At the time of writing this, the UK Government has advised that wherever possible we should all be working from home.
These new guidelines are an essential response to the coronavirus outbreak, but it means that lots of employers are now navigating the new business landscape with team members dotted all over the country.
Technology, of course, makes this somewhat easier.
Video is now more important than ever.
Not only because it provides a convenient way to hold meetings and keep staff morale up, but it can offer an affordable way to connect with potential customers too.
Whether you’re fostering team spirit, building a community or pivoting your business from offline to online, here are five free tools that you should know about.
Zoom
If you didn’t use this service before then you’ll almost certainly be using it now.
Zoom is a video calling service (similar to Skype) that allows you to schedule meetings between individuals and groups.
It’s free to use, and can be linked up to Calendly (which allows people to book meetings based on your availability) and will automatically create a meeting and send a link to both parties.
Bear in mind that if you want group meetings longer than 40 minutes you’ll need to upgrade to the paid plan.
If your business already has a lot of followers on Facebook then why not reach them using video?
Facebook announced last year that their newsfeed will increasingly push quality, original videos.
The algorithm is interested in videos that are re-watchable, original (not reposted) and are between one and three minutes in length.
The good news is that Facebook Live videos get an average six times more engagement than standard video, so try using that to improve your reach.
At a time when everyone is online more than ever, we highly recommend you create video content on Instagram – one of the most popular apps of the last decade.
Use the platform to build a strong community. Do this by using the stories function to take your audience behind the scenes, provide real value and start genuine conversations.
Increase your growth and engagement by making the most of every function on offer including stickers, polls, questions and live video.
Jubler
To make your video content accessible to all, consider adding subtitles. If you’re wondered why this is so important, read the blog post we wrote a few months back.
Jubler is a free piece of software that allows you to upload and edit text-based subtitles.
The visualised audio wave lets you cherry-pick specific parts of your video and you can spell-check edit and tweak each part until it’s perfect.
iMovie
If you’re making more in-depth videos then you’ll want an easy to use editing tool.
For those using Apple products then iMovie is the obvious option.
It’s free and relatively intuitive, with lots of free tutorials available on YouTube.
Of course, if you’re looking for some post-production editing then we’re always here to help.
