fbpx
Connect with us

Business

Top 10 Online Meeting Platforms To Help Virtual Team Engagement

Published

on

person in an online meeting

Connecting and communicating with employees and clients remotely is a common practice of businesses in the digital era. On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted almost everyone to resort to virtual meetings to practice social distancing. Online meeting platforms like Cisco Webex, Zoom, and Google Meet allow people to gather in the same space without physically being present. 

Here are the top ten apps and software with video conferencing features to bring virtual teams together. Pick the best that suits your virtual team engagement requirements. 

1. Cisco Webex

Cisco webex homepage screenshot

Cisco Webex is one of the online meeting platforms initially intended for businesses. Businesses widely use Webex because of its built-in controls and tight security features. If you register for Webex’s free subscription plan, you can host virtual meetings or team building with up to 100 individuals for any duration. Omdia Research Company names Webex as a leader in virtual meetings with a score of 91% in the product experience category.

Webex is compatible with Windows and Mac and is an excellent option for those who like to attend meetings on the go from their mobile devices. 

Plans and Pricing: 

Basic – Free

Meet – $144/year

Enterprise – Contact sales

2. Zoom

zoom conferencing homepage screenshot

Zoom is a popular and easy-to-use video conferencing platform wherein you can invite anyone to a Zoom conference with a link (URL), even if your participants are not registered with Zoom. Participants will instantly join a virtual room when they click on the link.  

Registered Zoom users can host meetings with a maximum of 100 people using the free version. The app is ideal for hosting conferences, workshops, and other activities with virtual teams because of its fun features, like breakout rooms.

Plans and Pricing: 

Basic – Free

Meet – $149.90/year

Business-  $199.90/year

3. Google Meet

Google meet screenshot

Google introduced Google Meet as a virtual meeting channel for the company’s enterprise customers. But, with Zoom’s emergence, the company decided to introduce Google Meet as a secure alternative. It can host gatherings of up to 250 participants and also provides helpful add-ons such as live captions and anti-abuse features. Google Meet is also a preferred online meeting platform for online classes during the pandemic. 

If data security is a priority issue for your business, then Meet is suitable for you as long as every team member or participant has an active Google Account.

Plans and Pricing: 

Anyone with a Google Account  can use Google Meet for Free. But, users may avail of Google Workspace Plans. 

4. Skype

skype homepage screenshot

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, becoming the original household name for video calls. However, due to consumer complaints and the surge in the popularity of Zoom, Skype is no longer the first option for online meetings. Skype is relaunched with video conferencing features. The app now offers sessions for up to 50 participants accessible by a generated link. 

Plans and Pricing: 

United States Subscription $2.99/month

India Subscription – $7.99 per month

North America Subscription – $6.99 per month

5. Jami

jami homepage screenshot

Security-aware team members prefer Jami’s signature peer-to-peer and end-to-end encryption. The open-source communication platform has only hosted virtual meetings with up to 16 people. However, you can try Jami with larger groups if you run the discussion from a device with solid bandwidth.

Plans and Pricing: 

FREE

6. Zoho Meeting

Zoho meeting homepage screenshot

Zoho Meeting is a secure online meeting platform and webinar solution that improves team collaboration efficacy. This online meeting platform allows you to conduct video meetings and webinars, share your screen, and record your meetings. In addition, you can protect your online discussions through its secure web conferencing sessions. 

Plans and Pricing: 

Free – $0

Meeting – $3/month, billed annually

Webinar –  $16/month., billed annually

7. Jitsi Meet

Jitsi meet homepage screenshot

For open-source software, you can customize and use Jitsi Meet for your next online meeting. As the platform is secured by strong encryption, it does not ask you to register or restrict the number of participants. Because of this, Jitsi Meet provides endless possibilities for you and your team to conduct virtual meetings, online conferences, workshops, webinars, or even team-building activities.

