What is video engagement?
Video engagement refers to how much your audience pays attention to and interacts with your video conferencing event. It can be measured using metrics like registration signups, chat messages sent, and replay views.
In this guide
Unleash the power of video communication with our ultimate guide. Discover the top video conferencing tools and find the perfect fit for your team.
With a global client base and remote workforce to tap into, now’s the time to ask: what is video conferencing?
The answer is simple: video conferencing is the best way for modern companies to manage internal communications when traditional office setups are phasing out. Video conferences are the most efficient and flexible way to collaborate with an evolving team and communicate with clients remotely.
But you don’t need to rely on ad hoc setups or outdated software. From choosing the best software to lighting your workspace like a pro, this guide will help you get set up for video conferencing.
Video conferencing is a live video-based meeting between two or more people. It uses the Internet to facilitate live, face-to-face interactions and collaboration through audio, video, screen sharing, and chat.
Video conferencing helps coworkers connect remotely for internal meetings, presentations, and webinars. It can also help you connect with clients from all over the world. You might have heard of popular online meeting software like Zoom, Google Meet, or Livestorm (more on those later!). These tools can be used to facilitate video conferencing in a variety of settings.
The most common types of video conferencing are:
Video conferencing can be used for all internal meetings like daily stand-ups, brainstorming sessions, 1:1s, and all-hands meetings. For example, if you’re using Livestorm or Zoom, you can schedule recurring meetings, share a slide deck, and create breakout rooms for more focused discussion and collaboration during large company-wide meetings. Similarly, Livestorm is ISO 27001-compliant, ensuring your conversations are private and secure.
Your sales representatives can connect with potential leads anywhere in the world and build personal connections. Video conferencing facilitates virtual consultations and product walkthroughs. With Livestorm, you can create one-to-one and many-to-many video meetings for your sales team. You can also convert call recordings into videos for sales and use them for marketing activities.
Let your clients see your product in action before they buy it. You can set up product demo sessions to show the user interface, feature sets, and multipoint demonstrations. You can also use Livestorm's collaboration tools for screen sharing, file sharing, and resource sharing to make demos more interactive.
Trainers, facilitators, and experts can host workshops, lectures, or webinars for a global audience. With Livestorm, you can create virtual classrooms with multiple attendees and add polls to collect insights and assess their understanding.
You can schedule one-on-one or group interviews to assess candidate skills, culture fit, and experience. Platforms like Livestorm and Zoom integrate with Google Calendar, which is handy for directly inviting candidates by email and blocking time in their calendars. You can also create virtual waiting rooms to hold your next candidate while you finish up the previous interview.
Discover the Biggest Trends in Video Conferencing
Livestorm surveyed 1000 US professionals on their use of video conferencing tools. Download this trends report to understand the needs for video conferencing.
While video conferencing is a useful tool for modern communication and collaboration, there are some downsides like screen fatigue, technical hiccups, and privacy concerns. Here's a look at the pros and cons of video conferencing:
Most businesses find video conferencing makes communication with all kinds of stakeholders far more flexible. With the right software, you can:
When using a video conferencing platform for your business, you might be worried about how it could negatively affect internal communications. Here are some potential disadvantages (and how to overcome them):
The best way to address the disadvantages mentioned above is to use a dedicated video engagement platform. With video engagement, it’s not just two people in a video call: it’s about using your video capabilities to their full potential and getting the best out of your team.
What is video engagement?
Video engagement refers to how much your audience pays attention to and interacts with your video conferencing event. It can be measured using metrics like registration signups, chat messages sent, and replay views.
If your whole team is suffering from meeting fatigue, try using video engagement features to capture their interest:
Run trouble-free and secure online meetings
Meet the first video conferencing platform that makes hybrid and remote work simple.
If you’re using a strong video engagement platform like Livestorm, you’ll have all the tools you need to host interactive meetings and meet your business objectives. With the right software, you’ll keep your team engaged, wow your clients, and get results for your business.
With the right setup, it’s easy to engage with prospects, customers, and team members in real time. So we’ve dug right into the reviews of the best video conferencing software on the market to help you decide. Here’s what we found:
Livestorm is a video engagement platform that will help you host interactive meetings and drive results. At Livestorm, we believe that meetings should never be dull, so our platform is the only choice if you’re looking for powerful engagement features to motivate attendees.
Livestorm is browser-based, so meetings are super easy to set up and access: all your attendees need to join is the meeting link. It’s an all-in-one platform that can be used for everything from internal meetings to sales calls or live webinars. You can even use Livestorm for your legal video conferencing needs.
If you’re looking for secure video conferencing, this is a strong contender. Plus, Livestorm is the number one choice for engagement because it includes all the following:
Livestorm is also one of the only video conferencing platforms that offers an unlimited free trial, so you can give it a complete test drive before you hand over your credit card details. Take a look at our pricing page to see all that’s included.
Run trouble-free and secure online meetings
Meet the first video conferencing platform that makes hybrid and remote work simple.
Zoom is a household name for video calling, setting the precedent for simple-to-use video conferencing software designed for mobile apps. But it has limited customization options when compared to Livestorm.
Zoom has become a popular choice for webinars and professional training. Zoom has important features like presentation sharing and breakout rooms for more in-depth discussion. With Zoom, you can customize your plan with add-ons to host events just how you like them. The Business plan includes:
Zoom can now be used in your browser, but it was originally built as an app-based product. It works best in-app, especially on smaller devices, but even then, users do report difficulty using the mobile app. Be warned: the free version caps meetings at 40 minutes.
