1. 32.4 billion videos viewed by US Internet users alone in January 2010
2. 173 million viewers watched an average of 187 videos per viewer during January 2010
3. 94% of respondents plan to spend more on online video in 2010 than they did in 2009
4. 20% year on year growth of online video for marketing is expected in the next 12 months
5. 56% of respondents see online video more effective than other forms of advertising
6. 83% feel they’re getting more value from online video spend now as compared to last year
7. 64% plan to use video email marketing in 2010 — up from nearly 12% last year
8. 65% + believe that video emails can moderately or significantly influence conversion rates
9. 54% of SMB’s want to personalise email messages in 2010 and see video as a ideal medium
10. 29% of SMB’s consider training courses the most effective use of video email followed by 19% product demonstrations/offers and 18% customer testimonials

Further interesting developments are:

• in 2009, 87% of respondents planned to devote more of their budget to online video
• in 2010, 94% of respondents plan to increase their spending in this area

BrightRoll’s CEO, Tod Sacerdoti, remarked, ”… online video advertising has continued to mature as a trusted and proven medium for reaching highly engaged audiences… across premium content sites online… ”

So video for business is going to be big and it will be important for your business. So get started today and try Video Email, Video Messaging, Video Webcasting and easy to produce, high quality video for your business today with our free trial.  

Sources: Jack Loechner, Laurie Sullivan,  Unica, ComScore Video Metrix, BrightRoll, Implix ]]> http://meeting.ie/blog/2010/06/top-10-reasons-for-business-video-and-video-email/feed/ 0 http://meeting.ie/blog/2010/06/free-voip-headset-bonanza/ http://meeting.ie/blog/2010/06/free-voip-headset-bonanza/#comments Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:46:40 +0000 Roland Steinmetz http://meeting.ie/blog/?p=213 This month we are giving it all away! We have 100 Computer VoIP Headset sitting  here, waiting to be send to YOU! So how do you get you hands on one? There are two option:

1. Sign Up And Trial our Global Flat Fee Conference Call service! This service is offering Europes lowest flat rate conference call at just €0.05 / minute / per participant plus local Irish dial in numbers for Cork, Limerick, Dublin and +100 plus more global locations. Try it today and get you free headset.

2. Sing Up And Trial our Video Messaging, Video Email and webcasting collaboration service. This is a unique video solution that brings ease of use video production combine with high quality results into the business world. Try video for you business and see how it will transform you communication today and get your free headset.

Here is the comfortable headband headset with microphone that is up for grabs.

What Is A Conference Call?

A conference call is a phone call, in which the person or organization placing the call wants more than one caller to participate in the call, either actively or as a listener. The call host notifies other participants via email or calendar about the conference call. Participants can join the call directly by using a special phone number that links them across a “conference bridge,” or designated telephone number configured to link multiple phone lines. Meeting.ie reserves such a bridge for each group of conference participants and uses it to connect groups and users.

Who Needs To Make Conference Calls?

Conference calls are made by your neighbourhood businesses, professional bodies, membership associations, major corporations, sports clubs, relatives and friends; anyone and everyone. Members of our growing national and international community of users now communicate more effectively and economically. Whether they only need an answer to a quick question, or have a major announcement to share with thousands of participants, they know Meeting.ie isn’t just another conference call company.

Cost savings with local dial-ins and Small Business Conferencing?

Small business owners can now invite up to 50 people to participate in a domestic or international conference call, to and from over 45 countries, via toll-free or local access numbers. With our low global flat rate and superior conference call services will reduce your conferencing costs by up to 90%, compared to other conference call companies.

When you need to call Dublin, London, Boston, Berlin, Bangalore, Australia, China or any other foreign country, a local access number service will save you time and money. International calls consist of dialing an exit code, country code, and then the telephone number. With traditional long distance carriers a monthly fee is added to your phone and conferencing bill. You will save substantial money by using local conference call dial-in points.

How is a Local Conference Call Differs from a standard one?

A Local Conference Call provides a local access number that makes the need for international calls unnecessary. Having a local number you can call directly local instead of a long distance call. The participants do not have to dial outside of their country and now not even outside their city anymore to participate in a call. This leads to immense cost savings due to not dialling a long distance and / or national numbers.

