How To Make Instructional Videos: A Step-by-step Guide

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Why tell people how to do something when you can show them with an engaging instructional video? Given that 65% of people are visual learners, video is an important format when it comes to relaying sometimes complex topics in an easy-to-follow, digestible way.

But these types of videos can be tricky to make, and they'll fall flat if not executed well.

You don't need a whole visual production studio to create an impactful instructional video. From pre-production to post-editing tips —and with a dose of AI help— we'll show you how you can master the art of instructional videos.

Steps to Create Instructional Videos

First, let’s understand how to make instructional videos, from planning and scripting to editing and sharing, this step-by-step guide will help you get started.

1.
Understand Your Audience

The difference between an instructional video that loses viewers three seconds in and one that keeps them hooked until the end? Tailored content. By being aware of your audience's background knowledge, you can tailor the video's complexity to their level. This way, you’ll avoid going over their head with advanced jargon or assuming too much prior knowledge, as well as boring them with overly basic explanations. You can also incorporate their preferred ways of learning.
2.
Create a Script

Once you have selected a specific audience to address with the topic or information, the next step is to elaborate a script to choose the correct words to address to the target audience. Also, it is necessary to create a storyboard, which is a map or a guide to visualize the message you’ll give to the users. The aim of scriptwriting is to highlight the importance of the message and capture the attention of the audience. Also, it is important to choose the correct words and visual cues that will be used in the final video.
3.
Use the Right Tools

Ideally, to make a great instructional video, you should have a camera or webcam with good resolution and a microphone that can block background sound. You can also minimize background noise by filming in a quiet area or in a soundproof room that blocks out traffic sounds; this way, you’ll ensure to get clear and easy-to-understand audio. Keep microphones close to the subject for clear voice capture. Consider using a teleprompter for scripted content to maintain a natural flow and keep the presenter's eyes on the camera. Discover the best way to record professional training videos.
4.
Edit the Video

You don’t need to be a professional video editor to create attractive video content. There are many useful tools available online to get you started. Platforms like Guidde leverage AI to record your computer screen and create step-by-step guides at the click of a button. With an AI-powered video editor, you can easily start recording, edit transcriptions, and streamline the process, saving time and effort.
5.
Don’t Forget to Share

Once your instructional video is polished, it's time to get it in front of your target audience. Sharing the video on social media apps is very important to reach all your audience targets. When uploading your video, choose platforms that are frequented by your target audience. This could mean YouTube, social media channels, or your company's internal learning management system (LMS). Choosing the best platform depends on the audience you're after. Consider YouTube videos for general audiences, social media for broader reach, or your internal LMS for employee training. Don’t forget the subtitles!

7 Types of Instructional Videos

A great advantage of instructional videos is that you can cover a lot of topics to give a simplified or complex explanation to the audience.

Micro Videos

These are short videos (usually not longer than a minute) that cover one topic at a time. This type of instructional video gives information to the user in an engaging way, and it doesn’t overwhelm learners with too many instructions or details.

Using microlearning videos to educate viewers is a great way of transmitting information and reaching users who don't have time to pay attention to a larger explanation. This format of videos is used in social media (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube) to attract attention and share information quickly.

Tutorials

Tutorial videos (also called “how-to” videos or educational videos) are very popular nowadays in social media; they usually last around 10 - 15 minutes long. This format of video is useful to explain a specific process, topic, or task in detail.

With this format, you can share a step-by-step guide and give instructions that can be easily followed by learners.

A tutorial video can be used to train learners on any topic (for example: how to learn a new language) and can be modified to be attractive for any kind of audience.

Training videos

Training videos are used mostly by companies to give instructions to new employees. For example, this type of videos are used in onboarding processes to help new hires adapt to their job roles.

In these kinds of videos, actors play out possible scenarios or situations that could happen in the workplace to demonstrate the correct behavior when dealing with real-life situations.

