There are plenty of amazing conferencing software solutions out there but many require a bit of set up and are not free.
There are plenty of amazing conferencing software solutions out there. Both Zoom and GoTo Meeting are incredibly popular but both require a bit of set up and are not free (well zoom is at a basic level but you still have to download the software).
They also may be a bit over the top, if you just need a simple solution to be able to hold face to face meetings online and have no need for extra features.
In this blog, I want to look at ways that you can run video calls with small teams quickly, easily and, most importantly, for free!
Google Hangouts.
An absolute favourite of ours. Very simple to use, easy to invite users, and it just works! It will pick out who is speaking and show their webcam as the full screen and anyone can screen share to show off those all-important documents. It is all done within the Google Chrome browser so no additional software to download (assuming you are using Chrome) making it easy for people to get set up.
One word of warning though is that it does require people to have a Google account. You can sign up for one of these for free and if you have a Youtube account or @gmail email address you have one of these already.
Skype
A grandad in the world of video conferencing, but still very popular. It does require a download of software or an app to your phone but I have included it as so many people already have an account anyway.
Owned by Microsoft it has the backing to ensure it is super stable and reliable. Essential so that it works when you need it to!
You can now have up to 50 participants in a skype video call, you can screen share and it will even create subtitles automatically if you want.
If you don’t mind downloading the software, it’s a good choice.
As with Skype, this requires an app on your phone, but lots of you are already using this incredibly popular messaging service anyway. Video calls are limited to 4 participants and it is only available on the mobile app, but if you already have the app this is a great solution for quick simple video catch-ups via your mobile phone.
Facetime
Sorry Android users but this one is for the Apple crew only.
Facetime was once just a one on one solution, but since IOS 12 you can now host up to 32 people! The fact that it is a native app to Apple devices means that there is no additional software to download.
Summary
With Covid-19 causing remote working across so many industries, video calls will become more and more important. Face to face communication is so much better than an email.
Depending on your clients you may need to ensure you are set up for various platforms. I tend to use all 4 services listed above every week for video calls.