Plans and Pricing: 

FREE

8. Toasty 

Toasty AI homepage screenshot

Toasty is an interactive virtual meeting platform that enables the host to encourage their audience. It also promotes team collaborations in online meetings and other activities. Plus, it has built-in activities like icebreaker questions, conversation cards, and polls. Toasty also features an interactive meeting agenda the host sets before the event. Likewise, Toasty is built on Jitsi, which provides secure, stable, and easy-to-access connections.

Plans and Pricing: 

Free – $0/month/license

Plus– $30/month/license 

Premium – $50/month/license 

9. Lifesize

lifesize teleconferencing homepage screenshot

Lifesize’s virtual conferencing software is an excellent alternative for teams seeking high-quality 4K video, a wide variety of integrations, and a secure environment. After signing up for a free account, you can host unlimited online meetings with up to 25 people each. Like Zoom, you set up meetings with a shared link, making Lifesize simple. Lifesize is suitable for remote team-building activities due to its focus on high-definition video. It seems like your colleagues are in the same room as you.

Plans and Pricing: 

Quick Start, Advanced, and Premium – by request of quotation

10. Whereby

whereby video calls homepage screenshot

Whereby is another option that allows you to host simple, unique video calls with anyone, anywhere, with just a link. You don’t need to download additional apps or register to start using the platform. Surprisingly, you can also play YouTube videos while using the app, making it perfect for any online activities that require video sharing, such as a Yoga or Zumba tutorial. 

Plans and Pricing: 

Free – $0

Pro– $69.90/year, 1 host

Business – $99.90/host/year

Conclusion

Online meeting platforms have been a saving grace for many businesses during this time of social distancing. Communication, participation, and engagement are the pillars of successfully running the operations of a business. A reliable video conferencing app, employee communication tools, and other productivity tools are essential for connecting and working with teams remotely. These platforms or software allow you to use video to chat and collaborate, discuss in breakout rooms, jot down notes, and more.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

Top 10 Public Relations Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Check Out

Published

on

laptops

Any successful business requires public relations to establish and protect its image and reputation. Fortunately, in the digital world, there are many tools at an entrepreneur’s disposal. This article highlights the ten best public relations tools every entrepreneur should consider to communicate with their target audience and increase brand awareness.

1. HARO (Help a Reporter Out)

public relations tools: HARO

As its name suggests, Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a platform connecting journalists with their stories’ sources. It also allows businesses, organizations, and individuals to share their expertise and insights. They can get in front of a wider audience by offering quotes, facts, and other information to journalists looking for sources for their articles. 

By using HARO, entrepreneurs and PR professionals can get their brands in front of a large audience and improve their visibility, credibility, and reputation. It has a free plan aside from its paid ones, with subscriptions that start at $19 per month.

2. Ahrefs

public relations tools: ahrefs

Primarily known as an SEO tool, Ahrefs can also be used as a public relations tool. It provides a comprehensive analysis of a website’s backlink profile. It enables PR professionals and entrepreneurs to see who is linking to their websites. Plus, you’ll know what content is attracting the most links. Through Ahrefs, PR professionals can identify key influencers and potential media contacts in their industry and reach out to them for possible coverage. 

Ahrefs can also be used to monitor competitors’ PR and marketing activities. This will provide valuable insights into successful PR strategies. The platform offers four premium plans with pricing that starts at $99 per month.

3. Google Alerts

google alerts screenshot

A free, web-based tool, Google Alerts allows you to monitor mentions of specific keywords or phrases on the internet. This tool can be helpful for PR professionals and entrepreneurs as a way to keep track of their online reputation and brand mentions. By setting up Google Alerts for your brand, products, industry keywords, or even your competitors, you can receive email notifications whenever your specified keywords are mentioned online. 

This helps PR professionals stay informed and promptly respond to negative mentions, track positive coverage, and share it with their audience. 

4. BuzzSumo

If you need to get insights on what’s popular, viral, and being shared across the web, BuzzSumo is one of the public relations tools you need. It is a content analysis tool that helps PR professionals and entrepreneurs monitor their online presence. And they can reach their target audience effectively. It provides insights into viral content, competitor analysis, influencer identification, and performance metrics. 

