How to Whip Up How-to Videos in Record Time

A recent study conducted by Wistia revealed that educational and instructional videos are the most engaging content type produced by brands in 2024.

These step-by-step videos help viewers learn how to complete certain tasks or achieve specific goals with a tool or a service. They carefully walk the audience through a process, leading to a higher information recall, and ultimately contributing to better engagement.

However, if you have ever tried to create a how-to video for your audience, you know the investment it demands. Writing the script, recording the video, editing it to make it polished, etc., can take hours or even days before it is polished enough for your audience and customers.

A slow process always adds to the cost and more importantly, delays the delivery of essential information needed to make the most out of your product or service. This, in turn, can mean users continuing to struggle and potentially increase churn.

But not anymore.

In this article, let’s look at an AI-powered workflow that can create engaging, studio-quality how-to videos within minutes.

Setting content objectives

Before you pull up your sleeves and get to work, it is crucial to set goals for your how-to style instructional video. 

Is it to talk about a feature? Will it help them achieve a specific goal? Who is it for, existing customers or new users? What value does it deliver to the viewer?

Answering these questions can help you decide on the title, create the outline, and be objective about your video creation efforts.

It is also beneficial to think about the visuals during this phase as well. This will make it easier for you to write an engaging script as you know what the viewer might be seeing.

A great way to see planned scriptwriting for how-to videos in action is with Mailchimp’s tutorials. In a video that helps their users leverage AI to write emails, the presenter begins with: "To begin, head to the Content step and click Design email... First, drag a text-based content block into your layout."

Along with the visuals, the simple language of the narrator caters to the needs of a broader audience. This makes your instructions in the video clear and the viewers won’t have to scratch their heads while getting to the value promised.

Another thing to be mindful of while planning your video content is to incorporate emotional elements to make it relatable. In Mailchimp’s how-to video mentioned above, the narrator talks about writer’s block briefly to focus on the problem the audience might be facing.

Moreover, in the subsequent stages of the video where they talk about additional AI-driven features to refine the content, they subtly drop things like how you might want a shorter email.

Producing the video

This phase of the how-to video creation workflow includes two major tasks: record and edit.

The record part, as you might speculate, involves the narrator sitting in front of the camera and sharing the steps or creating a screencast video while they elaborate on what’s happening. Usually, this is a straightforward process once the video outline or the script is ready.

In the video where the narrator is talking to the camera, you might need to add some specific effects such as images, graphs, clips, animations, etc. These elements can greatly enhance the knowledge density of the videos and increase information recall.

However, such videos can take up a lot of resources. For instance, you may need to invest in building a well-equipped studio, hiring actors (or training your employees), and learning to use video editing tools like Adobe Premier.

Fortunately, screencast how-to videos that walk viewers through the steps work perfectly for most of the common use cases. Whether it is educating your new users about the basics of your tool or explaining how a new feature works, simply recording your screen with a voiceover can do wonders.

Although recording these clips can be quick, editing them may still be time-consuming. Removing the background noise, cutting unnecessary parts, speeding up the ‘loading’ moments, adding zoom effects, etc., can still take hours if not days from your calendar.

Clueso does all that and more in minutes.

Clueso is an AI-powered how-to video creator that can transform raw screencast footage into professional and polished explainer content for your audience.

The team at Kahoot!, a game-based learning platform, recorded a screencast clip to explain to their users how to duplicate a trivia or learning quiz. They have uploaded the raw footage into Clueso, which made the following refinements to the how-to video:

Extracted the script from the original audio of the clip (a free tool like Deepgram can do this too) and gave it an AI voiceover. This enhanced the listening experience by removing the background noise, trimming the filler words, etc.

Attached background music to indicate transitions between sections. This can also help increase engagement.‍

Added pan and zoom effects to bring the focus of the viewer to specific sections of the screen where the instructor is taking an action such as clicking a button. This makes it clear to the audience about what they need to do.

Placed the video in a more aesthetic background. This makes the video appear less ‘dull’ which is essential for retaining the attention of the audience until the video ends.

Inserted branding elements at the intro and outro. This helps Kahoot! Seamlessly integrate their brand identities in the video.

Distributing and promoting

Whenever your users or prospects look for how-to videos or any kind of instructional content, they are wrestling with a problem and are on the lookout for a quick solution. So, you must make your videos as easy as possible to access.

