Select the right tool for the job: video webcasting can reach a variety of internal and external audiences.

Over the past two decades, employees in every industry have been a part of a communications revolution that is driving more everyday tasks online. Many people now use instant messaging, Web conferencing and voice over IP among a number of new communications tools. Recently, videoconferencing has made inroads into the enterprise, and webcasting is a large part of that. In fact, video webcasts are now being created right from the desktop, without media department involvement, using tools that effectively combine PowerPoint and video to shorten meetings, reduce travel and increase customer connections.

Over the last few years, however, a troubling trend has developed for business users who have adopted Web conferencing as a dependable standard--the tool has become misused to the point that it is being haphazardly employed for purposes for which it was not designed. Users are stretching the use of Web conferencing to accomplish a wide variety of tasks, such as recorded meetings and on-demand viewing that are better suited for webcasting.

While Web conferencing is about fostering collaboration, at its core, webcasting is about sharing information (live and on-demand). It is a one-to-many communications medium that utilizes rich media and video to enable high-impact communication and education, all of which can be tracked, analyzed and refined based on audience behavior and feedback.

Video webcasting can reach a variety of internal and external audiences. By integrating PowerPoint slides with talking head video clips, dynamic screen captures and interactive features like Q&A, polling and surveys, individuals at every level of management can create customized presentations for product pitches, training, investor information, employee communication and even branded marketing communications. These on-demand video webcasts and podcasts can be used to reach large, geographically dispersed audiences, and can be archived to create libraries of searchable video content.

The quality of video webcasts is beyond what can be accomplished by recording a portion of a Web conference. In addition, new webcasting tools make creating a webcast from a laptop easier and more time-efficient than using a phone, a Web site and a computer to create an audio-only Web conference. More importantly, the detailed tracking available in many webcasting tools can reveal valuable data about the viewing audience. This usage data enables management to ensure that employees are both receiving and viewing business-critical communication and training content.

While large-scale events and live webcasts are still suited for the tech-savvy, many marketing and communications professionals are not aware of the tools that are available today that have simplified video webcasting to the point that in a number of Global 2000 organizations it is becoming a standard desktop tool. Companies as diverse as financial services firms, interactive marketing agencies, telecommunications service providers and high-technology corporations have already begun to roll out desktop-based video webcasting and podcasting programs.

The proliferation of average employees at these companies using desktop webcasting to communicate allows key messages to transmit in lieu of face-to-face meetings with geographically dispersed participants (cutting travel costs) and in advance of internal meetings with local teams (reducing the length of meetings and improving meeting effectiveness).

Video webcasts and podcasts provide the viewing audience with the flexibility to respond and participate according to their own schedule and preferences, much like e-mail. For instance, some watched multimedia messages on their computers while others downloaded podcast versions for later viewing on an iPod.

Certainly, e-mail and Web conferencing will remain communications standards. Businesses, however, are migrating to desktop webcasting to raise the bar for how their workforce utilizes and absorbs business-critical content and communications. Organizations are enabling individuals to instantly create and immediately publish video content that is engaging, branded and professional from anywhere, not just the production studio.

Greg Pulier is co-founder and CEO of Interactive Video Technologies, Los Angeles, Calif.

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MARKET PULSE

Q: Which of the following conferencing/
collaboration providers is the most innovative?

Cisco         25%
Microsoft     16%
Polycom       15%
GoToMeeting   12%
Avaya          9%
Other         23%

Population: 120 IT decision makers from companies with
1,000 or more employees

[c]2007, ChadwickMartin Bailey

Note: Table made from bar graph.