The Rise of Video in Locked-Down America
COVID-19 has sparked dramatic changes in our daily lives, both personal and professional. One of the most obvious changes has been a shift from commuting to the office to working from home. Thanks to the widespread adoption of video applications such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, there has been a corresponding rise in the popularity of video.
Video is Here to Stay
In March, the number of daily Zoom users surpassed 200 million from a previous high of only 10 million, a statistic that demonstrates the burgeoning popularity of video technology. As workers, students and families across the country have become reliant on video tools and software, it’s apparent that even in a post-pandemic world, video is here to stay.
Video has played an important role in corporate culture for the past couple of decades, but its full potential was never realized until the coronavirus pandemic. Nowadays, it’s crept into the mainstream and given rise to a new trend in how businesses interact with their customers. Companies are increasingly relying on video to share their brand stories with consumers, a form of corporate storytelling that was previously limited to words and still images.
Video applications have seemingly limitless boundaries. In the future, face-to-face sales pitches might give way to video calls instead. In an era when social distancing is still being championed, such a move would be viewed as the responsible thing to do from a health and safety standpoint. In the medical community, video consultations have exploded in popularity; these allow patients to schedule virtual visits, offering better communication possibilities than phone calls and eliminating the need to travel — all while protecting the health of individuals who might have underlying issues putting them at greater risk.
Improved efficiency isn’t the only benefit of video conferencing. Video provides extra value; it can save consumers time and money if, for instance, appliance repairs could be diagnosed virtually. This would reduce the cost of service calls and eliminate the need to send out repair people who might waste precious time figuring out the problem. In some cases, contact centers could even instruct consumers on ways to resolve issues themselves. On the flip side, businesses would also benefit from reduced costs.
The bottom line is this: video is here to stay, and its potential is limitless. Embrace it now by investing in the right technology and your company will be well-positioned for success even after we gain control of the coronavirus.