In today's fast-paced digital landscape, the quest for engaging and informative content has led companies to a powerful solution: educational videos.
Picture this: a recent survey revealed that 72% of customers prefer to learn about a product or service through video, underscoring the unmatched power of visual storytelling to educate and engage. In fact, how-to videos, as part of instructional videos, are among the most popular videos (read: most viewed) type of video on the second largest search engine, YouTube.
So if you’ve been toying with the idea of creating these videos for your company but unsure where to start, we’ve got you covered. In this guide, we’ll show you how to make education videos in three simple steps alongside the different types of videos to create.
Why educational videos?
Three reasons make educational videos such an investment-worthy B2B marketing video:
- Educational videos help position you as subject matter experts in your niche. Take the Whiteboard Friday Series, for example. The video series has not only trained thousands of SEO enthusiasts but established the creator, Rand Fishkin, as an SEO expert.
- They provide direct value to viewers and improve the learning experience as how-to videos are easy to digest, share, and go back to for reference.
- Best of all: educational videos are relatively simple to make and don’t require a bank-breaking budget. On top of that, the ROI is immense with 88% of marketers reporting positive ROI, according to Smart Insights.
6 Types of Corporate Educational Videos to Inspire You
Convinced you need to make educational videos? Here are five use cases for educational videos:
Product demonstration or tutorial
Did you know that 96% of people have watched a tutorial or explainer video to learn more about a product before making a purchase?
Tutorials or product demonstrations are detailed, step-by-step guides designed to showcase the functionality and benefits of a product or service.
These visual and practical presentations are essential for helping potential customers understand how a product works and the problems it solves, making them an invaluable asset in the consideration stage of the marketing funnel. By providing clear, concise, and engaging demonstrations, companies can effectively address customer queries and concerns, significantly enhancing the decision-making process.
Furthermore, tutorials and product demos not only educate existing customers on getting the most out of their purchase but also serve as persuasive evidence for prospects on the fence, pushing them closer to conversion.
Explainer videos
As opposed to more step-by-step demo tutorials, explainer videos are short, engaging videos that break down complex concepts into digestible, easy-to-understand pieces. Typically ranging from one to three minutes, learning video content utilizes compelling narratives, vivid animations, or a combination of both to convey a company's products, services, or ideas. They are designed to grab the viewer's attention quickly, deliver the essential messages, and drive a specific call to action. Perfect for social media, websites, and presentations, explainer videos serve as a versatile tool for businesses looking to boost comprehension, engagement, and conversion rates
Webinar
Webinars are a powerful tool that allow companies to host live, interactive sessions, often used for educational purposes, product demonstrations, or expert panels. They stand out as excellent tools for demand generation, as they can attract and engage a targeted audience, nurturing leads through informative and compelling content.
Additionally, webinars offer the unique opportunity for co-marketing efforts, where businesses can collaborate with partners or influencers to expand their reach and tap into a broader audience. By leveraging the interactive nature of webinars, companies can not only disseminate valuable information but also foster relationships and community, making them a strategic choice for brands looking to enhance their marketing mix.
Company or facility tour
Specializing in the production of goods? Why not offer your prospects and customers a glimpse of how the products they purchase are created? This type of educational videos are fantastic for companies wanting to build trust and reinsurance in their product.
Working in the education & training sector?
Videos can help you showcase your institution's image, inform students and highlight their experience, or attract new talent: trainers, professors or students.
In addition to facility tour videos, you can create interview videos, share your school's programs, campus life and much more.
Company stats/history
These videos, living on the “corporate communication” side of the spectrum explore the founding, evolution, and core principles that define a business. These videos serve as a bridge connecting the company's past to its present, weaving a story that resonates with both employees and customers by showcasing the company's mission, vision, and the milestones that have shaped its journey. They have the power to transform viewers into loyal advocates by illustrating the company's commitment to its beliefs and the impact it aims to make in the world, laying a foundation for a strong and relatable brand identity.
Have a look at how Dovetail does:
Employee onboarding
This last type of education video helps new hires understand their workplace, its mission, culture, and the team they’d be working with. Employee onboarding videos include welcome and orientation videos, training sessions, strategy sessions, and more. Why not create a mini documentary out of it?
How to make educational videos in 3 simple steps
As with creating any other video, making an arresting educational video requires a structured process so you don’t miss a vital step.
Read on to get into the details of creating educational videos in three steps including the sub-steps you need to take.
Step 1: Ideation
The first step is all about understanding your audience, what you want to create for them, and identifying the perfect idea. Here’s a list of things to do:
Define your objective
Ask yourself:
- What type of video are you wanting to create (explainer, tutorial …)
- What is your goal with it
- Where does this video sit in my customer journey?
Let’s say you want to make a product tutorial about your new AI feature. A possible objective for it can be creating a short video demonstration that highlights your product’s three main features and how they will solve a pain point for your audience
Understand your audience
An education video is only compelling if it answers a question your audience has. To uncover these questions, start with understanding your audience:
- Who are your viewers?
- What interests them and what are their preferences?
- What are some business challenges they face?
- What are some specific keywords they look for when seeking an answer on this topic
- What are some insights from your customer database you can use to make the video more relevant?
Looking to effortlessly create professional videos? Look no further than PlayPlay's educational video maker - the ultimate tool for transforming your ideas into captivating visual content.
