As a seasoned marketer, you don’t budge: the secret to a successful brand video is not so much what it promotes, but how it does it.
Communicate without qualms? Too little for you. Whether it’s to federate your customers or your collaborators, you always have at heart to create useful, inspiring content and (really) in tune with the interests of your target.
No wonder the video tutorial catches your eye. Sometimes captivating, sometimes instructive, the video tutorial instills a fortiori the image of an expert brand and concerned about the user experience.
And the best thing about it all? The tutorial video makes it business friendly. Very well even:
- On the employee side, 67% of employees say they accomplish their tasks more efficiently by following video instructions
- On the customer side, 1/3 of consumers under 35 say they have purchased a product or service after watching an explanatory video
Only here it is creating a video tutorial that captures the attention of an ever more volatile audience, it cannot be improvised.
Like a checklist, discover 7 tips for making a quality video tutorial… and guiding the learning of your target audience, effectively!
Why your brand needs to get into a video tutorial
Do you doubt the power of the video tutorial? Before getting to the heart of the matter, discover a few arguments that should fully convince you to integrate the video tutorial into your content marketing strategy with the help of a brand strategist.
Open your eyes wide: this teaching method 2.0 could well allow you to…
- Gain visibility (and not just a little): 93% is the share of millennials watching video tutorials on YouTube. The icing on the cake: if educational videos generate more than a billion views on YouTube, searches for tutorials on the video platform increase each year by… 70%. Wow!
- Encourage your prospects to buy: by presenting your product or service from all angles, the tutorial will reassure your potential customers who will therefore be more inclined to buy. In total, 85% of consumers would be ready to heat their credit cards after seeing an explanatory video. Interesting, isn’t it?
- Conveying an image of an expert: yes, what better than a video elucidating a concept or a process step by step, to establish yourself as an expert brand in your sector?
- Optimizing your customers’ user experience: providing detailed instructions or explanations to your target audience also means allowing them to have all the keys in hand to use your solution optimally. Enough to retain your customers over the long term.
- Capture the attention of Internet users: Hello users would be 3 times more likely to watch a video tutorial than to read a user manual. Enough to expand your target audience even more!
- Increase the efficiency of your employees: it is scientifically proven that by following a tutorial or a training video, teams integrate information more easily and quickly than through textual support. In total, thanks to this type of explanatory visuals, an employee would gain up to 25 days of productivity per year. Crazy, right?
- Boost your SEO: according to a Google study, searches beginning with the word “How” have increased by 140% since 2004. Let’s rephrase: Internet users love educational content… to the delight of Google, which does not hesitate to highlight them. Do you see, this great opportunity to appear on the first page of the No. 1 search engine?
That’s it, are you excited to create your video tutorial? Owl: it’s time to get down to business.
How to… make a good video tutorial?
Without delay, discover the 7 golden rules (tested and approved) to create a video tutorial that hits the mark. And rest assured: here, no blabla, only concrete tips!
#1 Identify a specific problem
This is the BA-BA of any good tutorial: before even thinking about recording your video, you must get to know your audience and their interests.
The idea? Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience, identify their specific needs and possible obstacles… then submit a suitable solution.
To help you find the subject or subjects that deserve to be explained in a tutorial, three simple tips are available to you:
- Analyze Internet users’ queries: to find the right idea for a tutorial, there’s nothing like a short visit to Google Suggest identifying the most searched queries on the Web. Otherwise, AdWords and its keyword generator are ideal for stocking up on ideas. As a bonus, this trick will help you formulate a relevant title, likely to go up in the search results: smart, right?
- Look at the forums, at the comments on your social networks: they say that happiness is sometimes right under our noses… The same goes for the questions of your audience
- Ask the question directly to your target: why make it complicated when you can make it simple? Through a newsletter or even your intranet, do not hesitate to ask your target audience for their opinion on your new tool or product, the use they make of it, and any difficulties they encounter.
And after that, be sure to create a video tutorial that (really) resonates with your audience’s interests!
But be careful: for your video tutorials to be effective, you should only mention one and only one issue per tutorial. Why? Because by including too much information in your video, you risk confusing your listeners. Or, even worse, scare them away!
In short, to avoid flooding your audience with a heap of explanations, try to respect the supreme golden rule: “1 tutorial = 1 problem”.
Have you identified several issues? Several attractive subjects? Good news: you have more than one video tutorial under the elbow. Simply organize your ideas by theme, then dedicate a unique tutorial video to them.
#2 Structure your tutorial using a script
It’s good, you have found the relevant issue to be addressed in your video tutorial? Well done, John.
