I think it’s fair to say that no one running a video production company dreams of producing instructional videos. They’re not glamorous and they rarely get the creative juices flowing but they are one of the most popular and useful types of video that we produce. That’s because instructional videos are incredibly useful for our clients and unlike promotional or corporate videos you often see an immediate impact.
Cost effective
When clients ask Echo Video to produce an instructional video for a product they are normally looking for it to do one of two things: either replace a printed user manual or help cut down the amount of after sales service. Both of these can be expensive for a company and that’s why a video can be such a good alternative. Instruction manuals can be expensive to print and send out with the product and are often not that clear. And whilst companies will always need to supply a certain amount of after sales service, if they can direct a customer to a video that highlights problem solving then this will save time and money.
Clear and concise
If a picture paints a thousand words and there’s 25 frames (or pictures) in a second of video does that mean one second of video paints 25,000 words? Not sure my maths is correct here but you get my point. You could spend thousands of words trying to explain a tricky procedure which you can show quickly and clearly in a video from multiple angles and even in slow motion if need be. The point being that a 5 minute video can demonstrate something better than a two inch thick user manual.
Universal
Many of our clients send products around the world and therefore need their instructions to be understood everywhere. This is an easy solution with instructional videos an we often work with voice over agency and translators to produce audio and text in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Czech, you name it.
Great for SEO
A side product of producing instructional videos, but certainly not one that should be overlooked, is the great SEO benefits for your website. Instead of producing one instructional video for a product what if you split it up into 10 short clips? Suddenly you have a load more video content which will get loads of views and which could well drive users towards your website, YouTube channel or social media.
And finally?
Here are a few rules that we at Echo Video follow when producing instructional videos for our clients:
- Length is not a problem – Unlike for most videos you have a captive audience who need information, don’t cut out essential moments to keep the time down.
- Make sure it’s bright and well lit – people need to see what’s going on this is no time for chiaroscuro lighting.
- Instructions must be clear – whether it’s a voice over, presenter or just subtitles, make sure that instructions can be heard and seen.
- Continuity is not important – As long as what is happening is clear it doesn’t matter if the product is on a different side or a different way up.
If you would like advice on how to produce an instructional video for your company or would like to discuss some options then please get in touch with Echo Video.