Video-guides: Make them yourself – Quick and easy.

All you need to get started with your own production of a video guides is: 

• A plan 

• An online meetingportal (Teams, Zoom, Skype) 

• Headphones with a microphone    

Your demo video should have a clear goal in which your recipients can identify their own needs. Therefore, you need to plan what to display before you get started and stick to the simple review of features so you do not fall for digressions or loose track in cross-functionalities.

In short: you should break down your demo videos into several small footage rather than producing the big feature film.

The advantage of several small videos is that if an accident where to occur, like your office mates choosing to break out in song while recording, it’s only a short sequence that you need to be redone.

Since March 2020, ‘you know enough’ has made us all 100-meter champions in the use of Teams, Zoom and Skype. Use the tool your organization uses for online meetings. 

Create a meeting, share your screen, and start recording.  

Basically, it’s the screen that is the focus. But if you have to explain something in general terms, it can be worthwhile to have your face on the screen.

You probably have a set of headphones/microphone headphones that you use for online meetings. And if you do not have that yourself, your colleague or your Fortnite-playing nephew is guaranteed to have some to borrow. Feel free to practice what you have to say so that the speech is clear and the message is clear as well. Clear and short video sequences will also be an advantage.  

Also test the sound quality for the best placement of the microphone relative to your mouth to avoid heavy breathing sounds. The quality of the sound is important, especially if your recipients need to watch many videos.

Noise reduction is common in standard headsets, but if too much noise is still creeping in, you can use the war tricks of the old correspondents and hide under a blanket or duvet while recording. It might look a little silly. But it is effective. And remember: No one likes to hear their own voice, but your voice sounds absolutely fine.

Once your videos are ready, they need to be distributed. Consider who should see them and find the right way to share the.

Presumably, your organization uses an intranet portal like Sharepoint. It is an obvious place to share video guides with colleagues, as they already use the system, and you can choose the degree of access to the video: whether it should be everyone with the link or only users with login to the intranet who can see, and whether one must have rights to download the video.

If your organization already uses a video service, you can choose to store your videos there. Youtube, Vimeo and Dreambroker allow you to share both publicly and with special access.

However, remember to pay attention to personal data when sharing videos. Both in terms of the content of the videos you share and in relation to the viewers: if your channel for sharing collects statistics about the viewers' movements, they should be made aware of this.

Regardless of where the videos are placed, we recommend that they can be accessed either directly or via a link in the context of what they are to serve as a guide to: For example, if the guide is about your CMS system, either upload the video to CMS or create links to them.

And remember to give your video guides a logical name, so that the user can quickly search for the right videos.

It is a great idea to invite a colleague to record your video. An extra person can create a more dynamic vibe by asking questions about the feature you want to show with the guide. And the dialogue between two people can make the content more present and less solemn.

And remember: Do not overdo it. It does not have to be perfect, but just give your colleagues the knowledge they need to have.