minutes notice and you can record it for follow up or to
review the feedback of the participants. When problems develop, now you have the tool
at your fingertips to allow you to handle the problem from your office.

Ben

Sales Conferencing – How To

David CJ Jones asked:




The advent of the Internet has caused many ripples in the sales world, one of the major ones being sales conferencing. This is a method of conducting a sales presentation or sales demo using the Internet for the visual portion of the presentation over the Internet and the audio over the phone or the Internet.

Benefits to Sales Conferencing

There are many advantages that companies have found in doing sales conferencing for their sales presentations. The major one is the cost savings that comes with replacing traveling for in person meetings with this video conferencing sales method. A typical sales trip can cost anywhere from $500 – $1,000 per day with airfare, car rental, hotel room and dining as well as any other additional costs like parking and other amenities. The cost savings can be very significant if sales reps are required to take multiple sales trips per month.

Another great benefit to web sales conferencing is being able to do more sales presentations in a short amount of time. A typical sales trip maybe able to get in 3-5 sales presentations per day if the sales rep is efficient and packs his day in. By using this video conferencing sales method, you can drastically increase the number of sales presentations that you can do. Some sales reps are able to do sales conferencing sessions every hour if there are able to get attendees on.

One of the great challenges to doing web sales conferencing is that you lose a bit of that personal touch that comes with seeing someone face to face in their office. But many companies have found that the increase quantity of sales presentations they can do, even with a lower conversion rate, still increases their sales and revenue. And because you’re saving considerably on the traveling costs, there is a much higher return on investment even if the conversion rate is lower.

In addition, many companies still incorporate traveling as part of their sales model, but they use the sales conferencing method to qualify their prospects and warm up their prospects. If you do a sales presentation over a web sales conferencing webinar first before you see them face to face, it will dramatically increase the effectiveness of that in person meeting. The propsects will already get a good sense of what the product or service is like. Now you can just focus on them and how your company can help your prospect.

If a prospect as agreed to a in person meeting after they’ve already attended a sales conferencing session, it is more likely that they really need the product. I can’t say how many times I’ve gone to see a propsect only to find that they don’t really need our company’s services. It’s usually something I couldn’t have known from a cold call, but could have discovered during a sales presentation on a sales conference call.

How to Overcome Challenges

One of the greatest challenges in using the sales conferencing method is that the attendance rate goes down drastically. When some schedules an in person meeting, it is almost 90% certain that the person will attend, mainly because you’re going to their office with an appointment. People are more likely to keep a face to face meeting.

Sales conferencing is a bit different as you can imagine. Prospects who schedule a webinar will be a lot less likely to remember the appointment and a lot less likely to show up. Most companies using this method has discovered this problem and have take steps to overcome them.

The best and most simple way to overcome the attendance rate problem is to merely do a reminder and confirmation call. When the prospect is scheduled for a morning sales conferencing webinar, the sales rep should call them the afternoon before. If the webinar is on an afternoon, the sales rep should call that morning to remind them. I’ve seen companies’ attendence rate increase from 30% to 70% using this method.

The other challenge of course is the lack of personal touch and interaction. Again, you’ll find that this loss will be made up for more than enough by your number of conversions. Additionally, you can always choose to go see them at any point. Studies have shown that most sales are closed with 7 sales calls. It’s a more effective if you use web sales conferencing for one of those calls than to go see them each time or merely give a phone call.

Sales Conferencing Services

There are many great companies that offer video conferencing sales services. Webex and Go To Meeting are two good companies that I’ve used before. I won’t say how much I paid because their rates probably change with new technologies and changes in the market. Needless to say, their services are relatively cheap if you compare them with travel costs to see a prospect in person.

Marcia

Audio Web Video Conferencing Options

Dean Iggo asked:




When considering conferencing options it is important to know what main areas are available. Audio web video conferencing are the primary options, each with their own highpoints and drawbacks. In most cases a company can easily determine which conferencing option they will primarily use and then from there can look for conferencing services that is most affordable.

Audio Conferencing

Audio conferencing is the most basic conference service available. Audio conferencing is a very simple set up requiring only a telephone and a toll free number. Some of the benefits with choosing a strictly audio conferencing service is that is the cheapest of the conferencing services. Pricing is based on a flat rate and depending on the service provider, some extras are included free with the basic package. Some of the drawbacks with audio conferencing are due to its relatively basic set up; the options may not completely meet the needs of a business. For larger audio conferences it will not be possible for everyone to provide verbal feedback. Out of the three services, audio web video conferencing, audio is the most basic.

Web Conferencing

If audio is too basic for a company’s needs, web conferencing may be a more acceptable solution. The level of involvement in a web conference can range from viewing simple text via a central server, or even with the addition of audio provider real time voice as well. Web conferencing is a little more costly depending on how much interaction the software allows. Also with web conferencing every participant will need to be online, which means everyone would need a computer and access to the Internet. If the conference is audio web video conferencing, it will have to be a high-speed connection. While web conferencing is usually more expensive, the fact that infinite amounts of data can be transferred and immediately reviewed easily out-weighs that.

Video Conferencing

Occasionally a company will decide to roll up audio web video conferencing all into one package. Most commonly this service is referred to as simply video conferencing. Because video conferencing usually combines audio web and video utilizing an online connection, it can most accurately replicate the feel of being in the same room with someone. Video conferencing is of course one of the most expensive options, but with a little planning doesn’t have to be out of range.

Either way you go there are tons of audio web video conferencing options that can meet your needs and budget requirements.

Gail
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