How To Create Kickass Video Tutorials For Your Software & SaaS Business

Why Every SaaS Company Should Invest In Customer Training

How To Create Kickass Video Tutorials For Your Software & SaaS Business

Video can play an important role in software and SaaS product marketing and customer education. Yet not many B2B SaaS businesses have a video strategy in place.

Video tutorials are an excellent way to educate customers about B2B SaaS products. B2B SaaS onboarding videos and product tutorial videos can communicate complex information to product users.

As per this guru99.com survey, the online learning market is expected to hit the $325 billion mark by 2025.

This guide will show you how to create professional-quality product tutorial videos that can improve customer experience, reduce customer churn, and grow your business.

Table of Contents

Why Product Video Tutorials?

Product tutorial videos are perfect to provide guidance and instructions for SaaS companies that sell complex or advanced software products.

The primary task of a software tutorial is to teach the audience how to use the product. In addition, product tutorial videos can be a valuable marketing tool for promoting products and building customer loyalty.

PART I: The workflow

What is the workflow B2B SaaS companies should follow to create product tutorial videos? In this section, we will examine in detail the various steps involved.

1. Understand the audience

Let’s say you are creating a product tutorial video for your SaaS business, an eCommerce software. You will need to cater to two types of users:

The first type of user is already a customer but is struggling to use the product and needs help. The second type of user is not a customer yet, but wants to learn about the features before deciding to buy your software.

So, you need to know what kind of video tutorial will best help them understand your product.

A product tutorial video is a great way to educate both employees and customers about a product.

For example, this product tutorial video created by Content Beta for Flipkart explains how global eCommerce works.

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2. Create a script

Having identified the user types, you will need to create a series of videos to cater to both groups of users.

To create an engaging product tutorial video, you need a script that is created with viewers and their specific needs in mind. Be specific about the purpose of the video and what you want to achieve with it.

  • Start by rounding up relevant information about how your software works.
  • Don’t write a script and then try to figure out how to make the content fit into that format.
  • Use a conversational tone, with the instructor speaking directly to the audience.
  • Avoid using industry jargon or technical terms that most people will not understand.

Here is an example from Techsmith about how to write a script:

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3. Record the video

When your script is ready, you’ll want to read the script aloud before you start recording the video and make sure it sounds natural.

Get it approved by all stakeholders and fact-checked by tech guys.

Now you are ready for action but you will need the right equipment and software tools.

If you are creating product tutorial videos for your SaaS business, you should be using screen capture software to record your computer screen and voiceover software to narrate the video.

If you are creating a video for a blog post or sales page, then you can use Camtasia or ScreenFlow.

You need the following tools to record a product tutorial video:

  • A good quality camera/webcam
  • A well-lit room
  • A good audio mic
  • A tripod
  • Recording software like Camtasia/Final Cut Pro

Watch the video, ‘How to make a tutorial’ from Techsmith:

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4. Edit the video

Smoothing the flow of the video is what makes your video work, so due attention should be given to the editing process.

Have the patience for editing videos too, not just filming them. The more time you spend on the editing table the better the video will look. Follow these steps:

  • Work with a professional video editor if your budget permits. There are many software programs available for editing videos, but not all of them are suitable for SaaS and software videos.
  • Start with the end in mind. What are you trying to accomplish? Do you want to show your customers how to use a specific feature of the software, or do you want them to see an overview of how everything works?
  • If you are creating screen capture video tutorials, then there is no need to write out a script. Just record yourself talking about the software and then edit the video later.
  • Add music, sound effects, and voice-over narration. Before you start recording, make sure that your audio is good.

Let‘s look at an example from Kissflow, the No-code, Low-code Work Platform, that automates day-to-day business processes like purchase orders and tracks their performance.

They wanted to upgrade Kissflow Academy with better B2B SaaS onboarding videos to reduce customer support tickets and the onboarding time.

Watch this product tutorial video created by Content Beta from Kissflow’s Tutorial course.

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5. Upload your video

Social media is a powerful tool for marketing and distributing content. It has become the primary source of information for many people, which means that you can reach more people and get more views on your videos.

The most popular social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

YouTube is the most popular video platform that allows free uploads. It is easy to use and has a huge audience. But imposes a lot of restrictions on what you can do with your videos.