Its ability to track and measure the impact of PR and content efforts makes it a valuable tool for businesses looking to stay ahead of the competition. It offers a free plan, but its paid ones have pricing that starts at $99 per month.

5. PRWeb

PRWeb screenshot

Another valuable tool for PR professionals and entrepreneurs looking to promote their brands, products, and services is PRWeb. It is a PR distribution service that helps businesses and organizations reach their target audience and improve their online visibility. 

PRWeb offers a wide range of distribution options, including national and local media outlets, social media, and industry-specific websites, ensuring that press releases reach the intended audience. You can choose from PRWeb’s four plans with subscription fees that start at $105 per month.

6. Respona

Respona screenshot

One of the most underutilized public relations tools you need to check out is Respona. It effectively helps organizations manage their media and public relations efforts. It provides a centralized platform for monitoring media mentions, conducting outreach to journalists, and measuring the impact of PR campaigns. 

The tool includes email automation, press release distribution, and real-time media monitoring to help PR professionals streamline their work and communicate more effectively with their audience. It offers a free trial, but if you want to continue using it, pricing starts at $99 per month.

7. Coverage Book

Coverage-Book screenshot

If tracking and showcasing your media coverage is a priority, Coverage Book is the public relations tool for you. It provides a platform for organizing and presenting media coverage from online and offline sources, including press releases, articles, and social media mentions. It also includes analytics to measure the impact of PR campaigns and provide insights into the performance of media outreach efforts. 

Coverage Book is designed to help PR teams demonstrate the value of their work to internal stakeholders and clients. This is a good investment, with prices ranging from $99 to $599. 

8. Business Wire

public relations tools: Business-Wire

A news distribution service and PR tool, Business Wire is used by organizations to distribute press releases and other news content to media outlets and stakeholders. It provides a platform for organizations to reach a global audience through distribution to a vast network of media outlets and websites, including major search engines, news databases, and social media platforms. 

Business Wire is a paid service with varying costs based on distribution and features needed. It offers different packages available to meet the needs of various organizations.

9. NinjaOutreach

NinjaOutreach screenshot

A public relations tool that offers a platform for simplifying your outreach efforts and building relationships with journalists, bloggers, and other influencers. NinjaOutreach provides email outreach automation, influencer database search, and analytics to track PR campaigns. It saves time and effort by automating repetitive tasks and providing insights into effective audience outreach. 

The tool is designed to help organizations improve their media coverage and build relationships with key influencers. Pricing ranges between $389 and $849 per month.

10. SourceBottle

Source bottle

A journalism tool that doubles as a public relations tool is SourceBottle. It connects journalists and bloggers with experts, sources, and content for their stories. It provides a platform for experts, organizations, and individuals to offer their expertise and resources to journalists looking for references and information. 

SourceBottle also offers analytics to track the success of PR campaigns and provide insights into media outreach efforts. The service fee is based on the desired features and the number of journalists and bloggers to be reached. But for starters, you need to create an expert profile for a monthly cost of $25.

Final Thoughts

The world of public relations is constantly evolving. Entrepreneurs must stay up-to-date with the latest tools and technologies to get their messages and stories in front of their target audience. The public relations tools discussed in this list are some of the best in the industry and offer a range of features and capabilities to meet the needs of different types and sizes of organizations.

Continue Reading

Business

Unlimited Graphic Design Companies Of 2025 + Promo Codes (Updated)

Published

on

In 2025, unlimited graphic design has become a crucial part of the day-to-day operations of businesses that can’t afford to hire an in-house designer. And with more unlimited graphic design companies now backed by AI capabilities, scalability and efficiency have increased exponentially.

Let’s unpack all there is to know about unlimited graphic design providers, including features, money-back guarantees, and factors to consider when choosing.

Which Provider Should You Choose?

We’ve done the homework and curated a list of Unlimited Graphic Design providers for you and also negotiated special deals on your behalf. You can see them all below and decide which one fits your business based on your needs.


Unlimited Graphic Design Providers

What Does Unlimited Graphic Design Mean?