From now on, your mission, if you accept it: arrange your video tutorial most coherently and educationally possible. A bit like a teacher would prepare his lesson, finally…
To do this, nothing better than organizing your tutorial using a video script. And for good reason: in addition to structuring your tutorial from A to Z, this key video planning document will allow you to…
- Establish a common thread, so as not to forget any essential explanation
- Anticipate the demonstrative actions (gestures, manipulations, etc.) to be carried out
- Fluidify your speech, as part of a tutorial including a voice-over or a face-camera monologue
But by the way, how to write an intelligible and easy-to-follow script? Here are some clever tips to apply without moderation:
- Prioritize your tutorial logically, adopting a three-step narrative: introduction (problem) – development (solution) – conclusion (call to action). A word of advice: avoid verbose introductions and go straight to the point, the first 3 seconds are decisive for capturing the attention of your audience!
- Use explicit, more impactful action verbs for instructions: “select”, “fix”, “click”…
- Use a simple and understandable vocabulary by all: anglicisms, technical jargon… it’s no! Remember: a video tutorial is always intended for a non-expert audience.
- Keep it short: use no more than 12 words per sentence and eliminate repetition. What could be more indigestible than an extended tutorial that goes around in circles?
- Associate a visual with each step of the tutorial, in the form of screenshots for example. Like a storyboard, you will easily identify the essential manipulations to properly carry out (and make people understand) your tutorial
#3 Practice before filming
“The only place where success precedes hard work is the dictionary,” Vidal Sassoon congruously pointed out. The same goes for your tutorial, no matter the video format.
To give your audiovisual masterpiece all the success it deserves, there is no secret: repeat, repeat, repeat! Yes: before pressing any record button, first take the reflex to perform the process of your tutorial several times.
Are you planning to…
- Filming video plans? Repeat as many times as necessary the gesture, the posture… to ensure 100% when the time comes. Believe it: you will enjoy saving time on the day of shooting!
- Record your computer or mobile screen? Revise the technical manipulations, to handle the software without a hitch on D-Day. As a bonus, training will allow you to identify the more complex steps of the tutorial, and thus adapt the pace of your screencast accordingly. Clever, right?
#4 Take care of your tutorial environment
Here you are: after a very tough training phase, you are ready to make a major video tutorial. But which video recording technique to choose?
Here again, it all depends on the type of video tutorial you have chosen:
- If it’s for software: simply record your video screen, step by step, taking care to detail each of your technical manipulations. To learn all about screencast software and apps, read this short guide to screen recording
- If it’s for a product: film in a neutral space, showing the hands and/or featuring the person handling the product. A word of advice: for a more dynamic visual rendering, consider varying the angles of view (above, facing the camera, zoom, etc.)
In any case, never forget to take care of the environment of your video tutorial!
On the screencast side:
- Close any unnecessary apps or tabs
- Hide your bookmarks bar
- Disable notifications that may appear on the screen
- Choose a neutral and professional wallpaper (at the risk of diverting your audience’s attention to the photo of your last team building…)
Filming side:
- Put away anything that might be lying around in the background
- Choose a bright room, especially if you don’t have a projector
- Set up a clean backdrop if the shooting lends itself to it
And engines… action!
#5 Record the voiceover (well)
Olé: your tutorial is in the box. Now it’s time to fine-tune the user experience of your presentation video… starting with making it easier for your audience to understand with the help of a voice-over.
And for good reason! If voiceover isn’t required, adding audio narration to your video tutorial just might…
- Boost the engagement of your target audience, by stimulating their auditory sense (hearing)
- Bring rhythm to your tutorial, with invigorating intonations
- Giving binding to your instructions and your visuals
So, convinced by the power of voice-over? If the answer is positive, here are some practical tips to optimize your registration:
- Isolate yourself in a quiet room, away from any extraneous noise. However, avoid empty rooms, which can produce an echo
- Position your microphone 5 centimeters from your mouth
- Read in normal speed: neither too fast nor too slow… A tip: don’t hesitate to have your recording listen to a colleague or friend, to collect feedback and improve your diction accordingly
- Adopt the right tone: be careful not to fall into exaggeration, which would give the illusion of an artificial tone. Conversely, avoid monotony, at the risk of having the effect of a sleeping pill on your spectators
- Relax! Don’t forget: you will have plenty of time to make adjustments (deleting unnecessary blanks, stuttering, loading times, etc.) when editing the video
#6 Add subtitles
Always to optimize the user experience, consider adding subtitles to your video tutorial to transcribe what is displayed on the screen.
The advantage is twofold: in addition to making, it easier for your listeners to learn, you will create a video production that can be viewed anywhere, even without sound.
And when you know that 85% of videos are watched without sound on Facebook, it would be unfortunate to deprive you of such a benefit, right?
#7 End with a clear call-to-action
If you’ve applied all the above tips carefully, the production and post-production of your video tutorial should go like clockwork.
But before posting your super tutorial on your YouTube channel or via your emails, don’t forget to end your video in style with a clear call to action. You wouldn’t want to miss out on 380% more clicks, would you?
Depending on your marketing objectives via trade advertising, take the time to encourage your audience to…
- Buy your product or service in question, to boost your sales
- Visit your website to boost your traffic
- Subscribe to your newsletter, so you don’t miss any next tutorial
So, how do you want to educate your audience one last time?