Facebook doesn’t have many restrictions, however, the disadvantage is that people scroll through Facebook quickly.

Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. The idea is to make viewers visit your website through these networks. Therefore, hosting the video on the company website is critical because you own it, unlike the Social media sites.

You should be aware of the differences between these platforms to plan your strategy accordingly.

An example of a SaaS product tutorial video, created by Content Beta for Ethnio.

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6. Promote your video

As a business owner, you’re probably trying to figure out how best to market your video tutorials. You might be wondering about the most effective time of day for uploading them, or how much money to spend on advertising.

a. Quality

There are many aspects to video marketing, but in general, you want to create a high-quality video that will be worth watching for potential customers.

This means that you need to make sure the video is based on a good script, is clear and easy to understand, and uses good lighting and sound.

b. Hosting

If you’re trying to decide which video hosting site is best for your business, it’s important to consider the target audience. For example,

  • If a tutorial is about how to use an app, you’ll want to post it on a site where the app is popular.
  • If you’re trying to introduce your new software or SaaS product, posting videos on YouTube is a good idea, since that’s the most popular video hosting site on the web.

This product tutorial video from the Content Beta YouTube homepage is a good example of using distribution platforms for the promotion.

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c. Goals

It’s also important to consider your goals for posting videos online. If your goal is to:

  • Get people to subscribe to your YouTube channel, then include a clear call to action in the description of each video.
  • Drive traffic to your website or landing page, then include links in the video’s description and in the video itself.

d. Promotion

Promote the video on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, forums, or other websites that are related to your business.

Create an email list for your business and use product tutorial videos to help drive traffic to your site and increase sales.

e. User-created content

You should also get people who have already used your product to create video tutorials for your product. This will help you to understand how they feel about your product and what they like or dislike about it.

However, you should also make sure that they are very enthusiastic about the product.

If they do not care about your product, then it will be difficult for them to convey their enthusiasm effectively.

7. Measure performance

Video marketing is a powerful tool for B2B and SaaS companies to promote their products and services. It is a great way to communicate your message to potential customers, engage with them, and provide value to them.

Marketers use many metrics to measure the performance of video marketing. The following are the most commonly used:

  • Reach or Views: It is the number of times a video has been watched on YouTube or other platforms like Facebook, Vimeo, etc. It tells you the popularity of your product.
  • Engagement: It is the number of people who have interacted with your video. They are likes, shares, comments, etc. on a video. They tell you how interested your users are in the video tutorials.
  • Traffic: It tells you how many viewers come to your website after watching your video.
  • Conversion: It is the number of people who have taken some action after watching your video (e.g. subscribing)

For a video marketing campaign to be successful, companies need to fix Key Performance Indicators (KPI) beforehand and measure ROI against them.

Don’t stop here; go a step further and make improvements based on the feedback.

Watch this product training video from Google on how to measure video performance.

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PART II: Tools of the trade

1. Pre-Production tools

Pre-production is all about planning for your shoot day and making sure you are ready to go when it comes time to film. Creating a storyboard can help understand how a video will turn out.

A storyboard is a visual representation of your video training content. It should be detailed and include every screen, transition effects, and all the information that will appear in the video.

Watch this training video featuring StudioBinder, a storyboarding tool:

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2. Video tools

You can also use the following screencasting tools for creating SaaS video tutorials:

QuickTime on a Mac or Windows Movie Maker on a PC: You can also use the screen recording feature of your OS.

Camtasia: It is a video editing tool that’s perfect for creating SaaS tutorials. It is an easy-to-use tool that lets you record your screen and webcam, add images and text boxes to explain things, and edit your videos. It can also be used on your Mac or PC to record screencasts.

ScreenFlow: It is a powerful screencasting tool for the Mac. It allows you to record your screen, add audio, and export your screencast in high quality. With ScreenFlow, you can easily create professional-looking screencasts.

Watch the ScreenFlow introduction training video:

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3. Audio tools

Audio is a very important part of video production because it helps create the mood, set the tone, and convey the emotion.

Good audio quality is important for video tutorials because a viewer is unlikely to sit through a video with bad sound quality. Audacity is a free tool for audio editing.

Using Techsmith Audiate, you can record your voice, edit it like a text document, and export the audio file.