These unlimited graphic design services have a monthly subscription business model. That means you can sign up and cancel whenever you like. What sets them apart from your typical freelancer, agency, or in-house designer is you gain access to a workflow that is designed to be quick and to the point.

You’ll communicate with their team through Trello, email, or an online platform. The option given is dependent on the company you choose. For example, only a small selection of services provide a custom built online platform for their customers.

Once you’re connected to their workflow, you can begin submitting as many design requests as you want. Although they all claim “unlimited”, it generally means you can “create” unlimited design requests. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll work on them all at once. Usually, they just work on one design at a time. When one completes, they start the next design.

The usual turnaround time is between 1 – 2 days, and that’s just for the first draft. It doesn’t mean your entire request is complete. If you don’t like it, you can request as many revisions as you want, and that will take more time. So it can take up to a week to actually get the design complete if you have a lot of revisions.

Another thing to keep in mind is content. You need to be able to have everything ready and provide all the content needed in order for their designers to get started.

How Does On-Demand Graphic Design Work?

Most graphic design services listed above offer clients a bespoke design platform. For instance, Penji’s design tool is an all-in-one platform where designers, account managers, customers, and their team members can communicate and collaborate. 

Although the steps in working with a graphic design company are similar, we’ll use Penji’s design software to share the step-by-step graphic design process.

1. Log in

Once you’ve selected the subscription plan, log in to your design tool and access your dashboard. Most of these tools are user-friendly with a minimal learning curve and prioritize user experience. 

This example of Penji’s dashboard shows a list and thumbnails of ongoing design projects. The menu at the top shows the Active, Completed, Drafted, and On-hold projects.

Submitting a design brief is the first step in the on-demand graphic design process. To submit, click the +New Project button at the upper right side of the dashboard. 

2. Fill in the title

Think of a relevant project title that will describe the design accurately. Writing an accurate title will make browsing through ongoing projects easier once you have a long list. 

For instance, if you’re creating a company logo, you can write “Logo design” and specify the company or industry beside it if you’re handling multiple brands.

3. Choose from design categories

The next step is to choose from the many design categories. Most unlimited graphic design services have around 100+ design categories. Penji has 120+ design categories. Choose one that fits your project. 

4. Write a design brief

This step is crucial when working with on-demand graphic designers, as this will make or break your project outcome. Writing a thorough, clear, and well-thought-out design brief makes it easier for designers to understand exactly what you want. 

Penji’s design platform has a few reminders on the left side when writing design briefs. Ensure you follow the tips for a better design outcome. 

5. Attach files and images for inspiration

Some customers can’t express themselves clearly through written instructions. You can attach files and images to support your written descriptions with visuals. Attaching sample logos also helps lead designers in the right direction. Attaching your competitors’ logos is also a way to make yours better. 

You’ll also need to choose the source file type in this step or let designers pick for you.

6. Choose a brand style guide

Subscribing to unlimited graphic design services means you can request any visuals for multiple brands. Penji’s design tool lets you save and categorize your brand style guides in folders. This way, you only have to choose a branding guideline for designers to follow. 

Once you’ve chosen the associated brand, click the Create project button to start the process. 

7. Wait 24 to 48 hours

Although most on-demand graphic design services’ turnaround is 24 to 48 hours, some companies may take more than two days. This is due to complex projects like illustrations or web pages.

Wait for the first draft and ask for revisions until you’re 100 percent happy with the design. Download the source file, and you’re good to go!

Why Should You Sign Up for Unlimited Graphic Design Services

Subscribing to unlimited graphic design services is more convenient than hiring freelance designers. 

