One of our series on software marketing using video, let’s discuss software video turorials. These are a great (and pretty economical) way to provide both an efficient and friendly support channel for your app, as well as a looking glass into the intimate details that your more curious potential customers will want to discover before they buy.
What is a software video tutorial?
A software video tutorial is possibly the best and most preferred method for learning to use software for online audiences. It allows them to digest a great deal of visual and auditory instructions to execute complex processes in software which would normally require a long technical manual to accomplish otherwise. It also allows them to easily pause in the middle of a process, rewind and revise where necessary and work at their own pace.
This one is one you can do at home. Video tutorials are probably the easiest thing to make in-house but we often see poor quality video that spoils both the user and brand experience. They’re almost essential for software companies because they help ease potential customers into what it is like to use your product, while providing value to existing customers who want to brush up on the best practice use of your tools. Nowadays we expect to see video help tutorials for all the software we use – and if you don’t provide it, somebody else probably will! Let’s look at a speedy example from Evernote.
“How to create a table of contents” – Evernote Corp.
This video is pretty self-explanatory so we’ll focus on some production values it gets right:
- Branding – you want this to be the authoritative source of support
- Clearly marked subject with an introduction
- High quality HD 1080p video – so it’s easy to see all the detail in menus and read all the text
- Clear audio quality and pronunciation with consistent diction and terminology
- Minimal technical language
- The right pacing – not too fast so it is hard to follow, and not too slow so it becomes boring
- Covers both platforms in one video (this is thanks to Evernote having a pretty much mirrored feature set on Windows and Mac) – but you could produce separate videos too (don’t only favour one!)
- URLs at the end of the video to more information/tutorials.
We think the ending could use a summary and a spoken call to action, e.g. subscribe to YouTube channel or a link to the Evernote site, but otherwise it’s a good quick example at less than 1:33 long.
Sharability
One big reason tutorials are such a good idea is that if you do provide a high quality tutorial and assert authority over it then savvy customers are more likely to share it within their online communities, amongst their workplace and with teammates. Furthermore, a 3rd party help site for your software might want to repost the tutorial(s) as it provides value to their audience. We think that the more accessible this type of help is the more likely new customers are going to jump in and take advantage of everything your software has to offer, making it indispensable to their workflow.
Make your own
Convinced video tutorials are worth your time? Check out our 4 tips for creating software video tutorials
Other video styles for software companies
Software companies should also take a look at software demo videos and software explainers as other great ideas for getting the best out of video.
This article aims to provide an overview of effective video tutorials and how they can help build authority and improve accessibility for your software product. Of course every business is unique and if you are wondering how video could work for you feel free to get in touch with us. Subscribe to our RSS and follow us on Twitter for more on Video Marketing, Video SEO and latest developments in the online video space.