ZOOM!!

During the pandemic, has anyone not heard the expression . . .

For work.

For family . . . to stay in touch with members during this time of enforced isolation.

For entertainment . . . as celebrities find new ways to reach out to their audiences.  (Everyone catch the cast of Hamilton performing a number with each member in a different remote location?)

What does ZOOMING have to do with brand building?  Well, the app is another tool (a particularly useful one right now) for communicating with employees and customers – either singly or in groups.  Much can be accomplished via video conferencing.

While the term and app ZOOM might be relatively new, various forms of desktop videoconferencing have existed for many years.

About a decade ago, I started supervising several employees who worked remotely from home – in fact, mostly from different states.  Daily meetings using this kind of technology enabled us to keep in touch in a very immediate way – going over current projects, brainstorming, and planning for future tasks.  The application we used (though not ZOOM) featured desktop screen sharing—allowing us to share files and make changes interactively, which eliminated one key obstacle that needed to be overcome for remote activity to be as effective as local.

Similarly, my daughter studied abroad back in the early 2000’s.  Weekly Skype video calls made this period much more tolerable for us.

ZOOM has already made a huge impact upon the off-premises workplace . . . so I suspect every business owner should become somewhat familiar with the powerful potential of this tool and be able to participate in meetings as well as initiate them.  By the way, getting started with ZOOM is free.

Note:  While ZOOM is the app I’ve heard most commonly mentioned during these days of isolation and mandatory business closures, be aware that other programs with similar features are available.  Skype, WebEx, GoToMeeting, and Microsoft Teams are just a few.

Getting Started

This brief article is not intended be an in depth ZOOM instructional guide . . . but is designed to provide just enough information to pique your curiosity and perhaps give you enough tips to approach your first experience without trepidation.

If you are being invited to participate in a scheduled ZOOM meeting, you will get an e-mail that includes a link to click to join the meeting.  Upon doing so, a page will be displayed that informs you that a download is about to begin.  When prompted, click “Run”; you will enter a meeting that has been assigned a several digit meeting name.

Note:  If you have already installed a free copy of ZOOM (as explained in the next section below), you will be able to bypass this download by launching ZOOM and “Joining” an existing meeting by entering the multi-digit name.

If you are initiating/scheduling a meeting, you will need to download and install a free copy of ZOOM, which you can do at:  https://zoom.us/support/download

Follow the installation instructions, creating a user name and password.  Once your free account has been created, you will be able to access the screen below.

From this point, you can “Join” a meeting by entering the name provided by the organizer, or you can “Schedule” a new session yourself.  The process is quick and easy and accomplished by completing this form:

If you have coordinated ZOOM with your calendar, you can generate invitations directly.  Otherwise, you can copy the meeting details (including the needed link) into the clipboard and paste the contents into an e-mail to send to the recipients.

When the meeting is due to begin, you’ll be prompted with a selection to start the meeting.  As everyone you invited tries to access the meeting, you will want to select the “Manage” option, which will allow you to admit the requestees into the session.

By the way, ZOOM traditionally limited free account holders to 40-minute meetings.  However, the creators have recognized the growing need for videoconferencing of all kinds during the pandemic and have generously waived the time limit.

And – Once Again – How Does ZOOM Relate to Your Branding Efforts?

During this time of business closures and regulated isolation (a process that seems likely to continue for some time as businesses are gradually allowed to reopen), videoconferencing plays a key role in maintaining lines of communication with your employees (assuming you have some), customers (to provide a means of face-to-face contact when such opportunities are scarce), and third-party business meetings.  As we have seen in recent weeks as whole music concerts and television shows have been orchestrated this way, the uses of ZOOM are limited only by our imaginations.

If you have any questions or comments on this topic, we’d love to hear from you.  Scroll down to the comments section at the bottom of this page.

Be safe.  Be well. 

Observe the guidelines implemented for our collective good!!