Videos have become the best option for your marketing strategy and if you are looking for something more complete, we recommend you try video tutorials. With video tutorials you can create more original content that stands out in your social networks, blog or for your website.
Video tutorials are an audiovisual resource that aim to guide the process that a person must follow to perform an activity in a specific subject or field, with a very varied scope and directly related to the level of depth and specification of the process that is intended to guide. In short, they are a guide for the user to visualise step by step how to do something.
Video tutorials can be short or long. To make a video tutorial, the essential thing is to focus on the steps to follow during the process you are going to explain. It is important that you give a brief and entertaining introduction about the topic you are going to address and the objective that your audience will achieve by watching the tutorial.
Videos in content marketing
In the content marketing strategy , videos have become one of the most used resources due to the ease with which the user accesses them. This resource allows you to improve the rate of recurring users on your website. It also improves the time spent on your website, increasing the positioning of your website. Do not forget that for a video to be successful, you must offer valuable content that is of interest to your audience. Testimonials, interviews with opinion leaders in a particular sector are the content that attract the most attention from consumers.
5 free applications to make video tutorials
If you are thinking of creating your own video tutorial, recording an animation made with Power Point and including your voice comments, among others, here are five free tools that might interest you:
1. Aviscreen
It allows you to record your screen in .AVI format or take photos of your screen in JPG format. You can also define the area of the screen to capture, but it also has another option called follow the cursor in which the capture follows the movement of the cursor.
2. CamStudio
It is an open source software that allows us to record our screen in AVI format. It is worth mentioning that it works only with Windows and is totally free. This software is widely used for making tutorials.
3. Webinaria
Webinaria is another open source software with which you can record in .AVI and FLV format. This software allows you to record audio along with the video displayed on the screen. Also, you can capture full screen, only active application or defined screen size.
4. Krut
Krut is another open source alternative that records audio and video activity occurring on specific parts of your screen. In this case, the videos are recorded in Quicktime (.mov) format.
5. Jing
This is an application that allows you to capture videos and take screenshots easily, and you can upload your video to a free account, or download the file in SWf format.
Recommendations for making your video tutorial
- Audience: Determine the target audience for your video. Remember that talking to young people is not the same as talking to older people, so determine the tone of your videos.
- Research: There are countless tutorials on the internet, so be careful about creating something that already exists by the bucketload. Research or find another approach to things that are already done. Identify what makes you different from others. It is important to know what questions your target audience has and provide answers with your tutorials.
- Script: Keep in mind that, in a video tutorial, people are looking for quick and direct answers. Having a script will help you not to get lost and ramble during the recording of your video tutorial. Write your script so that you don't talk too much, remember that we live in the era of immediacy and people are looking for immediate answers to their problems. Don't get tangled up.
- Memorise the script: Once you have written it, it is important that you learn it and rehearse it as many times as necessary so that you don't make mistakes. Rehearsing will prevent you from recording or editing over and over again due to mistakes due to lack of practice.
- Be careful with the time: Try not to go over 10 minutes, otherwise your audience may get bored. If you think you need more time, we recommend you to divide your video into chapters or parts. This way, you will show a structured and short content.
- Speak clearly and without technicalities: A tutorial seeks to teach through simple steps something specific. Don't be the teacher who tries to explain everything with very complicated words. Be the one who teaches in the simplest and most dynamic way. The people who watch your tutorial probably don't have previous advanced knowledge and it may be difficult for them to understand some concepts of what you are explaining. Reach them with a simple language.
- Say no to background music: It is a distraction. The most important sound is your voice. Do not include anything else in terms of sound other than your voice.
- Take care of the presentation: While the narration is very important, so is the presentation of your tutorial. Keep in mind that your images or screenshots that you present along the way should be neat and tidy. Otherwise, you will confuse your audience and they will most likely not come back for your content.
- Lighting: Remember that the light should always be in front of the speaker. If the light hits the camera head-on, it will look dark, as you are backlit. Look for a well-lit environment to record in.
- Testing: Once you have the tutorial, we recommend that you show it to a friend or someone you trust and ask for their opinion before releasing it online. Ask them to tell you if they think it is too short or too long, if they think it is good and if it delivers what was promised. This will help you to get an idea of what your audience will perceive when they see your material.
- Promotion: It is very important that you place the right keywords (tags). This way, it will be easier for the search engine to show you to the audience looking for content like yours. If you have a blog or social networks, promote your video tutorial through them. We recommend you to create a post, an email and promote your material.
Video tutorials are a resource that generates greater reach. Follow these tips to create them and don't hesitate to include them in your content marketing strategy.
have you already created a video tutorial?