Cost savings between 50% – 90% are achieved by the customer instantly.

Meeting.ie is the only Irish provider of Conference Calls that has local dial-in point in Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Tralee, Waterford, Letterkenny, Galway. Try it today and save money instantly with Ireland lowest flat rate conference calls!

Apart from a good sound quality, in my eyes the most important factor is comfort. If you intend to use the headset for prolonged periods (1 hour and more) then it must be comfortable to wear. High quality headsets provide a very good wearing experience. 

When purchasing a headset for calling for your computer, video conferencing or web conferencing there are the three main types:

USB plug-in headsets
USB headsets give you very good sound quality on calls. Simply plug your headset into a USB port on your computer. They work with any computer. The sound quality of a USB headset normally is higher than the one of a standard headset with mini jacks. USB headsets should be recognised by your computer straight away. Two good examples of high quality and very reasonable headset are the Logitech PC Headset 960 USB: €20 Audio 610 USB Single-Ear Headset: €35

Mini Jack headsets
these plug straight into your computer’s microphone and speaker jack, and you can get a wide range of styles. They are the current existing standard and work well for online communication via a soft phone, Skype or video / web conferencing software with VoIP.

Wireless headsets
if you’re interested using a wireless headset, there will be a small USB transmitter that plugs into your computer’s USB port. Wireless headsets have the added benefit of being flexible where to go while you are on the call. Usually 10 meters is the maximum distance between headset and receiver.  They work well for a trainer or a presentation and if the speaker is used to moving around while speaking. Make sure that the software for this is compatible with your computer.  Wireless headset connectivity can be tricky when establishing for the first time, but once this is done they work seamlessly.  Here is a good example Plantronics Voyager™ 510 USB: €99  

With all headsets, always check your sound and microphone quality before making the first call.

It is best to look at these 3 types of headsets and choose which is best for you.

I recommend to shy away from cheap headsets. They might be good enough for listening to your favourite CD, but they are unlikely to deliver the good level of acoustic performance for yourself and your counterpart on the call. Your best option is to go with a medium priced headset that delivers a proven good sound, is comfortable and that is not too large so it doesn’t take away from you while you are in a video conference.

Having contingency plans and changing communication habits away from the dependents on physical travel is a must in the new economy.

With Meeting.ie, there are easy and cost effective ways to keep in touch with business partners anywhere, anytime! Meetings and decisions can be made without the aid of travel! Training and important communication can be delivered meaningfully and easily to anywhere in the world, even face-to-face without physically being there.

With Video Conferencing it is possible for businesses to attend meetings in different countries! Video Conferencing is not only easy to do; it also saves a lot of time and money spent on travelling.  Video Conferencing not only lets you have meetings without leaving your office, it saves you a lot of effort and expense and is good for the environment. It gives more time back to executives and employees, allowing them to conduct vital business meetings without the cost and time implications of global travel. Video Conferencing is as good as sitting directly in front of a colleague, customer, or supplier and lets you have face-to-face interaction remotely with anybody.

Another way and the most accessible option of keeping in touch with your business partners abroad is having a Conference Call. All you need for a conference call is a phone, regardless of where you and your participants are in the world. Meetings and decisions can be made using call conferencing with anyone anywhere in the world. The latest natural disaster in Iceland has shown how travel can be affected and slowed down so easy. Unpredictable weather, natural disasters, regional crisis and travel delays around the world can also affect getting to your meetings and continuing with your business.

Counteract these unpredictable business interruptions now and be ready when they hit the next time. Give Video Conferencing, Call Conferencing or Web Conferencing a chance and see how it works for you and your business! All our solutions can be trialed for two weeks for free.

So Take Action Today And Don’t Let You Business Be Interrupted By The Next “Volcano”!

1.Keep it Simple

PowerPoint is software that is designed as a convenient way to display graphical information that would support the speaker and supplement the presentation. The slides themselves were never meant to be the star of the presentation. Remember that people have come to the presentation to hear what you have to say and only want to read the slides as a support.  Don’t let your message and your ability to tell a story gets derailed by slides that are unnecessarily complicated, busy or full of useless information. Also try and have lots of white space or free space in your slides. If there are white spaces in your slides then don’t feel compelled to fill them with unnecessary graphics or text boxes that do not contribute to the presentation.

