The Coronavirus outbreak has forced countless professionals to work from home. Whether you're working with a team, spread across the world, or sitting at home juggling calls and meetings, video calling platforms are an essential tool to handle the workload.
Although several video conferencing apps to choose from, Zoom has become a popular option for many. According to The Guardian, daily Zoom downloads peaked at a whopping 2.13 million by March 2020, against 56,000 in January the same year.
A free option for meeting online, Zoom's popularity lives up to its name. It is perfect for large work meetings and larger (and louder) family chats. As a web client, it is available on all effective working systems like Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, ChromeOS, etc.
Zoom add ons are simple to use, is stable, and packed with many features that come in handy in customizing its functions according to your needs. Because let's face it - although it may feel like it, it's no longer March 2020.
It's time you leveled up to the best Zoom add-ons, so you work smarter, not harder.
Soorya Radhakrishnan
Features of Zoom
Zoom recognizes that meetings need to be more efficient. According to Doodle's 2019 State of Meetings report, the cost of poorly organized conferences in 2019 was predicted to reach $399 billion in the U.S. and $58 billion in the U.K.
What makes Zoom our favorite pick is its evolution since it became famous earlier this year. Zoom has many features that make meetings more productive. The cherry on top is that they're continually expanding their user interface and inventing new ways to use the platform, including new zoom add ons.
Best Zoom add ons offer over a hundred apps that you can integrate within the video conferencing app, available at the zoom marketplace. For example, it allows one to create a video clip using footage from a recorded Zoom meeting that you can then send as a link in Slack or through iMessage and other communication apps.
Even though you've most probably already used Zoom for one reason or another, here's a quick overview of a few exciting zoom features:
Lock Meeting: Stop new participants from joining in by locking in a meeting room by clicking on 'more' when meeting.
Breakout rooms: If you want to hold a private conversation with a specific person or group of people, you can create a parallel meeting room within the central meeting. You can create one or even multiple breakout rooms and dismiss them to join the main call again.
Multiple mute options: You can choose various sound options for meeting participants. Mute on entry whenever someone joins, bell chime when someone leaves or enters, mute everyone at once, etc.
Neha Kulshreshtha
18 Best Zoom Add ons To Use In Your Meetings
1. Schedule Meetings From Within Gmail and Slack
Zoom integrates with both Gmail and Slack. Zoom's new add ons allow you to schedule a meeting straight from your Gmail or Slack.
In Gmail, you can use an add-on button to schedule meetings, invite users, and start meetings right from inside Gmail without the need to open the Zoom app.
While the Slack integration allows users to start an instant Zoom meeting within Slack, this means meetings created in Slack appear on your Zoom account.
2. Integrate With Google Calendar
It's safe to assume that Google Calendar is almost like a default assistant that keeps track of our events and tasks. Now you can integrate Zoom within your calendar, so you don't have to shuffle between links on Slack, Gmail, or WhatsApp.
By choosing Zoom as your default conferencing option, you can directly add Zoom links to your google calendar events. As you click on the meeting link, Zoom will automatically open without having to launch the app. Find the app here.
Avantika Mishra
3. Experiment Backgrounds With Canva
Given how much time we spend on screens, it's always nice to experience small things that seem pleasing in the middle of a hectic workday.
With Canva for Zoom, you can have a virtual zoom background in a few clicks. You can customize one of Canva's templates or even download one of their designer backgrounds for your next call. Their fun and quirky templates can easily elicit a few smiles from fellow attendees before delving into the meeting agenda!
4. Enhance Webcam Experience With SparkoCam
If you're using Zoom for something where you need the camera quality to be better than what your regular webcam has to offer, then SparkoCam is the answer.
You can connect a Camera like Canon or Nikon by setting it up on a tripod or a stand, and SparkoCam will turn your DSLR or any other camera into a webcam that can connect to zoom.
Along with a better video experience, SparkoCam lets you add graphics, animation, effects, and other features on the screen.
However, this is not a free app and is available only for windows (let us have some things, mac users!).
5. Cancel Noise With Krisp
If background noise is disturbing your meetings, you know it's time to do something about it. Even though zoom has a default noise suppression built-in (find it in the Audio settings), you can significantly increase noise cancellation efficiency through Krisp. It has a separate desktop app that you can use for free.
Krisp works for both mac and windows. Find the app here.
6. Integrate With Evernote
The popular cloud note-taking app Evernote has been gathering momentum amongst an increasing user base. Zoom add-on for Evernote allows you to create, edit, and store your Evernote data from inside Zoom.
An exciting feature of this integration is that all the interaction with Evernote inside Zoom happens mainly with a bot. There could be a slight learning curve there, but reading the Evernote Zoom documentation is an excellent way to get familiar with all you can do with this integration.
7. Get Meeting Metrics and Stats With Zylo
Financesonline tells us that business units spend approximately 31 hours every month in unproductive meetings. With video conferencing tools like Zoom and a popular SaaS management platform tool like Zylo, there's a lot you can do to improve meeting productivity.
With Zylo for Zoom, companies can track host meeting metrics and engagement levels. It can also help you figure out the right Zoom package for your company based on usage.
With Zylo, you can track metrics like Group meetings within the activity threshold, average group meeting length, the average number of meeting participants, etc.
8. Auto-transcribe Meetings With Fireflies
Fireflies is an AI voice assistant that helps transcribe, summarize, analyze, and complete actions during meetings.
Whether it's essential sales calls, recruiting interviews, or team sync-ups- Fireflies makes it easy to record, transcribe, and organize all your team's meetings in one place. Fireflies' transcription system is explicitly trained for conversations & meetings across a wide variety of industries.