Customers can have different preferences on where they’d like to watch these videos. Some may prefer to go to your help center while others might like platforms like YouTube.

Here are the common ways you can consider distributing your how-to videos:

1. Help centers or knowledge bases are often the most preferred place where your users might want instructional how-to videos. It is a good idea to place your how-to clips at the beginning of self-help articles.

2. Blog posts can be another great place to embed these videos. Moreover, you can share additional usage tips and tricks around it to give your audience more insights to help them use your product better.‍

3. Online universities or digital training academies based around your product are other great places to share this content. This is particularly effective if you have created courses around your offerings, similar to Canva’s Design School, for instance.

4. Communities and forums are a place where people, including your customers, come and discuss your product. HubSpot, for instance, relies upon this strategy to let its users know how they can get the most out of their CRM suite.

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5. Newsletters are another great way to share how-to content with your existing customers, particularly if you are introducing new features. For example, Hunter, a B2B outreach tool, announced a feature “Discover” through a marketing email.

6. In-app notifications can help your users navigate your product while they are using it. You can integrate a floating button that quickly opens up the help article with the video, similar to how Wix does in their dashboard.

Tracking and iterating

For B2B companies, understanding the impact of how-to video guides is crucial for continuous improvement and ensuring the content meets the target audience's needs.

You can focus on the following parameters and metrics to gauge their performance:

• Engagement: Likes, shares, and comments indicate how viewers are interacting with your video.
• Conversion: This metric shows whether your how-to videos are driving user action. You can track feature adoption rates and the number of general support queries for this.
• Retention: This metric shows at what point viewers drop off, helping identify sections of your video that may need improvement.‍
• Feedback and Queries: Direct feedback from your audience, whether through comments or support inquiries, can provide qualitative insights into how well your video addresses their needs.

Keep in mind that, no matter how good, every how-to video will eventually become outdated and need an update. Irrelevant clips can frustrate users and can take longer for them to find a solution to their problem.

Here are the circumstances that often necessitate recreation or an iteration of the how-to videos:

• Product Updates: Whenever there are significant changes to your product, how-to videos should be updated to reflect these changes accurately.
• Low Engagement: If your videos are experiencing low view counts, poor retention rates, or minimal interaction, it may be time to reassess the content, presentation style, or distribution channels.
• User Request: When your audience and customers tell you that a certain video needs to be updated for whatever reason.‍
• Shifts in Target Audience: If the needs or preferences of your target audience evolve, your how-to videos should be adjusted accordingly to remain relevant and engaging.

Measuring the success of your how-to videos and being willing to iterate based on performance metrics and feedback are essential steps in ensuring your content remains effective and relevant.

By closely monitoring performance and staying responsive to both data trends and direct feedback, you can continually refine your video content to better serve your audience and achieve your business objectives.

Wrapping Up

How-to videos are an indispensable tool for B2B companies, offering an engaging way to communicate complex information, demonstrate products, and provide valuable support to users.

They not only enhance customer understanding and satisfaction but also serve as a potent marketing tool, helping businesses to showcase their solutions in action.

However, creating such content consistently can get challenging for trams, particularly ones with limited hands on deck.

Clueso streamlines the entire process of video production to help teams create how-to videos within minutes. The platform produces polished videos from raw screen recordings instantly, allowing businesses to meet their users’ needs immediately.

Book a demo to learn how Clueso can transform your video content creation process.

FAQs

What are some topics I can make how-to videos on?

You can create how-to videos on software tutorials, product demos, feature updates, troubleshooting guides, and best practices for using your platform effectively.

Can I make effective how-to videos without professional equipment?

Yes, you can create high-quality how-to videos using basic equipment like a good webcam, a clear microphone, and intuitive editing software such as Clueso.

When should I consider updating or remaking a how-to video?

Update or remake your how-to video when there are significant product updates, changes in user interface, feedback suggests confusion, or new best practices emerge.

How detailed should the script for a how-to video be?

The script should be detailed enough to cover all necessary steps in a clear, concise manner, including any terminology or processes specific to your products, services, and policies.

What are the best practices for distributing how-to videos?

Distribute your how-to videos across multiple channels such as your website, social media, email newsletters, and dedicated support or resource centers to maximize reach and engagement.

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