2. Limit bullet points and text

Your presentation is for the benefit of the audience. But boring an audience with bullet point after bullet point is of little benefit to them. Next is the issue of how much text you should have in a slide? Some of the best slides actually may have no text at all. This may sound strange but the best slides will be of no use without the narration you give. Remember, the slides are meant to support the narration of the speaker. Some people who miss the presentation may ask you to send then the PowerPoint slides, but if the slides are good they will be of little use without you.

3. Use High Quality Graphics

Use high quality graphics, including photographs. You can take photos with your digital camera and put them in your slides. Never stretch a small, low-resolution photo to make it fit your layout- doing so will degrade the resolution even further. Avoid using PowerPoint Clip Art. Most of your audience will have seen these a million times before. Also the inclusion of Clip Art often undermines the professionalism of the presenter.

4. Use appropriate charts

Presenters are usually guilty of including too much data in their onscreen charts. There are several ways to display your data in graphic form; here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Pie Charts: Used to show percentages. Limit the slices to 4-6 and contrast the most important slice either with colour or by exploding the slice.
• Vertical bar charts: Used to show changes in quantity over time. Best if you limit the bars to 4-8.
• Horizontal bar charts: Used to compare quantities. For example, comparing sales figures among the four regions of the company.
• Line Charts: Generally used to demonstrate different trends.

5. Choose your colours and fonts well

The right colour can help persuade and motivate. Studies show that colour usage can increase interest and improve learning comprehension. Colours can be broken down into two general categories: Cool (green and blue) and warm (orange and red). Cool colours work best for backgrounds, as they appear to recede away from us into the background. Warm colours generally work best for objects in the foreground (such as text) because they appear to be coming at us.

Fonts communicate subtle messages in and for themselves, which is why you should use fonts rights. Use the same font set throughout your entire slide presentation and use no more than two complementary fonts.

6. Use video or audio

Use video and audio when appropriate. Using video clips to show concrete examples promotes active cognitive processing, which is the natural way people learn. Using a video clip not only will illustrate your point better, it will also serve as a change of pace, thereby increasing the interest of your audience.

7. Spend time in the slide sorter

According to the segmentation principle of multimedia learning theory, people comprehend better when information is presented in small chunks or segments. By getting out of the slide view and into the slide sorter view you can see how the logical flow of your presentation is progressing.

Web cameras can cost as little as €30 and as much as €300.  What you choose depends greatly on how you intend to use your web camera.  In most cases you can get a camera for less than €100 that suits all your specific needs.

Typically, a camera rests in its own stand, attaches to a flat panel monitor or, for older desktop monitors, is self-mounting. Cameras that attach offer better flexibility, both for camera placement and mobility. Choose the camera that is most compatible with your workstation set-up. Do not buy a cheap camera, the results will not be to your satisfaction. I recommend choosing the best camera from a leading provider like Logitech, currently for example a Logitech Pro 5000. This will deliver a quality experience to you for several years. 

First Steps?

Before you use the camera for the first time, ensure that you have installed your web camera drivers. Your operating system will automatically try to do this, but the web cam vendor will also provide you with the software which always delivers a better result than the generic software.

Some vendors offer face tracking software with their web cameras. This might seem like a cool feature but face tracking is very basic and can lead to the camera getting lost. It’s better to set yourself up correctly prior to the meeting and concentrate on not moving around too much throughout your presentation.

Choosing the right setting?

Video is typically a more bandwidth intensive experience. Combined with screen sharing and audio, it is best used in a high-bandwidth setting.  If you are aware of participants on modem connections, consider only capturing video as an image or not using at all.  Those people on the modem will miss several video frames due to their bandwidth and the experience will not be optimal.

You can also determine your image settings.  This allows you to adjust how rapidly the image is transmitted.  Standard options are “fast” for high-bandwidth meetings and “slow” if video in this meeting is secondary or you want to limit the use of bandwidth.

