Training videos have many perks: They’re an easy and quick way to gain knowledge of a skill or task that you may not have otherwise had. Today, you can educate millions of viewers globally through over-the-top apps such as Vimeo and YouTube. According to research by Pew Research Center, 50% of YouTube viewers (35% of US adults) find the site helpful in learning to do new things.
The popularity of YouTube videos is partly as a result of the prominence of OTT platforms. According to Statista, there were 2.13 billion OTT subscribers in 2020, and the numbers are fast rising. If you are looking to create training videos for OTT audiences, keep reading for tips on creating a successful training video.
What is a training video?
A training video is video-based content aimed at educating viewers on how to perform a particular task or teach them a new skill.
What makes a great training video?
Not all training videos are created equal. The following aspects describe an excellent training video:
It’s engaging
An excellent training video should capture your audience’s attention because humans typically have a short attention span. It should present information in a way to keep the viewer interested until the end. You can use music or special effects, or even ask questions to encourage viewer participation in the training.
It should elicit emotional reaction
An excellent training video should allow you to make an emotional connection with your audience. It should stimulate an emotional response for your audience to take action – either to subscribe to continue watching new videos, or simply to encourage them to try out the skills you’re teaching.
It should be educational
A training video presents a great way of conveying information; thus, it should address the audience’s education needs. Choose a topic that sparks your audience’s interest and use language that resonates with your audience.
It should be aesthetically appealing
Your training video should look and sound great to capture your audience’s attention. Aim to create engaging visuals and avoid using technical jargon that could leave your audience confused. Also, ensure that the audio is clear and the background music does not interfere with the training process. In addition, consider using subtitles to support a wider learning audience.
It should be organized
A good training video should have an organized flow. Package your ideas in a way that your audience can understand and follow. You’ll also want to organize the visuals in a way that does not distract or confuse your audience.
How to make your training video successful
According to Statista, the number of U.S digital viewers in 2020 stood at 239 million. These figures are projected to rise to 248.9 million by 2022.
In reference to training videos, a report by Wyzowl states that explainer videos make up 73% of all videos online. According to the same research, 96% of people have sought explainer videos to better understand a product or service. Further, the report states that 69% of people prefer to watch short-videos for learning purposes.
The above statistics are a clear indication of the fast-rising popularity of online videos.
With such demands, comes supply. As of now (2021) 86% of companies are using videos as part of their marketing strategy, up from 61% in 2016. As such, the importance of ensuring your training video reaches its target audience cannot be over-emphasized.
Here are some of the ways you can make your training video successful on OTT, improving its chances of going viral:
- Have a learning objective
Before creating a training video, you need to know its overall objective.
“What do I want the viewer to learn from this video?”
This is a vital question that every content creator should ask themselves. Having a precise answer will help you understand your video’s objective better. Hence, you can use these goals as a focal point to create valuable content for your target audience.
To ensure you achieve your vision for the video, try to incorporate the objective into the title. A title like ‘How to adjust a watch band’ already speaks for itself. It will help you stay on course when creating content. Also, the viewer will understand what they stand to gain before watching the video.
- Understand your target audience
To ensure a successful video, you need to know the intricate details of your viewers.
What is their age group? What are their cultural beliefs? What type of content resonates well with them? What about their gender and location?
These are some of the questions that will help you understand your target audience. It is a key ingredient if you want to create valuable content that will keep your viewers interested and coming back for more.
So, before designing a training video, get into the mind of your audience. See from their point of view and create content that shares their ideologies.
- Practice before you record
How you execute your video is of the utmost importance. To make sure you create high-quality content that your viewers will love, practice your script.
After going over your script, create a trial video and watch it. This allows you to catch a few misses, and see how you can improve the video. Pay keen interest in the quality of the audio as this is one of the things that can break a well-designed training video.
Conclusion
Training videos provide a great way of reaching a wider audience while saving time and resources. There are, however, a few differences between creating videos for YouTube and other CTV platforms.
When creating visual content for platforms like the most popular CTV platform in the USA, consider doing instructional series. Doing so makes it easy for your audience to find your content. A series can provide audiences with a more TV-like experience than YouTube, and CTV audiences are already familiar and expectant of long-form content than short clip sequences.