What Every CEO Needs to Know About Video Conferencing

With all of us being urged to work from home, video conferencing is now a daily part of life for CEOs and their businesses. Zoom has emerged as the leading platform for people’s video conferencing needs with over 300 million users. Zoom is known for being a free or low-cost solution that provides the much-needed face-to-face interaction at this time.

Video conferencing platforms such as Zoom are popular because of their simplicity. Charles Thiede, CEO and Co-Founder of London-based technology firm Zapnito, said, “Zoom is great, we use it a lot. But we are seeing a knee-jerk reaction for many people to ‘just use zoom’ or other video platforms without thinking about what they’re trying to achieve.

For organisations with ‘intellectual overhead’ like consultancies, event organisers and publishers, the delivery of expertise and knowledge is at the core of what they do. But many are just using Zoom to engage with their most important stakeholders – their clients, delegates and readers – and in doing so are missing an opportunity.”

Charles continues, “Video conferencing tech only really exists at a certain point in time. This has led to CEOs deciding to use platforms like Zoom or other event tech platforms and jam face to face experience, like an event, into a browser. They are missing the chance to use that content to ignite a lasting conversation or to engage others beyond that point in time.

What Zapnito offers is a digital ‘home’ for brands, event organisers and publishers which is a ‘clean, uncluttered’ branded space to communicate to their networks. He adds, “The truly important thing for these organisations is the community behind it and building long-term relationships with these people. Now more than ever. The brands that have strong relationships are the ones that will survive. Despite its strengths, Zoom does not grow communities and cannot serve to build long-lasting relationships.”

Charles continues, “A Zapnito-powered business is given the video panel tools to deliver a consistent user experience. This allows them to create a white-labelled platform for face-to-face and networking interactions with the event or brand community.”

The current situation has meant that now is the ideal time for CEOs to consider building their digital community. The benefit to the business is there and ready to be utilized, Charles continues, “The world is waking up to the value of online communities to share expertise, promote collaboration and demonstrate to the wider world the expertise you have within your organisation.

“For the community, it consolidates brand experiences into a single platform that can run independently or alongside in-person events. A platform that unites all content streams in one place for webinars, podcasts, online chats, articles and virtual event streams. The content is also complemented with dedicated spaces for community members to share experiences, knowledge and feedback with the community.”

Video conferencing platforms like Zoom have surged in popularity because they serve a purpose but are not the solution to everything, especially when it comes to communication with clients. Charles Thiede concludes, “Zoom is important, now more than ever, for CEOs and their businesses to bring people together for face-to-face meetings and provide something close to human contact. But we need to be careful when stretching this beyond straightforward meetings – to events and to delivering professional services. As a CEO you also want to be reassured that your community is protected against digital threats and so need security that you can trust.

“There is a temptation to ‘just use Zoom.’ This may be doing a disservice to the people that matter most – your community.”