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Video marketing collateral should be part of any marketing team’s strategy. In particular, training videos are an excellent way to present information in an easy-to-digest format for your audience. However, training videos are also a highly branded form of marketing, and a poorly executed training video might even be worse than none at all. Make them strong or don’t make them at all. Here are some things to keep in mind as you develop your video-forward marketing strategy.

Make them entertaining

Training videos should be entertaining, of course. You don’t have to produce something that will win a Golden Globe, but by keeping things light and entertaining you’ll engage your audience more and keep them engaged.

Part of the reason for this is the saturation of video marketing services. Video content is now a common tool in a marketing department’s arsenal, so winging it won’t be enough to stand out. What’s more, customers have a different relationship with businesses than they did in the past. There’s a greater connection now between audience and company, which means that the people watching your video will be looking for content that’s personable and more casual.

That’s not to say your training video shouldn’t be knowledgeable, but you can ditch the suit and monotone. Your audience will thank you.

Give them a structure

Time is valuable. Show respect to your customers by offering training videos productions that don’t waste theirs.

Where does structure in training videos come from? A sharp focus. Take some time to consider what the goal of this training video is. What exactly do you want the audience to come away from your video knowing? It can be easy to think that you have to explain all edge cases and nuances in a training video, but the truth is that you should heavily prioritize information in a few key areas. Don’t stretch yourself too thin and the structure will come naturally.

By giving your training videos a clear and transparent structure, you make it easier for the audience to follow along. It’s a good idea to introduce this structure towards the beginning of the video, so the audience has an idea of what it is they’re getting into.

Make your training videos engaging

There’s nothing quite as sleep-inducing as a training video that fails—or worse, doesn’t even try—to engage the audience. People have limited time and even more limited attention spans. Make sure you hold your audience's attention through engaging video content.

How? Simply producing an entertaining corporate videos will do this. The structure is another way to make sure that your audience stays engaged. By keeping the training video on task, you can be confident the audience won’t doze off, and that you won’t go off on a tangent about your childhood pet.

Another great way is to actively include the audience. Ask follow-up questions, for example, or directly relate the content to them. The more they feel like an active participant in the training video, the more engaged they’ll feel.

Keep them up to date and accurate

Video or otherwise, any collateral produced by your marketing department should be completely up to date and factually accurate. Otherwise, your training video will feel less like training and more like a blast from the past.

Keeping training videos up to date ensures that your audience is gaining the most relevant, present-day information they need. It also speaks to the overall quality of the video. Don’t let yourself be caught off guard by not taking into account tech updates or new use cases. Commit to due diligence and ensure that you are presenting only the most accurate information available.

Always add value

A training video shouldn’t be a collection of information you could find in a how-to manual. As we discussed above concerning structure, training videos should be focused and to the point. They don’t need to take into account all scenarios or every little bit of nuance. Keep them focused and on point all the way through.

At the same time, training videos need to go beyond simply reiterating stuff that your audience could find elsewhere. Think about what additional value can be added to the video. You want to make sure that the experience of watching the video gives something to the viewer they couldn’t have gotten from reading the manual.

Take your training videos to the next level

Training videos are an excellent way to connect with your audience in a unique way. More casual than a meeting, and more colorful than a how-to manual, they offer a unique chance to build brand awareness and increase conversions.

Ready to see where you can take your training videos? By adding structure, engagement, entertainment, and added value to your next batch of training videos, you’ll be able to see the difference in how your customers engage with you, and how your business grows.