Here are factors why many users choose to outsource their design needs to unlimited graphic design services:

  • Work with vetted designers and choose from various skill sets. There is no need to search for another designer fit for a particular project. The company will assign you the most suitable designer.
  • AI integration. The best unlimited graphic design providers make sure that their vetted designers have updated training and are able to take advantage of the latest tech, including AI.
  • No need to worry about additional fees as you only have to pay fixed monthly rates and get unlimited designs. Revisions also come at no extra cost. 
  • You don’t have to worry about graphic designers going MIA and abandoning crucial projects. Each design project is managed by an account manager who will check if deadlines are met on time. 
  • Signing up and canceling subscriptions with on-demand graphic design services is easy. You can sign up if you need a stream of designs while setting up shop and cancel anytime without incurring cancellation fees. 
  • Fast 24 to 48-hour turnaround, which prevents any bottlenecks in your marketing campaigns. 
  • Request to change assigned designers if you’re unhappy with their work at no additional cost. 
  • Organize your projects and brand style guides if you request multiple brand designs. The custom design platforms make managing projects efficient and convenient. 

Are they worth it?

If you have a lot of design needs, they’re definitely worth it. Being that it’s a monthly recurring investment, you’ll need to make sure that you have the need for an ongoing graphic design service. This graphic design service model is comparable to outsourcing a designer yourself, except much of all the management work is done by the company. The quality of designs and turnaround time also tends to be significantly better when outsourcing a designer yourself.

Continue Reading

Business

What’s the Best Creative Design Company for you?

Published

on

Top 4 Unlimited graphic design services

Introduction

Many companies settle for unlimited graphic design services as the happy medium. With a flat monthly fee, brands can access as many requests as needed at an expedited rate without the hassle.It is efficient, cost-effective, and stress-free.

But which is the best creative service design firm for you? The following are four top agencies that offer creativity as a service.

#1 Penji: The Best Unlimited Graphic Design Service Overall

Penji: unlimited graphic design services

Penji is a well-known name in the vast graphic design industry. It has a great reputation thanks to quality service, turnaround and reasonable pricing. A flat monthly fee grants access to a professional design team that tackles logos, advertisements, social graphics, packaging and even websites.

Pros

  • Quick turnaround time—many designs within 24-48 hours.
  • Unlimited revisions until satisfaction.
  • An easy-to-use platform for submission and tracking.
  • A vast array of design opportunities from marketing to branding.
  • Designers are dedicated to your projects, getting to know your style.

Cons

  • The monthly subscription does not cover writing or video editing across all plans.
  • Complex requests may take longer than 48 hours.

#2 Kimp: Affordable Unlimited Creative Design

Kimp: unlimited graphic design services

Kimp is well-known for being an economical alternative that still provides dependable design help. Kimp is unique in that it combines graphic design and video design in one strategy. Thus, it’s perfect for companies looking for social media support, advertisement content or YouTube graphics.

Pros

  • Transparent pricing on a per-month basis.
  • Unlimited requests and unlimited revisions.
  • Graphic and video design in one plan.
  • A dedicated group works on your projects.

Cons

  • Turnaround might slow as requests increase.
  • Communication is limited to Kimp’s internal platform.

#3 Flocksy – Creative as a Service Agency

Focksy

Flocksy offers more than just design; it’s more of a creative as a service agency covering unlimited writing, video editing, even voiceovers. Thus, if you require several different types of creative coverage in one space, this could be the place for you.

Pros

  • Unlimited tasks completed for a diverse array of options.
  • A dedicated team learns your preferences over time.
  • Fast turnaround, often 24-hour delivery.
  • Perfect for businesses needing more than graphic design.

Cons

  • Monthly pricing is greater than that of graphic-only agencies.
  • Can feel overwhelming if only looking for graphics.

#4 Delesign – Scalable and Flexible Solution

Delesign

Delesign is all about flexibility. It covers plans that accommodate small businesses and growing businesses. Additionally, you can select between day or night shifts so your projects get completed even faster.

Pros

  • Flexible plans to accommodate small and growing businesses.
  • Wide range of illustrations in addition to designs.
  • Designers are dedicated, making feedback easier.
  • Day and night shifts available for faster turnaround.

Cons

  • Smaller agency so it can sometimes be capacity limited.
  • Certain advanced offerings require additional fees.

Featured Image Credit: Tranmautritam from pexels

Continue Reading

Trending