“How To Videos” and how to make them.

You know all about “How To Videos” right? Right?? Well, if you don’t then we at Beast Production Company UK are telling you that you need to know all about them. As an award-winning video production agency, London, we know all about the relevance of “How To” videos and what this type of online video production can mean for your business.

What are “How To Videos”?

“How To Videos”, are videos which do exactly what it says on the tin; it shows you how to do something in a video but without all of the trickery and clever editing of a TV commercials. They simply tell it how it is – and thats what the consumer craves – TRUTH! These videos can explain how to do any manner of things, such as how to cook something, how to put up a shelf or how to do your makeup. “How To Videos” have become increasingly popular. Many people find it much easier to learn how to do something if they are able to copy someone else doing it, and this is what sparked the explosion of this type of digital content. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have helped boost their popularity even more; with videos showing you how to make your own Christmas decorations and hairstyle hacks taking over our social media feeds.

Top tips for creating “How To Videos”:

Here are our 7 top tips for creating “How To videos”. It’s not simply a case of filming yourself making a house out of matchsticks and creating a video content production. Oh no, there’s way more to it than that!

1. Keep it short and to the point. The second people see a video is 25 minutes long, they are clicking off of it. Try and keep any videos to a few minutes or less.
2. Tell the viewer what the video is about within the first few frames. The viewer needs to know what the video is about and why they need to watch it ASAP.
3. Include your call to action. You can include this at the beginning as well as at the end of the video. If you want them to navigate to your site after watching the video – you need to let them know.
4. Keep your video content targeted and specific. You’re reaching out to a specific audience with your “How To” video, so make sure you’re giving the viewer what they want by providing the right information.
5. Be sure to entertain. No one is going to want to watch a video where a disinterested voice-over artist is explaining how something is done, with as much personality as a paving slab. The video content comes across as being enthusiastic and excited about what is being talked about. Make sure you impress this upon your video content production company – we need personality!
6. Background music is a must. If you’re going to have points in the video where no one will be talking, make sure there is some sort of background music – don’t make us sit in silence! Silence is a major turn off when it comes to videos, and you will soon have potential viewers scrolling past if the silence is too loud.
7. Make it easy to understand. The worst thing you can do is make a viewer feel like they now know less than when they started watching the video. Think about your target audience, and don’t bamboozle people with technical language if they don’t speak it.

How much should a “How To video” cost?

Well, the short answer to that is not very much. But as these types of video grow in popularity so do the budgets. We recently produced over 500 videos for a drinks brand that wanted to show how to make all sorts of cocktails. Now you can imagine thats a lot of content, but the fact is if you are shooting close ups of drinks and want them to be appetizing, you have to have a nice looking cocktail, a professional cocktail maker, lighting, a camera that shoots high-speed, a funky edit, music and importantly color correction – you cant do this at home. So depending on your product and your content, these things can cost you as much or as little as you want. You could make on yourself, you could employ a semi-professional or you could make a professional job of it with a video content agency. It’s worth bearing in mind, that the less you spend, the less professional your video will look. Users are used to professional looking videos in this day and age. Let’s say a 30x 15 second video costs you £10,000. This might seem like a lot of cash for a short video, but there are some serious benefits to online video content, for your business and your users.

How can a “How To video” benefit my business?

Building trust. They give you a chance to enable your viewer to look inside your company and give them a chance to get to know your brand better. They give you the opportunity to put a face to the name – and this creates trust. You’re creating a long-term relationship with your viewer, and you’re letting them come to you, rather than bombarding with traditionally aggressive marketing techniques. It’s not just about the content, it’s what the provision of the content means for the person watching it.

Return on investment. Everyone knows video gives you a good return on investment. It’s not the easiest option, it’s not the cheapest option, but it’s the most relevant option and investing in it pays off. More time than ever is spent scrolling through social media feeds and watching online video content. So, get yourself a piece of that action.

Visibility. Videos increase the amount of time users spend on your site. The more time people spend on your site, the more exposure. The longer the exposure, the more trust, and trust equals search engines knowing the content on your site is good content. Did you know you are way more likely to pop up first on a Google search if you have a video on your site? If that’s not a good reason to get a “How To” video made, then I don’t know what is.

Lazy likes video. Videos require no effort; you don’t need to read anything, you don’t need to do any of your own research, all you need to do is take a comfy seat, listen in and take a glance at the visuals. With this kind of online content, you can attract even the laziest of consumers and your reach is unstoppable!

Videos = shares. This is nothing to do with the stock exchange and everything to do with people sharing your video on their social media channels for others to see. The more your video is shared, the more exposure you get and the more impact you have. But, remember, people don’t share boring videos, so you need to keep your video fun, engaging and relevant to get out there.