Webex by Cisco lets you connect remote attendees with people in physical conference rooms that have Cisco video conferencing systems. So you can connect through conference calls and Voice over IP (VOIP) phones. The transcription feature is available in 13 languages so you can host multilingual conversations.
Webex offers co-browsing, in-platform messaging, and file transfer outside of traditional video calls, making it a combined communication platform for businesses to collaborate online. The Starter plan includes:
Webex is billed as “one app for everything,” but, as a result, the user interface is over-complicated. Unfortunately, some engagement features like polling can only be used in-app, plus you will have to pay extra for encrypted cloud recordings and cloud storage.
Google Meet is a browser-based video conferencing software on computers but requires an app to access from your phone or tablet. As it’s a part of the Google Suite, you can send Google Calendar invites with a Meet link automatically attached.
With a free Google account, you can host 60-minute meetings using Google Meet at no extra cost. If you do decide to go down the paid route, a Google Workspace subscription starts at around $6 and includes:
Although Google account holders will find the free plan pretty accessible, it’s not as well-rounded when it comes to built-in features. You’ll need to pay extra for basic engagement features like polling, Q&A, and hand-raising.
Microsoft Teams integrates with Office apps like SharePoint, Word, and Excel, allowing users to collaborate on live documents in a shared workspace.
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If you’re looking for more ways than just a video call to collaborate remotely with your team, this is a good option. As well as working on shared documents, you can schedule virtual meetings that integrate with your Outlook calendar. The Microsoft Teams Essentials plan includes:
Microsoft Teams definitely isn’t the best option if you’re looking for straightforward, slick video conferencing. Its focus on document collaboration makes it a complicated beast that many users find difficult to navigate and prone to outages.
Ever sat through an online event where technology fails, and things fall apart? It’s the worst-case scenario, but it can be avoided. When it comes to achieving the best video conferencing setup, the software you choose will have a big impact.
Before you commit to a subscription, make sure your video conferencing platform has the following features:
You’re hosting your first virtual meeting, and everything is going great - but is that really what you look like from that angle? Most laptops come with built-in hardware for video calls, like video conferencing cameras. But let’s face it; they can be pretty mediocre.
From poor camera quality to crackling audio, your built-in features could hold you back. For a more professional (and flattering) video conferencing setup, you’ll want to pick out your hardware yourself.
Let’s look at the key considerations for your video conferencing setup:
Crisp sound quality is a must when hosting professional meetings: you don’t want to miss anything your clients say. A strong pair of headphones with a built-in microphone will ensure you can be heard clearly, too.
Try these top picks:
Do you need a microphone? Not with a good pair of headphones, but it does depend on how you expect to use video conferencing for your business.
If you’re attending regular work meetings online, a microphone is an extra expense that might get in the way of having natural conversations. However, some hosts do like to use a microphone for webinars, and you’ll definitely want one if you’re going to use video conferencing software for interviewing guests for a podcast. If that sounds like you, Blue Yeti is a versatile and inexpensive mic that’s worth looking into.
Pro tip: Try free noise-canceling software like Krisp if you expect to host meetings in noisy locations. Krisp uses artificial intelligence to reduce distracting sounds like traffic, pets, keyboard strokes, and echoes.
Ditch poor camera quality and unattractive angles, and never look back, because you’re about to get a proper webcam. Even if you do have a laptop with a camera, there’s no reason why you should be hunched over it while trying to impress important stakeholders. Choosing a new webcam is going to give your video calls a total upgrade.
Try one of these top video conferencing cameras:
Whether you have an office or work from home, it can be tricky to get the best lighting for video conferencing. Bright, natural lighting works best, but you can’t rely on the weather, and not everyone has the luxury of a desk near a window.
If you need to bring artificial light into your setup, try one of these:
Pro Tip: Avoid mixing light sources if you can. Sitting next to a window with a desk lamp switched on isn’t ideal for light clarity as it may cast shadows and interfere with your camera's light adjustment settings.
You’ve chosen your software and got the gear. Now it’s time to curate a professional background and brush up on your virtual meeting etiquette. Follow these video conferencing tips for the perfect virtual meeting setup:
7 Steps to Make Your Video Conference a Hit
In this video, we break down how to host a successful virtual event in 7 easy steps. From planning to promotion and following up with your event registrants, you'll learn what steps to take before, during, and after your video conference.
If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your communications strategy, this is it. Video conferencing tools are super fast and super flexible and make meetings easy to record and revisit.
If you’re ready to get started, why not try Livestorm? Easy-to-use software and carefully curated surroundings are key to hosting impressive online meetings. But to make the most out of your video conferencing setup, you’ll need a strong video engagement platform with various features to support results-driven, collaborative working.
With the right video engagement platform, you’ll boost your team’s productivity, deliver powerful onboarding sessions, and even reach new audiences.
Video conferencing uses high-speed internet bandwidth, webcams, and microphones to connect people in different locations. It allows participants to send audio, video, and text messages while they’re connected.
You can set up video conferencing with a browser-based service like Livestorm, Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. You can create a virtual meeting room that you can share with others via a link or invitation.
Video conferencing in education connects students and teachers from different locations to facilitate online learning. This can include synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous (recorded) sessions and can be used for lectures, discussions, office hours, and group projects.
The 3 benefits of video conferencing are:
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