Also, training videos are useful for getting employees up to speed with new technology or implementing new protocols and policies within the company.

Explainer videos

These types of videos are most commonly used to give a simplified explanation of complex topics or concepts. The main goal of explainer videos is to present products or services in an engaging way.

Usually, these videos are short and include graphics or images to present the solution to a problem. They can help the audience understand how a product works and why it’s important. An explainer video is also a great tool to sum up a complex problem or concept such as a business plan or a brand’s philosophy.

Presentations

A presentation is a very effective way to expand the reach of the information you prepared. You can record it with your voiceover or narration, so your audience can watch and listen at their own pace.

To create a presentation, you’ll need to dedicate some time preparing some slides and narrate the content of each one. If you film yourself while narrating, it will give the presentation a more formal tone..

Screen Recording

Screen recording or screencasts are videos created to teach users how to complete a task and to share knowledge in an informal way. For example, you could create a screencast demonstrating how to make a presentation or use a software platform.

Screencasts allow the instructor to grab information from their screen and answer a question or illustrate a process. They can be created very easily, with minimal production value and in a short time. Generally speaking, this type of video is intended for smaller audiences than tutorial videos.

Animation

The objective of an animated video is to illustrate a narrative, a topic, a process, or an idea using visuals, motion graphics, drawings, and art. Some people associate animated videos with fictional stories, but they can have many other purposes.

You can use animated videos to present a new product or explain a project for a company in a formal way.

5 Useful Tools to Make Instructional Videos

Nowadays we have a lot of of programs that we can use to make engaging instructional videos:

Guidde

Guidde is an AI-powered process documentation tool that empowers users to easily create interactive guides and tutorials. Guidde’s user-friendly platform allows users to create video documentation 11x faster.

Guidde fosters a culture of continuous learning by using artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate the recording of business processes. With our intuitive interface, users can capture workflows and elaborate captivating visual content without a deep knowledge in video editing and production.

TechSmith Camtasia

Camtasia is a video-editing and screen-recording software that allows users to create videos for a variety of purposes. This is a perfect program both for beginners and professionals, because it is easy to use and provides some advanced recording and editing tools to create the ideal video.

Wondershare

Wondershare filmora is a software development company that offers digital creative tools for users to create high quality video content without being a professional editor.

Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro is a video editing program ideal to create and edit videos for film, TV or websites from scratch. Also this tool is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of applications and has a friendly interface which is easy to use.

Vyond

Vyond is a video creation platform that uses AI which helps users to make high quality animated videos. One of its advantages is that you can learn to use this platform very quickly and can create videos in a variety of styles, (animated, photorealistic, and live action).

Learnworlds

This is a cloud-based learning management system (LMS) that allows users to create, sell, and promote online courses. This platform has been designed for educators, entrepreneurs, and businesses.

Best Practices to Create Engaging Instructional Videos

Making an engaging instructional video is not an easy task but you can create learner-friendly videos by keeping in mind these recommendations:

Provide Clear Instructions

Instructional videos are meant to give step-by-step instructions about a topic or how to perform a task. It is important to deliver a clear message to the audience and avoid any kind of misunderstanding.

Master the Basics

When making an instructional video, always remember to give the basic information about a topic at the beginning. Then, when you explain more complex ideas, the audience won’t feel lost.

Use Images and Annotations

Images and annotations are props like on-screen text that can make videos more engaging and easier to follow, which can improve the retention of the audience. The idea is to highlight key concepts to summarize the information for the new learners.

Enable Closed Captioning

Using closed captions in your videos allows all learners to access the information displayed in your videos. This feature is very helpful for learners and workers because they can closely follow your way of thinking and understand the processes explained.

Explain Each Step Carefully

It is important to explain each step in detail, so the audience can follow the tutorial at a nice pace. You can also add a section about frequently asked questions (FAQs) at the end of the video to resolve all the common doubts.

Guidde allows all remote teams to easily create their own content, improve their onboarding processes and work on their skills.

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