Here is a training video on how to use the Audiate tool to record and edit your voice:

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4. Converter tools

Video Converters convert videos from one format to another using transcoding that involves decoding and encoding. This can be useful if you want to view a video on a different device or if you want to edit the video in a different program.

A point to keep in mind is that this process may lead to loss of quality when transcoding is done using lossy compression formats. Lossless codecs include H.265 Lossless, while MPEG4 is a lossy codec.

Watch this training video to learn more.

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5. Export tools

The final step is to export the video into a format that you can upload to YouTube or Vimeo.

When you export a video, you are essentially creating a copy of the video file in a different format. This is important because different video files are not compatible with all devices and software.

For example, a .mov file cannot be played on a Windows computer without the proper codec installed. By exporting the video into a .mp4 file, you can ensure that the video will be compatible with a wider range of devices and software.

Watch this training video about exporting videos from Camtasia:

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PART III: Best practices

In the world of SaaS, there’s a lot of emphasis on creating great software and providing excellent customer support.

But what about your users? What if you could create an interactive user guide that not only answered their questions but also showed them how to use your software effectively?

How would that change the way you attract and retain customers? How much more successful could you be if your users were able to learn how to use your software or service on their own?

So, how to create training videos that work?

  • Highlight benefits and features that can solve a customer problem.
  • Concentrate on customer learning and motivating them to complete the task.
  • If need be, create a video tutorial series with each tutorial building on previous learning.

To create the perfect training video for SaaS follow these steps:

  • Select a topic that is of interest and help to your target audience.
  • Keep it concise and present the content in an engaging way.
  • Involve the viewer by asking questions and getting their opinion on topics. using animations, graphics, and voiceover.
  • Use annotations, links, and callouts for more engagement with the viewer.
  • Think of a catchy title for your video, and use it in your email subject lines.
  • Create an infographic to accompany the video – this is a great way to help viewers remember what you are teaching.
  • Use video in your follow-up emails to promote more sales of your product or service.
  • Make it easy for viewers to share your video content on social media or via email.

Conclusion

The need for customer education is steadily rising as the business world becomes more digitized. Many B2B SaaS companies are now turning to B2B video courses to help their customers learn how to use their products.

There are many benefits to creating B2B video courses for customer education.

  • First, it allows customers to learn at their own pace. They can pause, rewind, and watch the tutorial as many times as they need to understand the material.
  • Second, they are a great way to show off your product. You can demo the features and functionality in a way that is engaging and visually appealing.
  • Third, they can help build trust with your customers. They can see that you are an expert in your field and that you are committed to helping them learn and use your product.

No matter how you look at it, creating video tutorials for customer education is a smart move for B2B SaaS companies.

Finally, if you are not using a B2B video course for product engagement, customer education, or employee training now is the time to take your first steps.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Content Beta helps you convert product knowledge into video courses that convert users into experts. They use a 3-step process that involves briefing, scripting, and delivery of the first draft. No need to explain how the product works. A document or loom video is sufficient.

Every SaaS customer would have questions about the product they are using but not every customer knows whom to approach. SaaS and Software video tutorials can provide online help and customer service to those who prefer not to call, email, or chat with a customer service rep.

Video tutorials provide a more convenient way for customers to learn how to use your product, especially when they are on the go or have other obligations that prevent them from sitting down to read long help documents.

Videos are best suited for dealing with technical subjects. Video tutorials can be used to promote your product, especially if you have a complex product that is difficult to describe in writing. They are also useful for explaining new features that you may be promoting to your customers.

Video tutorials are also useful for training new customers who want to learn about the product before purchasing it. By providing video tutorials, you can better ensure that your customers have a good understanding of how to use the product effectively.

Video tutorials are also useful for training new employees, especially if the product is complex and difficult to learn without hands-on experience. By providing video tutorials, you can better ensure that your employees know how to use the product effectively.

Yes. Video tutorials are also useful for training new employees who may be interested in joining your company. By providing video tutorials, you can ensure that they have a head start as they are familiar with the products and know how to use them effectively.

Video tutorials are a great way to keep your customers engaged and educated with the use of engaging visuals. They also help you show off what makes your product stand out, especially if there is an element of humor or personality that your customers are likely to appreciate.

When you export a video, you are creating a new file that contains all of the same video and audio data as the original file. Exporting is useful for creating a file that is compatible with a different video editing program, or if you want to reduce the file size of the original video.

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