A competitive world market pushes every business into the position of growth and development. Companies work hard to build up their unique workspace environment and credibility among their partners. When everything seemed to be planned and decided, the Year 2020 brought in quandaries and a new working reality – virtual calls and video conferences made the biggest part of it. Zooming now seems like a routine, just as natural as office meetings used to be. People got used to such a style and keep exploring new tools to increase the efficiency of their work.
One of the important things to check, before having another call, is the background you use. It may seem like an insignificant issue, however, it creates the whole impression and can spoil the moment. Obviously, the majority of us stay in places that are far from being work-related. That’s why different distractions keep popping into the screen. While it looked cute and funny at the beginning of the remote era, now it’s rather irresponsible and disorganized.
Why are zoom backgrounds important?
Brand identity
Typically, your office and its ambiance would represent your ideas behind the product and expose your philosophy to every visitor. Now, with the majority of contacts online, this touchpoint must appear somewhere as well, and why not use the zoom background for that? There are numerous applications online that can help you create an appropriate picture.
Team building
Even though a lot of workers got used to working from home, the quality of communication suffers a lot. People seem to have lost the touch with each other. Sadly, it influences the quality of work as well.
To avoid such a detrimental effect on team unity, it’s important to organize weekly meetings, discuss matters and listen to each other. To help people relax you can set funny zoom backgrounds, using the collages from the numerous team buildings you had, or just random photos from life in the office. People need to feel the bonds, and your task is to maintain this feeling of community.
Better professional look
It’s important to remember that first impression matters – both in face-to-face meetings and online calls. The picture you create influences the way you are taken by the partners. Wearing formal clothes and having shelves with bric-a-brac behind looks rather unprofessional. Instead, set a proper standard background, so that your visual appearance is complete and the whole attention is taken by what you say and present, not the things in the background.
Maintain office looks
Setting a proper background defines the direction of the meeting and prevents any type of distraction. You can work from any place you want – the cafe, the bedroom, the library, however, others don’t need to know about it. Business requires only business-related settings.
What are the key moments to remember when choosing the background?
Always right angle and lighting
Let’s be honest, who has a professional studio or a study at home? Probably, very few people. However, the backlight, and the angle of the camera matter. With the background set, you can avoid half of the problem, setting the scene once and not having much trouble afterward. Proper lighting makes a good and clear picture. Avoid windows at the back so you don’t look like a dark silhouette. Find a place to keep your computer steady, as, with every movement, the camera will make its own adjustments, changing the color of your face.
Use emotionally pleasant colors
When creating a company logo as a background or just choosing an individual one, go for calm and soothing colors, otherwise, all the attention will be taken by the picture and not the information you present. Similarly, it’s important to avoid miscellaneous colors, as it delivers the wrong message. Going for a soothing and monochromatic picture with the key company features will help to create both – proper background and impression.
Focus on business
Stretching your logo across the screen will definitely be too distracting. Choose a more subtle advertisement – just add certain alignment or recognizable elements. Modest decoration will have even more value. Choose the fonts that relate to the overall idea of the brand. Besides, too ‘loud’ logos and signs are quite repelling and look as if boasting about oneself and the company. It’s better to be moderate and go for more subtle ways of presentation.
Avoid too many details
Just a few specific brand features, relaxing colors, and key phrases or logos. If you exceed the limits and add too many meaningful details, your partner won’t help watching everything.
Think about a typical meeting room – a pretty yet modest setting – table, chairs, and whiteboard, as the main focus is on the ideas and getting the work done, not the design of the room. Exactly the same rule should be applied for online meeting backgrounds – modest, meaningful, and productive.
Watch the text
Having the brand features on the backgrounds sets the right mood for the meeting, however, avoid too much text on it and be attentive with the ‘mirroring’ option, as it may look pretty unarranged. Besides, instead of listening to you, people will try to make out what is written.
Appearance matters, or no ‘black square’ faces
Video conferences give a chance to stay ‘hidden’ while being present during the video conference. However, this option is a sign of a rather poor culture and disrespect regarding the culture of communication. It is critical to see the person while talking, as facial expression and body language matter, giving the additional information about your speaker. If there’s no built-in camera, there are plenty of variants offered on the market. Your reputation is under the question.
Branded virtual backgrounds may seem like something not worth the time and attention, however, they create a whole and complete impression of your company. With a properly elaborated background, you get a bunch of benefits – no visual ‘noises’, a business-related atmosphere, and a feeling of consistency and unity. Taking into account the turbulence of recent years, the credibility of the company must be built up in the virtual world as well.