Source audience-relevant ideas
Here’s where you brainstorm potential ideas for your educational video. Three places to source ideas from are:
- Your own experience. The more you learn about your audience and their challenges, the better you can come up with ideas for video content that solves these challenges. Test your own product or service and know the challenges inside and out, so your content resonates with what your audience might be experiencing.
- Ask your sales and customer success team. They speak to prospects and customers everyday and will have some great educational video ideas based on the common observations customers share with them.
- Ask your audience. Whether you’re active on social media, run an engaging community, or are part of communities that include your target audience, ask your target viewers what they’d like to learn. Always keep in mind that a customer testimonial video is much more authentic than your corporate claims and messages.
Once you’ve curated all possible ideas, get down to filtering the best ones.
Write your video script
A video script outlines all the scenes and dialogue that go into a video in chronological order, giving you a blueprint of the entire content. A good place to start here is by figuring out the angle you want to take, followed by writing the scenes you want to include in your video. Discover how to write a video script that will keep people watching.
Step 2: Production
With your idea and script ready, roll out the camera (or video template) and start creating. Here’s how:
Create your storyboard
Visualize your script in a storyboard. This is a graphical representation of each shot, showing how your video will unfold. You can add text to show character emotions, dialogue or other details.
Select your video format
Decide what your video will feature. You’ve three options:
- Live action that involves recording the main character in action. The Whiteboard Friday videos we talked about are live-action videos, for example.
- Animation that leverages trendy illustrations, animated characters, and engaging images to deliver your message. Lego does this well in their company story
- Hybrid which is a mix of both live-action and animation so you can feature the best of both worlds.
Film your video
Record your live action shots. Begin with selecting your actor – this could be yourself or someone else such as a CEO sharing their welcome message in a talking head interview.
Tips for perfect lighting
For shooting high-quality live-action scenes, pay attention to the lighting. If you’re on a tight budget, sunlight is your best friend. Shoot all your scenes while the sun’s up. Alternatively, get a three-point lighting kit to illuminate the subject from all important angles.
Choose a video creation tool
If you’re doing animated or hybrid videos, an easy-to-use video creation tool can make video creation a breeze for you.
Ideally, select a tool like PlayPlay that offers a diverse video template library to help you make educational videos quickly. You can also source high-quality stock images and videos from the DIY video tool to create engaging videos without having to film live-action scenes, or even use AI to create the video for you!
Step 3: Editing + distribution
The last step is all about polishing and shipping your educational video.
Edit video format for platforms
Think of all the platforms your video will go to and devices your audience will view your video on. Format according to the requirements of publishing mediums and viewing devices.
Add subtitles and music
According to Next TV, 83% of people in the US watch videos with their sound off. The same report also reveals 80% of the viewers are likely to watch the complete video if it has subtitles. The takeaway? Don’t forget to add subtitles to your video when editing it. And for those of your viewers that keep their sound on, add interesting music such as royalty-free music to keep them watching. The good news? A good video editing tool often lets you add your subtitles automatically with the help of AI.
Edit your intro and outro and add a CTA
A strong hook in your video’s intro convinces viewers to continue watching. Equally important is how you end your video. You need to leave a lasting impression, so a tight outro will help hit your video’s objective.
Lastly, don’t forget to add an action step (technically referred to as a call to action) that you want your viewer to take. Do you want them to try out your product for free? Or, do you want them to try out your latest bag collection? Tell them.
Share it on relevant channels
Making good educational videos is only part of the job. The rest involves sharing it on channels where your audience watches them like you're doing it with your commercial video. A video promoting checklist is handy for this last step. It could look like this:
- Embed on your website or blog
- Share in your Slack community
- Promote it in your newsletter
- Distribute it on social media
Wrapping up
As part of instructional videos, educational videos are great for establishing yourself as an expert in your niche and offering value to your audience.
Not to mention, they’re easy and budget-friendly to create, making it simple for you to experiment with different types of educational videos.
Kick things off today by selecting PlayPlay as your video creation tool. It can make a huge difference between a video well done and one that’s poorly done.
FAQ
What makes a good educational video?
Like any instructional video, a good educational video should be:
- Engaging: Captures and retains the viewer's attention through interesting content, visuals, and delivery.
- Clear and Concise: Delivers information clearly, avoiding unnecessary complexity.
- Well-Structured: Has a clear beginning, middle, and end, with logical progression of ideas.
- Visually Appealing: Uses quality media (images, videos) to support and enhance the learning material.
- Interactive: Encourages viewer participation through questions, quizzes, for better engagement.
- Accessible: Is designed for diverse audiences, considering different learning styles and accessibility needs.
- Educationally Valuable: Provides accurate, relevant, and up-to-date information that meets the learning objectives.
- Motivational: Inspires learners to explore the topic further or apply what they've learned.
How long should educational videos be?
Educational videos should typically be between 6 to 12 minutes long, as shorter durations tend to maintain viewer attention and engagement while effectively delivering key information and concepts.
Where can you find educational videos?
Looking online, you can find a lot of educational videos for kids and students. For corporate educational videos, YouTube, LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and Udemy are excellent platforms. Don’t forget you can create your own videos for your business quickly with PlayPlay.
Melissa Francois
Head of Global Content & Comms
With over 10 years of experience in the wild world of SaaS, Melissa cares about building great brand stories and driving community engagement through engaging content. Off the clock, she enjoys long walks and a pint in a cozy country pub.
