Learning online is a trend that has been gaining more and more popularity over recent years. People tend to choose online courses to master various tools, skills, and even professions. Also, many users look for educational materials to solve some of their everyday problems. That is why the video tutorial format is in high demand today – it lets professionals share their knowledge with the target audience in the most effective way.
One more reason for creating video tutorials rather than writing articles is that video is the most popular type of content today. A study by Google says that people are three times more likely to watch a video than read instructions in the text format.
However, creating a how-to video might be challenging, especially for beginners. You need to consider many nuances in making training videos as this type of video is very different from others. In this article, we have collected top tips and ideas on making video tutorials so that you can avoid most of the beginners’ mistakes. So, keep reading this guide to learn the basics and know more about some creative tricks!
What Is Specific About Video Tutorials?
First of all, what is unique about creating educational video content? Let’s say it is the preciseness of such videos. A video tutorial should have a clearly specified subject. You should not join several ideas in one video as users usually look for an answer to a certain question.
Also, there is no need to give any extra information related to the video topic in a tutorial because this video aims to help viewers solve one particular problem. If you include some theoretical knowledge in a video that should teach a practical skill, ensure this information is necessary for mastering this skill. Otherwise, your audience can feel annoyed by the content they don’t really need.
Another point that is crucial for a training video is clearness. As you aim to teach people, you need to show and explain everything in detail so that your audience can understand the information and put it into practice. This way, your viewers can get the most value from your content, and you will increase the loyalty of your audience.
These are the critical points of a good video tutorial. Also, consider the length of your tutorials. It would be best to keep videos 2 to 10 minutes long as this is the most common length of educational video content. Remember that people prefer shorter videos, and at the same time, content should be informative enough to be valuable for users.
How to Make a Video Tutorial: Best Tips
As the points we have mentioned above can be definitely helpful for a beginner, this list of tips can help you in creating learning videos even if you are a professional video maker. Professionals can take these points as a checklist not to miss anything essential while thinking about how to create a video that would stand out from other content.
Plan Your Video
Making a good plan is halfway to creating a great tutorial. First, think about what exactly you are going to say and show in a video. It would be best to write it down, making a minute-by-minute script. Planning can help you keep your tutorial short and informative so that you tell everything that is really vital and not include anything unnecessary. Also, a script can help you avoid pauses. You will not have to think about what to do or what to say next while filming as you will have a plan in front of your eyes. Thus, you will look more confident, and your video will be more concise and dynamic.
Choose the Format for a Video
It is vital to decide whether your tutorial will be a video instruction, a training video, or a how-to video. While these formats might seem very similar, they have significant differences that can influence the script and equipment you will need for shooting the video. For example, video instruction can only depict your actions and combine them with the narration. On the other hand, a training video can be of the “talking head” format and contain only the theory on some questions. And a how-to video can combine both of these approaches.
Pick the Right Equipment
After choosing the format for your tutorial, you need to pick the equipment that should suit your ideas on the video. For example, if you want to make an instruction, you might need a Go-Pro camera if you are going to show something you are doing with your hands. And if you are creating a tutorial on using digital products, a screen recording program can be helpful for you. For training and how-to videos, you may also need a tripod to avoid the shaky image, and an external microphone for your viewers can hear you clearly. And for all video types, you should better use studio lights to make your tutorial look professional.
Make It Concise
As we have already mentioned above, the unique feature of video tutorials is their conciseness. People prefer videos that are about 1-5 minutes long, and educational videos can be up to five times longer. That is why it is vital not to make them longer without the actual necessity. You need to carefully analyze all the information you are going to include in your video to ensure that it is indispensable for understanding the subject. It can be a great idea to include two or three interesting facts in a video to hold the viewers’ attention. However, don’t overuse this option and make sure that each of these facts takes not more than 30 seconds.
Think About Viewers
Tutorials have one main aim – to teach people something that can help them solve their problems. So, you need to put yourself in your viewers’ shoes and evaluate the content you create from their point of view. Is your content helpful? Is it easy to understand for users of various levels? These are questions you should answer. You also need to have the portrait of your “ideal viewer” to have an idea of what your target audience is. Thus, you can better optimize your videos for people you want to attract and make your content more efficient and valuable.
Ensure There Are No Distracting Elements
One more crucial point about creating video tutorials is the absence of any extra elements. You need to make sure that the background is neutral so that nothing can distract your audience from the subject of the video. Everything that appears in the frame should be essential for the learning process so your viewers don’t have any questions after watching your video. As it might be complicated to remove all the distracting elements, especially if you are filming not at home but in a place where there are other people, you should think carefully about the location and the time for shooting. Many locations are popular at particular hours, while at the rest of the day, there are much fewer people.
Engage People to Interact with You
Today, the algorithms of most platforms promote and recommend those videos which are popular among users. And to measure the popularity of the content, these platforms consider likes, comments, and shares. That is why it is vital to add a clear call to action to your video and ask viewers to share their opinion on some questions or just like the video and subscribe to your channel. People are more likely to interact with you if you ask them to do a particular action. Otherwise, they can simply forget about it and just close the page even if they find your content really helpful and exciting.
Edit Your Videos
Last but not least – make good use of video editing. As the competition in the video-making field is extremely high today, the quality of the content matters a lot. The audience becomes more and more demanding as people know that they can find any video they need in high quality, so they pay more and more attention to the quality of the footage and post-production. Moreover, a good video making tool can help you make your tutorial not only smooth but also professional-looking. You can add value to your videos with the help of titles and such visual effects as zoom-in a video to highlight the most critical moments.
Final Say
Video tutorials are entirely different from all other types of videos. That is why they need a different approach that would help you reach your goals and keep your content valuable for your target audience.
The main point you need to keep in mind – is that educational video content should be very precise and informative. Don’t try to directly promote your product with these videos, as they should show people that you care about your audience, not just want to sell something to them. And if people feel that you are making something helpful for them, they are more likely to come back to your blog and become your customers.
