Are you looking to find a new video meeting tool for you and your team? Bringing new software to an organisation, big or small, requires a lot of effort and planning. It takes time until everyone has downloaded and understood a new video meeting tool, so this task can be daunting. There are so many great options out there and the rankings can be misleading. In order to help you make an informed decision, you need to foresee a few scenarios. This is why we compiled a list of questions you should consider before making a decision.
How many people do I want to talk to?
Some video meeting tools are great for 1:1 calls but aren’t great for calls with larger teams. If you have lots of video calls with more than two participants, make sure you decide on a tool that offers a MCU mode. What that essentially does is collect each stream from your participants in a central entity. A single stream is then sent back to each participant and ensures much greater quality. If you plan on having large group video calls, then MCU will allow you to have more stable video/audio quality. Especially during larger video meetings, you can't afford to lose people. Make sure you chose a video meeting tool that won't compromise on quality.Who will be in charge of my video meetings?
You need to decide on whether you want some hierarchy in your video meetings or not. Some tools offer certain features exclusively to the host of the meeting. A good example is the *mute all* feature, where you can mute everyone else while you speak. That might be interesting in case you are a teacher or if you are always in charge of holding presentations. In case you are looking for a collaboration tool for you and your team, however, it’s not ideal. Make sure you’re clear on what you want before restricting yourself.Who am I going to talk to?
Are you always talking to different kinds of people? We all know the struggle when it comes to holding video meetings and taking forever to decide on the platform. Not everyone will have the same tools installed as you do. If you want to have quick video meetings with people outside of your company then make sure to use a browser-based tool. Browser-based tools allow you to invite guests with the click of a link. They don’t have to download an app, special software, and can be used on any computer, even tablets and mobile. There’s no need to fuss with complicated tech or to explain anything. Just send out a link. This will make your life easier because you won’t have to waste your time helping people to download your tool or understanding how to set it up.What features are important to me AFTER having finished a call?
Don’t just consider what features you want DURING a video meeting, also consider what you want to have after you hang up. Sometimes it’s good to have an overview of your past calls, re-watching an older video meeting or just having screenshots of certain moments. Whether you want to log your working hours or just want to check the last time you talked to someone specific. A detailed history feature is definitely something you want to consider having. The recording feature is crucial if you want to go back and re-watch your video calls. That way you don’t have to focus so much on taking notes during a video call and can purely focus on staying involved. Last but not least, the snapshots functionality is important if you don’t want to re-watch a whole video meeting. This feature allows you to take a screenshot when your teammates are sharing information on whiteboard for example. Then when you want to re-watch the meeting, you can just skim through your screenshots, getting the most important points quickly.What other tools am I using for work?
Dropbox, Trello, Slack, Zendesk, Freshworks, Jira, you name it. We tend to use a lot of different tools to make our working days more efficient and having them integrated into other software can save a lot of time. Make sure you check out the integrations that your video meeting tool offers because it will make your life so much easier. For instance, you can type in /eyeson in your slack chat and open a new video meeting room or webinar room within seconds. If you decide to record this meeting, the respective recording is then saved in your Dropbox . Moreover, you can stream your video meetings and webinars live on Youtube and Facebook . For streaming, you only have to connect your eyeson account once and you are ready to go.Do I really want a video meeting tool or am I looking for something else?
Are you interested in video meetings or do you want to do something more specific? Are your participants active or just listening? If you want to hold webinars, for example, it’s best to use a tool that has focused on providing precisely the features you need. Most video meeting tools allow you to hold webinars but aren’t specialised for simple one to one meetings. GotoWebinar or Zoom are great tools to use for holding Webinars, but not great for smaller group calls or 1-1 sales calls because they aren’t as easy to use and require downloads before starting a video call. A tool like eyeson combines both webinar features and 1-1 call features, so you don’t have to buy another tool.Who is going to be presenting in my new video meeting tool?
During most video meetings, there is a need to connect, share, and collaborate. That is why you should carefully consider who will be presenting during your video meetings. Most video meeting tools offer screen sharing, but not all tools allow everyone on a call to use the same functionalities. Some video meeting tools may only allow the host to share his screen for example. Ideally, everyone in the meeting can share his screen so make sure you do not limit yourself in that regard. A tool like eyeson allows you to share your screen but allows anyone else on your team to take over once you’re done presenting too.
Still have a few questions about picking the right video tool? You can contact us here and we’ll guide you in the right direction.
P.S. Looking for a tool that meets all these requirements? Check out eyeson, a video tool that delivers clear, no lag calls for everything from 1-1 calls to webinars. You can try it for free for 14 days here . We warn you though, once you see how easy, fast and convenient eyeson is, you may never want to go back to anything else 😊