Positioning the camera?

Setting up your web camera is only the first step, using it is the next.  You need to get used to speaking to a camera like a person.  It is like “look em in the eye” when having a conversation with someone.  It takes some time getting used to, because instead of talking to a person, you are focusing on a camera and talking to it like it was a person.

Once you have trained your eyes to focus on the camera, you need to place it in the correct position where it can produce the best results. Do not put it next to the mouse on the desk, below the monitor, to the right or to the left-side of the screen. The best place to put the camera is above the monitor in the centre of the monitor.  You will be looking slightly up; however your view can easily glance at your content and your viewers.

Setting the scene?

What you wear can have an impact on your transmission.  Wearing bright colours or white tends to wash out your face if you expect to be presenting. Muted solid colours, like pale blues and yellows work best when presenting in front of a camera. If you are making a formal presentation, it is also advisable to avoid contrasting patterns such as stripes or checker prints, which can end up looking jagged and appear to jump around on the screen.

Lighting has another big impact on the quality of your video. Not enough light and you will be hard to see, too much light and you disappear. First rule; don’t have a strong light source behind you. The most common mistake is having a window with bright sunshine behind you. This will completely wash out your video.  Use desk lights and any other ambient light that will help you to “brighten up”. Take a few minutes before the meeting to make sure your face and visible area is well light up.

Your background is the last piece. Basic rule, declutter and sit in front of a plain background. Take down anything that can distract the viewer so the focus is on you and your content, not on the calendar and pictures behind you.  

Ready to go – “No-No’s”

So you are ready to go. Remember this really is like being at the meeting. Don’t do anything that you wouldn’t do if you were present at a meeting. Yawning or eating are examples of things you should not do when in front of the camera. If needs be, go off camera.

What to do with your web camera?

Anything from plain video calls, online meetings up to multipoint desktop video conferencing is possible. Many people use their web camera to stay in contact with friends and family aboard and for education. Businesses use it for webcasting, webinars, web and video conferencing.  Education and science usage in lecture capturing and remote online training is also increasing.

Video messaging (see top of this newsletter) is a new phenomenon that is catching on with users worldwide and delivers great benefits to business and users alike.

See a webcast recording talking about the different concepts with David Slater https://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/_a227210/webcambestpractice/

This is a case study interview with Dr. Michele Petry, president of the Glia Group and editor of www.BankersOnline.com.

• Learn how current events have created the opportunity to charge more for a pay-per-view webcast attendee than an onsite attendee
• Discover how BankersOnline transitioned from doing traditional training to live online training and all day webcast
• Hear why the value proposition of remote presentations allows to charge more for remote registration than for in-house registration
• Understand the thought processes that were behind this revenue model
• Find out how bankersonline achieved amazing results delivering an 8-to-1 remote-to-inhouse registration ratio with simple video messaging.

Click here to watch the webcast archive with Dr. Michele Petry!

HERE IS THE LIVE LINK TO OUR WEBCAST ON THE 10th at 13:30pm GMT

In this event we will talk with Gary about

• The logistics of this and general live webcast deliveries
• How to interact with  the audience in a live web event
• How to run live web events and record video messages with one solution
• How to use this in sales, marketing, training and corporate communication
• How does this fit into other forms of communication
• What is live collaboration and what are live webinars
• What is roll-in video and how to use it
• What reporting functions should you expect
• How does this fit together with a blog
• How does this compare to WebEx, GoToMeeting, YouTube and others
• Have a look at different camera options

If you are interested in attending this web event or have any questions or comments please leave a comment in the “Comments” option above or drop us an email to webcast’at’meeting.ie

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE LIVE SESSION ON THE 24TH 13:30pm GMT

This is the “Nuts and Bolts of Webcasting and Video Messaging” web event and we will talk about the following:

• Recording video messages
• Live meetings and web events
• How to conduct live webinars
• Setup, greeting, playlists
• Starting and stopping to record
• Scheduling live meetings
• Invitations
• Presenter and participants screen
• Understanding webcasting screens
• Push video and slides
• Q & A

If you want to attend this event or have a questions please comment above in “Comments” or send us an email to webcast’at’meeting.ie