The American Society for Training and Development surveyed 2,500 companies and found that companies that have a comprehensive training guide, including e-learning and videos, have a 218% higher revenue and a substantial 24% profit margin.

More interestingly, videos are emerging as the best way to share any form of content – the human brain retains 80% of what it sees compared to 20% of what it reads.

Only 28% of people say they watch a full training video – yours needs to be snappy, interesting, and snag-free to keep attention. If you’re wondering how to create training videos that are captivating and engaging, this article covers it for you.

Why Create A Training Video?

Creating training videos has many benefits for business:

• Employee Satisfaction: Creating interactive training videos, in addition to the increased revenue and profit margins, made 51% of employees partaking in the American Society for Training and Development survey feel happier in their role.

• Cost Saving: Rather than hosting multiple training days, you can have one training platform with a collection of videos for staff to watch in-house or remotely. That cuts costs of learning and development by almost 95%, according to a case study by Microsoft.

• Increased Information Retention: Data from the SAVO Group proved that within 30 minutes of finishing an in-person training session, employees forget 58% of the information. Fast forward 6 months, and they’ve forgotten 90%. Training videos are there on-demand for instant refreshes. Quality assurance specialists can edit these videos whenever and find new ways to make them more engaging and increase information retention.

• Increased Customer Satisfaction: Training videos aren’t just for employees. Videos can be an excellent way for businesses to resolve customer queries and product issues.

Your 5-Step Guide on How to Create a Training Video

In 5 steps, you should be able to create a comprehensive, interesting, engaging training video to share with your employees or consumers.

Step #1. Define your topic and type of training video

The first step is defining your topic and type of training video. Consider splitting your chosen topic into multiple videos. Many studies show that shorter videos are best for information retention – one study by the University of Wollongong in Australia found the optimal video length is between 3-7 minutes.

You should also include objectives for each topic – what do you want the watcher to learn from the video? Define your objectives by asking yourself why you’re making the video, who’s the target audience, and what you want the target audience to learn from the video.

A checklist to tick off is best.

Once you know your topic, define the type of training video you want it to be. These include:

• Microvideos – the best option for short, snappy videos. Micro videos are around 30 seconds to a minute long, so it’s essential to convey the message you need to concisely if you’re going to select this video option.

• Screen-recording videos – this is the best option for explaining specific web, software, or app-based training. Screen-recording applications will allow you to record multiple processes simultaneously, stopping and starting as you need.

• Presenter-style videos – this is the best option for onboarding employees. These video styles use a presentation format with voice-over in the background.

• Interactive videos – the best option for creating engaging training videos as they’re more stop-and-start based. These videos often stop and start throughout, allowing the user to feel engaged.

Step #2. Find your tools

The tool you need will depend on the type of video you’re making. For screen-recording videos, there are specific tools that enhance video creation, like Bird Eats Bug.

Advanced screen recorders like Bird Eats Bug have multiple recording and sharing features, making training and development customizable and easy. They’re the perfect video creation tool for videos where you need to stop and start, explain in detail, and have people see what you’re doing.

For training videos, you should use a screen recorder that allows you to capture the tab, window, or entire screen. You can record your microphone and screen simultaneously to give a detailed run-through of what’s on the screen.

For Bird Eats Bug, that’d be a run-through of development issues and resolutions to website bugs. For screen-recording training videos, using Bird Eats Bug is an essential step to creating high-quality videos.

You should then be able to trim, split and cut your recordings afterwards, editing the video how you need it to suit the user’s needs.

For the other types of training videos, there are numerous video editing applications online, such as Loom, SendSpark, and Droplr – all have unique functions. You’ll notice most software allows for screen recording, video upload, and video editing.

Step #3. Create a captivating script

Remember, these need to be engaging. If you’ve watched training videos before, you’ll know some are less interesting than watching paint dry on a wall. Regurgitating information straight from the handbook is a no-go.

Instead, think of it as telling an emotive, interactive story.

Tailor this to each user by considering three crucial elements of video scripting:

• Create a brief – have a brief outline of everything you want to cover in the video and put them into conversational bullet points.

• The hook –  every video should have a hook. The hook can be pausing to offer the user a chance to try something themselves, an opener that poses a question, or an intriguing statistic.

• The message – think back to the message you want to convey – do you want customers to feel supported? Do you want employees to understand an application? Write your script going back to the original brief and message.

• A call to action – finish the video with a call to action – e.g. asking employees or customers to try something for themselves.

No matter what type of training video you want to produce, you can make some elements interactive, stopping and starting, allowing the watcher to go away and return to the video – every 3-7 minutes, if possible.

Step #4. Create and edit the video

Now, you need to create and edit the video. Create the video you want using the script you’ve written, using video recording and editing software like the Bird Eats Bug we spoke about earlier to create professional and engaging videos.

Beware, not all video creation and editing applications are easy to use. Some use advanced features that require training. Stick to simple tools that are easy to use with all the basic video editing tools you need.

You’ll notice that some tools give you the option to use a video template, which might be better for novice video makers. Templates are pre-made and can follow a similar style you’re looking for. Most will also allow you to use a webcam and screen-record simultaneously for more immersive training videos.

To add some flare to the video, you should look at the following tools:

• Animations
• Transitions
• On-screen text and translations
• Images
• Interactive features

Step #5. Review and complete

Once you’ve edited the video, it’s time for quality assurance. Review the video and check for any issues – video editing software will let you go back over the same video and edit again.

It’s wise to get other people to review the video for you. Outside unbiased opinions will tell you whether the video is engaging, too long, or doesn’t convey the correct message.

When should you create a training video?

There’s no wrong time to create a training video.

Here are some of the most common reasons to create one:

Onboarding new employees or customers

Onboarding is the most common reason for creating training videos. Onboarding employees using training videos saves a considerable amount of time and effort. There are fewer resources required. There’s no need to book a venue. Nobody needs to have time off to complete a training session.

For consumers, it’s the perfect solution – a one-stop video that explains processes engagingly. No complicated email or online lengthy step-by-step manual to read.

The need to explain new processes

Explaining new processes to people who are already familiar with the existing ones can be confusing – it’s not easy to erase old information with new information in the brain the first time around. Training videos are constantly there to refer back to.

Updating existing processes

Again, sometimes processes change, and employees or consumers need updating. A short, quick video is easier to organize and engage with than hosting a training session or creating a new user guide.

For remote workers

Globally, 16% of companies are working completely remotely. There’s no central base for employees to go to for training – thus, learning how to create training videos becomes essential.

Do you think you could create an online training video?

With the correct outline, tools, and execution, online training videos are the perfect way to share training content with your desired audience. It doesn’t take a video creation and editing whizz to make a training video – all you need is the right tools at your disposal.