How to Use Video Streaming to Improve Business Operations
Business owners need to do everything in their power to stay competitive. Successfully achieving that takes a lot of calculation, the right technology, and a willingness to adapt.
Video streaming is one technology that’s transforming the way businesses operate, applicable to every industry and use case. Here are some of the ways organizations are benefiting from it in 2021.
1. Improve Employee Efficiency
One of the best ways to improve efficiency is by offering the latest tools to your employees. It brings benefits to everyone, allowing your business to remain competitive while employees learn how to use the latest technologies in the industry.
You need to help your employees start working smarter, not harder. That’s where video streaming technologies can significantly help out.
For example, organizations in the agricultural industry can leverage drones to survey land and inspect crops. The biggest plus is that drone flight patterns can be automated, and workers can review the recorded footage later.
Another great example is in law enforcement and security, which can deploy IoT devices with live video feeds and infrared cameras. Using these video streaming features allows for more intelligent surveillance capabilities and speedier response times.
If you’re working in an industry where there’s a danger from hazards to your employees, using robots with video streaming could also safely equip them to carry out their tasks. For example, EWI created a system that combines live streaming with robotics for remote welding operations, which enables welders to flexibly complete their jobs while staying safe from hazardous conditions.
No matter the use case, introducing equipment such as drones and robots will help your employees be more efficient with remote operations.
2. Boost Internal Collaboration
With remote work growing, you’ll need to take creative steps to improve business processes. Aside from using apps like Talkdesk, implementing video streaming can also help bridge the gap of working from home.
You can use video streaming to improve communication in your company in two ways.
- Vertical communication: Holding regular group video meetings is a great way to remind the employees what their goals are. Taking this step will also keep managers closer to your employees, as they’ll be in touch more often.
- Horizontal communication: Besides communicating with management, it’s also essential to establish clear day-to-day communication within teams. That’s one of the biggest benefits of using video streaming in business. Team members can meet daily to discuss the plan and what needs to be done.
Working on communication in this manner will keep business operations in check. Consistent and effective communication will keep the team members together and help them with their collaborative efforts despite working remotely.
3. Simplify Knowledge Sharing and In-House Education
Keeping your business ahead of the competition starts with building a team of highly skilled employees. But the only way to maintain this advantage is through actively working on improving employees’ skill sets.
Even though your team might be remote, video streaming can help you share knowledge more easily with your employees. You can use the technology to live stream broadcasts and create on-demand video content.
Running a live stream is an excellent option for running events such as webinars. Use this approach to share stories about the company’s success, best practices, and methods for great results.
Aside from live streaming, video on demand (VOD) streaming allows you to record, store, and share content with your company. You can even create a video streaming app specifically for your business needs so that employees can access the learning materials when it best suits them.
Making on-demand available will provide the option for employees to learn new things on their terms. They can set a pace that fits their schedule.
If you’re thinking of a way to improve your employees’ skill sets, consider video streaming as a great way of sharing knowledge. It’s one of the best mediums for teaching.
4. Provide Unique Client Experiences
Incorporating new technologies is one of the best ways of remaining competitive in the market today. Combining virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and video streaming is a great way to create unique experiences for your potential clients.
For example, organizations in the real estate industry are creating VR experiences so potential clients can stream with VR headsets. Buyers are able to explore the properties without having to travel from the other side of the country.
On the other hand, organizations are using AR to showcase new products. Take a look at Amazon; it’s using AR to show its customers how an item would look in their living space.
Another helpful way of relying on VR is to use it for support training. Your customers can experience presentations on how to use your product effortlessly. AR could also be used to overlay tips and tricks when troubleshooting common issues like engine maintenance. Besides working with clients, you can use the same approach in your employee VR training.
Given the fact that VR and AR technologies are still quite fresh, you’ll have to be creative and figure out the best way to incorporate them into your business operations.
5. Improve Customer Engagement
Building a community around your brand pays off in the long run as more people will come back to your brand in the future. Given that millions of people spend their time on social media daily, it’s a good idea to engage with them via live video streaming.
Companies use various approaches to engage with their audience. Some of the popular social media networks to consider are:
- Instagram: Many companies use Instagram live streams to connect with their audiences. It’s the perfect way to hold FAQ sessions and hear out your audience.
- TikTok: As one of the most innovative live-streaming apps, TikTok is very interactive as followers can reward the stream host and engage with him directly via messages.
- Facebook: Facebook is still the biggest social media network and continues to grow. It provides live streaming and more to keep in touch with your community.
These are only some of the most popular social media networks. Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube also offer live streaming capabilities — proving just how mainstream this technology has become.
Live event leaders like Freeman have leveraged Wowza’s platform to simulcast across several different social media sites at once. They’ve also benefited from the ability to schedule prerecorded content to play as though live. Creating a live streaming schedule helps build communities and brand awareness, while minimizing complexity and the need for in-house resources.
Concluding Thoughts
Video streaming is a powerful tool that’s worth integrating into your business. It helps skyrocket in-house communication despite remote work trends. On top of that, it’s become essential to connecting with clients and streamlining internal operations.
The best part is that technologies keep evolving, opening more use cases for video streaming. Given how fast the digital transformation is happening, we’re excited to see more innovative video streaming methods to improve business operations.