How much do we communicate, how communicative are we? This is the daily thought in the age of social. All we do is post photos, stories, direct, share moods; communicating to no end what happens during our day, using all the social media we have at our disposal forgetting, sometimes, the value of this action.
Yet, there are those who think that communicating is among the most beautiful things in the world and that everyone should be able to do it in the best way. This was the basic idea that prompted some young people to start Beentouch, an innovative video calling app, indeed "for communicating without borders" as their site states. An app that allows to live the act of communication as a unique experience, with any type of connection and anywhere in the world. Beentouch's features are precisely minimized consumption and impressive image and sound quality. In fact, the app makes it possible to communicate even in poor internet conditions, a feature that makes it unique.
The Beentouch team was formed in 2014 and thanks to a call from Tim Wcap, sponsors of the new #SMDAYIT edition and guests at the startup competition of the 2016 edition, the idea became reality. Since November 2016 Beentouch is on the international market available to all those who want to live communication as an emotional experience without limits of devices and distances.
To learn more, we met with Daniele Pecoraro, CMO of Beentouch, who answered some of our curiosities.
How can Beentouch support the work of a Social Media Manager and how does it fit into the diverse world of social?
We are always attached to the smartphone, is that true or not? SMM or not, today this object is at the center of our communication. This is where we act with Beentouch. It is much more than the usual VoIP software: we have worked to make it very performant even where other software does not work. Imagine having difficulty communicating with your team or your customers while you are organizing an editorial plan or managing a social media crisis. With Beentouch, we have churned out an app (soon to be cross-platform) that enables calling and video calling with better quality/consumption performance than other competitors. Think of countries in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America where connections are not the best or, without going very far, when our Italian networks leave something to be desired, especially on mobile.
How did the Beentouch team come about: how were you able to work together and bring your startup to life?
The passion for technology and the skills acquired during computer engineering classes and sleepless nights spent "hacking" meet with the desire to get involved. With a touch of youthful madness, Danilo and Alberto decided to embark on this adventure and soon attracted Emanuele, Federica and Daniele to themselves. We have been through a lot, from the first research to the prototype, to the acceleration path in TIM#WCAP, the management of the first crises, the care of the relationships with partners (we are talking about TIM, Microsoft, Google, Facebook... and #SMDAYIT!). Today that bit of madness has turned into industrial quantities of enthusiasm and stubbornness. We are a close-knit team and feel like a family, of which Beentouch itself is a component.
You are all very young, where would you like to be in 5 years and what are the prospects for Beentouch in the immediate future and 5 years from now?
I n Italy it is easy to say that we are young because adding up our ages we make just over a century. In truth, if we compare ourselves with our Northern European, American and Asian colleagues we are also old. Age is a number, what counts are competence and determination! With Beentouch in the past two years we have faced two launches, one in Italy and one global, and a long series of satisfactions (with dozens of problems overcome!). Now the most challenging part awaits us: the distribution and diffusion of Beentouch around the world, with more attention in emerging markets, the focus of our work. Five years from now well ... we see ourselves happy to have made a positive impact in the lives of millions of people through emotional, reliable and secure long-distance communication, of which a hemisphere of the world has been deprived until now.
Why should an SMM choose Beentouch in their daily work routine?
The work of the SMM, and digital marketers in general, requires elasticity and versatility. Between content creation and on-the-go channel management, the concept of the "mobile office" is more common than ever, not to mention remote work. Communicating remotely in a reliable and effective manner is critical to getting everyday work done without hindrance. Beentouch was born as an app for internet calling and video calling even when connectivity is not the best. It dovetails perfectly with the work of SMM and startup teams, who already adopt Beentouch for high-quality remote meetings, also consuming little internet during long brainstorming and discussion sessions.
From this talk it really seems that we have at our disposal a new tool to communicate without limits and distances. An idea that is not only innovative but can really change the communication of thousands of people, in a historical period where we all communicate but really few care to do it well.
What to do now? Simple, download Beentouch and try it out!