Technology is constantly shifting to meet the always changing needs of businesses and their employees, but some tools of the trade are here to stay.

Take audio conferencing, for example. There’s a reason audio conferencing and conference calls have withstood the test of time and have stuck around as a primary way for teams to communicate. The technology - a landline or mobile phone, sometimes a web interface and a service provider - does not experience significant changes, rather updates that only improve the experience of an audio conference call.

Even as communication alternatives have become more widely adopted, including video conferencing, the phone-based conference call has hung around. So, before your team or business considers switching over to video conferencing calls, let’s pump the brakes and go over why audio conferencing solutions are often the better choice.

Audio conference calls are still popular

Video conferencing is all the rage, right? Well, the technology and service providers are certainly here to stay, but don’t think audio conferencing is going anywhere any time soon.

That’s because conference calls are still incredibly popular. . There still remain more than a few benefits of audio conferencing that help it stand about the visual alternative.

It’s true that video has its advantages, including when interviewing potential new hires. It can also help teams feel more connected as they see faces and interact visually. One study from OWL Labs says 96% of respondents either agree or strongly agree that the feeling of connectedness that video offers is effective.

But a separate survey from 2016 among 1,000 professionals in the United States and the United Kingdom showed respondents spent 163 billion minutes on conference calls.

Now, there’s room to debate whether that’s the best use of time. Perhaps those professionals could improve their conference call productivity. But don’t lose sight of the main point this fact drives home: People and businesses across the world still rely on audio conference calls to hold meetings and update each other project progress.

Many people prefer audio in certain situations

The benefits of audio truly shines in certain situations.

Not everyone is as comfortable appearing on screen or speaking on screen in video as they are with audio conferencing.

There is also the potential for additional distractions to consider. If a person participating in a video conference is in a high-traffic location, then not only will the noise level be unsuitable, but so too will the distractions on the screen.

Audio calls also can be scheduled with less advance notice because it is easier to find suitable locations. For remote workers or employees who must join the call from the road, video may not even be an option.

Audio conference calls are simpler

Audio is great for quick conversations, too, thanks to its simplicity. That simplicity is actually a common reason for why audio conference calls have stuck around for so long.

Audio conferencing has been around for a long time, so the process of hopping on a call is widely understood across industries. Many times, only a dial-in number and possibly a PIN need be remembered to call in from any phone that a person has on hand.

It does not get more simple than that. People trust that simple user experience.

Audio requires less, cheaper hardware

Effective video conferencing often requires businesses to purchase additional hardware to install in meeting and conference rooms. Sometimes this is simply devices with updated cameras. However, businesses have quickly come to realize that for a better experience using video, more cameras and microphone systems are usually needed.

As for audio, there are many free conferencing solutions that require only a phone connection or mobile device.

The affordability factor also directly translates to better accesibility, too, as there hardly ever is a need for a person to carry with them more than just a phone in order to dial in and participate.

When it comes to features, audio can compete with video

Though the straightforward simplicity of audio is a definite benefit, users certainly do not have to sacrifice the features that most conferencing users demand. Aside from the visual appearance on screen, audio conference call users can still enjoy many of the same features.

Those features include HD conference quality, a web interface, call recording, caller ID and more productivity tools. Additional features of the best free conferencing services inlcude no advance reservation required, no time restrictions, no caller limits.

It’s those added features that can separate the best audio call services from the rest of the crowd. We’ll get to that shortly.

The pitfalls of video conferencing

For a variety of reasons, video conferencing is not as widely adopted as other conferencing solutions. Per OWL Labs’s study, only 35% of the respondents said their office conference rooms have video conferencing installed.

Those same respondents also poitned to a couple of common issues that frankly are not unique to video conference calls, but may stand out more on those communication platforms.

Respondents stated that getting meeting started is one of the most frequent issues with video conferencing meetings. That problem relates directly to another frequent issue: time wasted.

Although 17% of survey respondents pointed to starting meetings as their top issue, 50% of the video conferencing users surveyed said they waste almost 10 minutes per meeting on set up alone, while 83% said the process takes more than three minutes on setup.

When time is money, that amount of headaches just to get a meeting going is a lot to see slip down the drain.

Quality, free conference call provider

As we have mentioned before, there are several quality free audio conferencing solutions that users may choose from.

However, not every free solution is actually free when you start adding in the most in-demand features, such as no call length limitations or call recording.

That’s why our customers choose Conference Town. We promise the best free conference call experience available - and have all those highly requested featuers available, too.

Sign up today to begin having better conference calls.