Instructional videos are videos designed to provide step-by-step guidance, explanations, or demonstrations on how to perform specific tasks, learn new skills, or understand complex concepts. These videos are created with the intention of educating and informing viewers, often using a combination of visuals, narration, text, and sometimes animations or graphics.
Instructional videos can cover a wide range of topics and subjects, including:
Tutorials and How-To Guides
These videos walk viewers through the process of accomplishing a particular task or learning a new skill. Examples include cooking recipes, DIY projects, software tutorials, and makeup techniques.
Educational Content
Instructional videos are often used in educational settings to explain academic concepts. They can cover subjects like mathematics, science, history, literature, and more.
Product Demonstrations
Businesses often create instructional videos to showcase their products or services. These videos explain how the product works, its features, and how to use it effectively.
Safety and Training
Industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, and construction use instructional videos for safety training. These videos provide guidelines on how to use equipment safely and follow proper protocols.
Fitness and Exercise
Fitness trainers and coaches create instructional workout videos that guide viewers through exercise routines, stretching techniques, and fitness tips.
Language Learning
Language learning platforms use instructional videos to teach vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and conversation skills in various languages.
Online Courses
Many online courses use instructional videos as a primary means of delivering content. These videos can cover a wide array of subjects, from business and marketing to art and music.
Technical Demonstrations
Technology companies create instructional videos to demonstrate the setup, installation, and troubleshooting of their products.
Motivational and Inspirational Content
Some instructional videos aim to inspire and motivate viewers by sharing life lessons, personal experiences, and self-improvement techniques.
Health and Wellness
Healthcare professionals create instructional videos to educate patients about medical conditions, medications, treatments, and healthy lifestyle practices.
Instructional videos are often created with careful consideration of the target audience's needs, learning preferences, and attention span. Well-crafted instructional videos can make learning more engaging, accessible, and efficient by combining visual and auditory learning elements to cater to different learning styles.
The Benefits of Instructional Videos for Businesses
Instructional videos offer numerous benefits for businesses across various industries. Here are some key advantages of using instructional videos in a business context:
Effective Communication
Instructional videos allow businesses to convey complex information, processes, or concepts in a clear and concise manner. Visual demonstrations enhance understanding, making it easier for customers, employees, or partners to grasp the information being presented.
Engagement
Videos are inherently engaging and can captivate the viewer's attention more effectively than text-based content. Instructional videos that are well-produced and visually appealing can hold the viewer's interest and increase their retention of the content.
Consistency
Instructional videos ensure that the information being shared is consistent across different viewers and locations. This is especially important for businesses with multiple branches or franchises, as it helps maintain uniform standards and practices.
Scalability
Once created, instructional videos can be shared and accessed by a large audience, making them a scalable way to disseminate information, training, or instructions without the need for physical presence.
Cost-Efficiency
While creating high-quality videos may require an initial investment in equipment and production, the long-term benefits often outweigh the costs. Businesses can save money on repeated in-person training sessions, printed materials, or on-site demonstrations.
Global Reach
With the internet's global reach, instructional videos can be shared and accessed by people around the world, allowing businesses to reach a broader audience, including potential customers and partners in different regions.
Training and Onboarding
Instructional videos are valuable for employee training and onboarding processes. New hires can access training materials at their own pace, reducing the need for extensive in-person training sessions.
Customer Support
Businesses can create instructional videos to address frequently asked questions, troubleshooting guides, and product demonstrations. This can help customers resolve issues on their own, reducing the load on customer support teams.
Brand Building
Well-designed instructional videos reflect positively on a business's professionalism and commitment to providing valuable resources. Consistently delivering helpful content can enhance the brand's reputation and trustworthiness.
Data Tracking
Many online platforms provide analytics and data tracking features, allowing businesses to measure the effectiveness of their instructional videos. This data can help in refining content and strategies for better results.
Flexibility
Instructional videos can be accessed at any time and from any location, allowing viewers to learn or find information on their own schedule. This flexibility is particularly valuable for busy individuals.
Demonstrating Products and Services
Instructional videos can showcase the features and benefits of products and services in an engaging way. This can help potential customers make informed purchasing decisions.
Upselling and Cross-Selling
Businesses can use instructional videos to introduce complementary products or services to their customers, increasing the likelihood of upselling or cross-selling.
By leveraging the benefits of instructional videos, businesses can streamline processes, improve customer interactions, enhance training methods, and ultimately contribute to their overall success and growth.
Fifteen Steps to Create Effective Instructional Videos
Here are the steps you can follow to create high-quality instructional videos:
Define Your Objective: Clearly outline the purpose and goal of your instructional video. What do you want viewers to learn or achieve after watching the video?
Content Planning: Organize your content into logical sections or steps. Create an outline that breaks down the topic into manageable segments.
Scriptwriting: Write a detailed script for your video. Clearly explain each step, provide examples, and include any necessary explanations or definitions. A well-written script ensures a smooth flow of information.
Storyboarding: Create a visual storyboard that outlines the visuals for each part of your video. This could be a rough sketch or a digital representation of each scene.
Gathering Materials: Collect all the materials you'll need, such as images, videos, animations, graphics, and any additional resources to enhance your explanations.
Setting Up Equipment: Ensure you have the necessary equipment, including a good-quality camera, microphone, lighting, and any other accessories to capture high-quality video and audio.
Recording: Follow these steps while recording: Choose a quiet location to record, free from background noise. Set up proper lighting to ensure clear visuals. Use a tripod or stable surface to avoid shaky footage. Record audio using a good-quality microphone to ensure clear sound. Follow your script and maintain a clear, engaging speaking style. Pause and redo sections if necessary to maintain accuracy and clarity.
Editing: Use video editing software to edit your footage. Edit out any mistakes, pauses, or irrelevant content. Add visuals, animations, and text overlays to enhance understanding. Make sure the video flows smoothly.
Voiceover and Narration: If needed, record voiceovers or narrations to add context or explanations to the visuals. Ensure the audio is clear and synchronized with the visuals.
Adding Graphics and Text: Incorporate graphics, text overlays, and annotations to highlight key points, important text, or additional explanations.
Music and Sound Effects: Add background music or sound effects to make the video engaging, but ensure they don't overpower the main content.
Review and Feedback: Review your video carefully to catch any errors or inconsistencies. Get feedback from peers or experts to ensure accuracy and clarity.
Finalize and Export: Once you're satisfied with the video, export it in a suitable format and resolution. Optimize it for online sharing and viewing.
Upload and Share: Publish your video on platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, or your own website. Make sure to use appropriate keywords, tags, and descriptions to help users find your video.
Promotion and Engagement: Promote your instructional video through social media, blogs, forums, or other relevant channels. Engage with viewers by responding to comments and addressing their questions.
Remember that creating high-quality instructional videos takes time and practice. As you gain experience, you'll find ways to improve your process and create even more effective and engaging videos.
About LMS Portals
At LMS Portals, we provide our clients and partners with a SaaS-based, multi-tenant learning management system that allows you to launch a dedicated training environment (a portal) for each of your unique audiences.
The system includes built-in, SCORM-compliant course authoring software that enables most anyone to build engaging courses quickly and easily.
We also offer a complete library of ready-made courses, covering most every aspect of corporate training and employee development.
If you choose to, you can create Learning Paths to deliver courses in a logical progression and add structure to your training program. The system also supports Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) and provides tools for social learning.
Together, these features make the LMS Portals platform the ideal solution to include instructional videos in your corporate training program.
Contact us today to get started or visit our Partner Program pages