It comes packed with powerful AI features that allow you to:
- Transcribe live Zoom meetings, and save audio files. Even though you can use Zoom transcription, the transcription accuracy and features just don't match with those of Fireflies.
- Turn important parts of calls into shareable soundbite snippets
- Use keyword/theme/topic-specific search capacities, and much more.
With a simple, one-time zoom integration setup, you'll have your personal AI assistant Fred auto-join your zoom meetings and auto email you a transcription file right after the meeting gets over!
9. Multi-Task During A Meeting With Circles
According to a Workfront Survey, 62% of people feel that only one out of five meetings are meaningful.
Meetings aren't always productive or well-timed. If you have ever been in a zoom meeting that doesn't seem directly relevant and is eating into precious productive time, you can change that with Circles.
When you use Circles with zoom, it creates a new zoom interface. Everyone on the call is reduced to a small video circle, and your desktop becomes available for use while you're on the call, minus the clutter of myriad meeting windows.
The best part is that even though you have complete freedom to navigate through your desktop, you can still use the chat and video-sharing feature through zoom.
10. Create Online Services Using Zoom For Wix
Wix has expanded from helping create a website for your product to integrating online services using Zoom with Wix. Zoom combines within your webpage, which means you create direct communication channels with your clients for communication and appointments.
It gives you the freedom to host webinars, classes, or meetings instantly and virtually. You can create automatic unique zoom meetings for each session, manage your bookings by a "zoom meeting" option for your clients, and more.
11. Integrate With Hubspot
Hubspot, a popular free CRM software, now has a Zoom integration and comes with a few exciting features. You can automatically send dial-in and conference call details to your HubSpot prospects or turn every meeting booked in your HubSpot CRM into a Zoom meeting.
It also adds significant value to customer data collection. For example, when someone registers for a Zoom webinar, they're incorporated as a HubSpot contact. You can also use HubSpot workflows to send them automated event reminders, follow-up emails, and more.
Check out the best Hubspot Add-ons:
Manasvi Pawaria
12. Protect Your Zoom Meetings With Obsidian Security
The integration between Obsidian and Zoom allows security teams to see who's using Zoom. If you have company zoom accounts regularly used by employees, Obsidian Security can help you track zoom activity. Track what your team members are doing to protect against inappropriate recording or oversharing of sensitive data.
There are many security levels offered that you can choose from based on your need. Admins can control the kind of alerts they want to get. They can detect and respond to poorly configured Zoom accounts, security incidents, and insider threats that involve Zoom in combination with other SaaS applications.
13. Sync your Zoom meetings with Docket
Docket is an agenda creation and calendar tool. With Docket's app for Zoom, teams can add Zoom conversations to their schedule.
Create a meeting in Docket as usual and add a zoom conferencing button along with it. This allows team members to join in with just one click. And then, when it's time for your meeting, Docket will remind you of agenda items to discuss. You can also launch Zoom from Docket.
14. Create Zoom Links Within Linkedin
Linkedin Video Meetings is Zoom's new integration app for Linkedin. Now you can generate and share video meeting links on Zoom directly through your LinkedIn messages, and these can either be instantaneous or scheduled for later.
Once you've started a conversation with someone on a private chat, you'll be able to create zoom meet links directly from there.
15. Integrate with Salesforce
Salesforce is a popular cloud-based CRM software that helps businesses interact with their customers. Now Zoom marketplace has an app for Salesforce packed with features that make a meeting with clients, teammates, and leads happen right from inside Salesforce.
Some of our favorite features include automatic logging of zoom activity in a user's Salesforce history, meeting recording stores in Salesforce, integration with Zoom Phone, automatic campaign creation, and a lot more.
Krish Ramineni
16. Automate Zoom Tasks With Zapier
Zapier is automation software that helps you create workflows between apps that otherwise don't interact with each other. It has a Zoom integration app.
There are countless ways in which you can integrate Zapier with Zoom. You can automate tasks like automatic webinar registration upon customer payment, send invitations when creating a meeting, and much more. Zapier claims to have over 1,500 app integrations that you can use with zoom through its platform.
Check out Zapier Automation Tips and Tricks:
Avantika Mishra
17. Noise-Canceling, Backgrounds, Auto-Framing With Nvidia Broadcast App
If you're using zoom for a TV broadcast or a big audience event like an online university lecture or a webinar, Nvidia can transform your video conferencing experience.
Features like Auto Frame movement, virtual backgrounds, and active noise removal are some of the most powerful features of the broadcast app.
The app requires a bit more than just your laptop, though, and you'll need some Nvidia equipment, like graphic cards. See here for more.
18. Integrate With Panopto
Panopto, a popular, secure solution for sharing video recordings, now has a zoom integration.
Panopto lets team members share information fast. Admins get more in-depth controls over recordings, while employees get an accessible knowledge repository.
You can now edit videos within Zoom. Admins can also check viewing analytics, and storing all recordings in a central space makes them easier to find.
You can organize videos by topic and curate content for the portal homepage. What's more, if you record a video with Panopto, you can also add your branding before sharing it with others.
Last Two Cents
Meetings don't have to be boring, and with work from home tools evolving, it is possible to make meetings more productive.
While the most critical factor for productive meetings is strategic planning, it's essential to explore new tools and apps as they pop up around us, making our lives (at least online) simpler.
Have a favorite Zoom Add-On? Share with us in the comments below!
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Vibhanshu Dixit
