Six reasons why you should use Google Meet for video calling.
Since the first lockdowns of 2020, video calling software has become vital for business and personal use. Zoom ran away with the market so much, some people now claim "zoom" is a verb - we are not so sure on that. For us, Google Meet has always been the video calling software of choice, and below are the six reasons we pick Google Meet over the alternatives.
Google Meet is part of Google Workspace.
If your business uses Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), then Google Meet is included in the subscription. Why pay for an alternative solution or worse still use a free version of Zoom when you have access to a premium video calling solution tightly integrated into Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive - making organising and saving recording super easy.
Record your video calls
If you don't record your video calls, participants will be busy looking down taking notes, as they do in a physical meeting. If they are looking down taking notes, they're are not fully engaged or participating in the discussion. This is why you should always record your video calls, so everyone can be fully engaged instead of scribbling down notes.
With Google Meet, you can easily record your video calls, and once the call had ended all participants will get access to a video recording that they can use to refer back to the content of the call. Recordings are automatically saved in the host’s Google Drive!
Closed Captioning and noise cancellation
Sometimes it is not very easy to hear someone on a video call, maybe there is background noise, their device has a low-quality microphone, or some other reason why hearing what they are saying is difficult.
Google Meet has a handful of accessibility features built-in two of the most useful are noise cancellation and closed captioning. Noise cancellation uses AI to isolate the participant's voice, cancelling our noises such as dog barks, children, doorbells and more. Closed Captioning used AI to put on screen only to you, in-text what is being said, ideal if you are in a noisy area and struggling to hear or if you naturally have hearing difficulties.
Breakout Rooms, Raise Hand, Change Backgrounds, Polls, Q&A and more
With Google Meet, you can host online webinars and events. Features such as Breakout Rooms let you separate participants and then bring them back to the main room once the breakout session is over.
Raise Hand allows a participant to attract the host's attention if they have something they would like to add to the conversation - rather than having to time a place to jump in. Poll's allows the host to put a question to the room to get a response back. And Q&As enable a participant to submit questions during the call. Other participants can vote up questions - so the most common question rises to the top for the host to answer.
Not everyone has the budget or space to set up a dedicated office at home, and some may not want to have the spare bedroom as their backdrop. In Google Meet, you can choose a background or upload your own backdrop.
No software to install
One of the trickiest parts of getting a video call started is getting participants to install and connect to the meeting especially if they are not good with computers or have an overbearing IT department that needs to approve and install the software in advance.
Google Meet is genuinely unique in this area; no software needs to be installed to host or participate in a video call. Everyone clicks on the link that has been sent to them, a web page opens in Chrome, and they are in the video call! When the call ends, simply close the web page. Because there is no software to install; there is no software to update - you will always be running the latest version with the newest features.
Dial-in numbers
For the camera-shy, every Google Meet video call offers local telephone numbers that participants can call to join. It can also be used as a fall back if a participants microphone on their computer fails to work - they can call the number and use their mobile as their microphone while still being part of the video call.
How to use Google Meet in your business
If your business is already using Google Workspace, you can access the premium version of Google Meet as part of your subscription. However, you may not be using it to its full ability; we can help you get the most from Google Meet. Book a video call below.
If your business does not have a proper video calling solution and relies on Zoom's free version, you should book a video call with us. In one weekend we can have you migrated to Google Workspace and using Google Meet within your business.