Videos are a particularly compelling method to learn how to do something online because, well, the video shows you exactly the way to do it. I am not alone here, either — Almost customers would prefer to watch a marketing video rather than seeing an advert.
So when you are among the 45% of marketers who’re including video content to their strategy this year, there can be lots of value in making videos particularly for those in your audience who’re trying to learn how to do something, too.
In this post, we will discover just how prevalent these searches are on YouTube and other platforms, and what you could learn from 10 how-to videos about how to make great teaching videos of your own.
How-To Video Searches Are Popular
How-to searches are incredibly prevalent. Think about just your own life for a moment, and reconsider my query at first of this blog post. Additionally, they might be a great chance for brands to show off their products.
According to WyzOwl’s 2018 Video Marketing Statistics Report, 72 percent of people prefer to learn about services or products via video.
Video marketing is rising, and so is the number of platforms it could be seen on. While Youtube and Vimeo used to be the primary place to find videos, consumers now similarly utilize social platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to learn about brands and products.
10 How-To Videos to Learn From
1. How to Fold a Fitted Sheet
You might recognize the title of this how-to video — it is the one I said earlier in this very blog post. Are you always getting stymied when putting away fitted sheets on laundry day like me?
What I like about this video is the way it showcases personality. It is an easy how-to video of humans demonstrating how to do one thing, without any animations or high tech features, however, it’s still extremely effective at teaching the viewer. Stewart and her visitors make jokes about how hard it’s to fold the sheet — Stewart even joking that her inability to do so led to her divorce — and they show the viewer how simple it’s to get tripped up in the process. Stewart and her visitors also have empathy for the viewer and show exactly the way to keep away from pitfalls along the way.
Takeaway for marketers If you wish to make a how-to video “hosted” by a real, live human, be sure they act like a human. Videos are a simple method for brands to showcase personality, so put yourself in the shoes of your viewer, and infuse humor, sincerity, and empathy into your instructions. If the concept you are explaining is complicated, tell the viewer that. When you had no idea how to use your product at first, share that. Speaking like a human — instead of reading off a script like a robot — will create your video memorable, effective, and enjoyable, too.
2. How to Cook Perfect Pasta
Tasty on BuzzFeed shares cooking and recipe videos that regularly go viral on YouTube and other social media and reach millions of people monthly. However, this video is not one of Tasty’s trademark recipe videos — it is one of several how-to videos that break down common or difficult cooking skills step-by-step.
In this video, Tasty uses hyperlapse to speed up the cooking demonstration and get the audience the information they want as quickly as possible. This fast-paced filming style is eye-catching if it begins auto-playing in a social media feed, too. Tasty selected a smart how-to search term, too — there is lots of search volume around the phrase “how to cook pasta.”
Takeaway for marketers: Viewers prefer YouTube videos on the shorter side, so sped-up hyper lapse filming helps conserve time and makes a neat visual impact. Work backward and conduct keyword research to learn what terms your audience is looking for to find a topic to create your video about.
3. How to Escape Quicksand
Evidently, Princess Buttercup’s tragic fall into quicksand in The Princess Bride would not have been quite as terrifying in real life.
In this how-to video, Tech Insider uses captions and animations to break down a complicated concept. I was not exactly looking for info on how to escape quicksand when I found this video, however, the unique subject matter made me immediately click on, intrigued. On top of this, the sound is not required — though it does add dramatic impact — which may make people more likely to click and watch all the way through since many social media videos are watched on mute.
Takeaway for marketers: Your how-to videos do not essentially need to be about a dry topic associated with your industry. When you create an interesting piece of content that goes viral, you will generate interest in your brand that method. Animations and captions assist to show — rather than explain — trickier concepts such as quicksand, so consider these visible elements for high-level explanations. And if there is a method to make your videos volume-agnostic, do so. Some videos will require narration or other sounds, however, the visual elements mentioned previously can do the talking for you.
4. How to Blow Out Curly Hair
Anybody who’s ever gotten a blowout knows that it could be costly and time-consuming to have it professionally done.
So Bustle cleverly made a how-to video that teaches audiences the way to DIY and saves money– a motivating factor behind many how-to online searches, I suspect. This video is also short, which MiniMatters suggests for enticing viewers to see videos all the way through. YouTube counts a view as once a video has been watched for around 30 seconds, so viewers with short attention spans may be more likely to stick around for that long if they see a video is shorter, like this one.
Takeaway for marketers: Almost everyone wants to save money where they’ll, so think about methods your how-to video can help audiences do this when brainstorming topics. When filming, try to keep videos as short as possible to attract viewers and keep them watching all the way through to steadily raise your number of YouTube views.