What You Can Do with Zoom: Backgrounds, Branding, & Business Meetings

Companies are getting creative with Zoom backgrounds to support their branding and marketing. Creatives On Call has artists creating beautiful Zoom backgrounds for clients. Our creatives can support all your digital product and production needs for digital meetings and conferences. Contact us today to start leveraging Zoom virtual backgrounds for your business. 

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Video conferencing has now become the new norm with everyone staying at home these days. People are communicating virtually, from work meetings to chatting with family and friends. Video conferencing has been around a while – actually since the 1870s! But video conferencing as we know it today has only been around for the last decade. 

Many people are still getting used to video conferencing taking the place of in-person meetings. In the last month, the learning curve has been accelerated as a majority of people are forced to work from home. 

You may have heard of these popular video conferencing platforms: Skype, GoToMeeting, WebEx, Google Hangouts Meet, BlueJeans, and Microsoft Teams. But one video conferencing tool is getting the most press – Zoom. 

Zoom has brought in 2.22 million monthly active users this year, more than it did in all of last year (1.99 million). And 3.5x the added monthly active users compared to the same time frame last year. With more people on Zoom, we did a deep dive into the platform to share underutilized features and how businesses can leverage the tool.

Hidden Zoom Features
Zoom's primary function is hosting virtual meetings. You can see your coworkers via a screen and talk like you would sitting across from them at a board room table. But did you know you can get a virtual makeover with Zoom?  

Zoom's touch up my appearance (available in Settings, under Video) works wonders on the appearance of your skin with the check of a box. Zoom has other "hidden" features you may not be aware of: 

• Auto-recording meetings when they start 
• Searchable meeting transcriptions 
• Reacting with emojis 
• The gallery view to view all participants 
• Mute and unmute by using the space bar  
• Pause sharing when presenting 
• Multi-sharing (two users can screen share simultaneously) 

One of the coolest features and the one with the most potential for brands is the ability to create and use virtual backgrounds. 

Benefits of Zoom Backgrounds 

One of Zoom's features allows you to use a virtual desktop background. Viewers see you in the virtual background instead of your messy living room for example. Zoom offers some standard virtual backgrounds like the Golden Gate Bridge and outer space. 

Using virtual backgrounds can be beneficial if your work from home space is not ideal and you don't want to broadcast it to others. It's especially helpful for those who are trying to work from home with kids! By using a virtual background, you can create a more professional appearance and retain privacy. 

Virtual backgrounds are also great for employee engagement. Employees can express their personality through the picture they choose. Teams can get to know each other better and have some fun. At your next meeting, have everyone select a virtual background image and explain why they chose it! 

Zoom also allows you to create and upload a custom virtual background. Custom backgrounds offer the potential for companies to brand webinars, digital conferences, and presentations. This is useful for exposing your brand to others who come in contact with your business.

There is even a branding tab under the advanced setting in the admin drop down that enables companies to make a landing page, add a logo, and customize email notifications and headers and footers.   

Organizations are already seeing the potential of custom Zoom backgrounds and using them to further their brand marketing efforts. The University of Alabama at Burlington and Northwestern are great examples. 

Anthropologie created exclusive Zoom backgrounds in the retail space, that are free to download from their website. Now, imagine if all your favorite brands had custom virtual meeting backgrounds! And imagine what your business could do with virtual backgrounds to spread messages and increase brand exposure.

   

 

How to Enable and Upload Zoom Backgrounds 

• Step 1: Make sure the device you are using meets the system requirements. You need a green screen OR:

For a Mac: 

Zoom Desktop Client for Mac, version 4.6.4 or higher macOS 10.9 or later 6th generation i5 dual-core or higher processor, except atom and y-series. i5 quad-core or higher processor. Any processor with a physical core of 8 or higher

For a PC:
Zoom Desktop Client for PC, version 4.4.53582.0519 or higher. Windows 7, 8, or 10 64-bit. 4th generation i7 quad-core or higher processor

Or 

Zoom Desktop Client for PC, version 4.5.4 (5422.0930) or higher. Windows 10 64-bit. 6th generation Intel i5 Dual-core or higher processor

• Step 2: Log in to your account on the web portal at Zoom.us 

• Step 3: On the left-hand side click Settings  

• Step 4: Within Settings go to In Meeting (Advanced) 

• Step 5: Scroll down to Virtual Background and enable it by sliding it to the right 

• Step 6: Log in to Zoom desktop or mobile version 

• Step 7: Go to the Settings gear symbol on the right-hand side

• Step 8: Click on Virtual Background from the menu 

• Step 9: Choose one of the Zoom virtual backgrounds or upload your own by clicking the plus sign in the right-hand corner and select a file from your computer

Making Custom Zoom Backgrounds
You can make a custom background by selecting any image and resizing it to 1280 x 720 pixels.
These tools can help you create awesome custom backgrounds:  

Fun Free Downloadable Backgrounds
Companies like Netflix and Fox have been dropping virtual backgrounds on Twitter. You can find a virtual background for anything pop culture related to more professional settings. Check out these free downloaded backgrounds:

Backgrounds from The Office to a Disney castle

Funny professional backgrounds
Professional backgrounds   

Unsplashed  

Harry Potter

Create Custom Virtual Backgrounds for Your Brand
For all your virtual meeting and remote company needs, Creatives On Call has artists creating beautiful Zoom backgrounds for clients, project decks, meeting slides, and more. Contact us today to start leveraging Zoom virtual backgrounds and more, fast, for your business. 

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Check out our other resources:

• Hiring Through Crisis: Recruiting & Onboarding in Challenging Times

• CARES Act Part 1: Your Guide to the Paycheck Protection Program

• Digital Marketing: What Does it Mean to be ADA Compliant?

• Coronavirus Disaster Loans Available to Small Businesses, Including Freelancers

• New Federal Law Provides Paid Sick Leave for Employees, Tax Credit for Freelancers