What Is an Easy Way To Create a How-To Video?

Every company can benefit from creating tutorial videos. A quality how-to video informs your customer base, demonstrates your expertise, and helps build a reputable brand. But do you know how to make an effective tutorial video?

Making how-to videos isn't as difficult as people think. Anyone with a smartphone can do it. The key is having a plan, keeping it simple, and focusing on genuinely helping people.

TLDR: Creating effective how-to videos requires choosing specific topics your customers need help with, knowing your audience's skill level, keeping equipment and production simple (smartphones work fine), making videos short and focused (under 3 minutes when possible), and prioritizing being helpful over being entertaining. Quality tutorials build trust and demonstrate expertise.

Everything else is a bonus. Making quality how-to videos can significantly impact your business. Here's your complete guide to creating easy yet helpful video tutorials.

Choose the Right Topic (Be Specific, Not General)

The first step in making any video tutorial is choosing your topic carefully. Your instructional videos can cover anything relevant to your business, but they can't be too general or broad.

Focus on specific topics or solutions to specific problems. Ideally, address issues your particular customer base frequently encounters.

Avoid including unnecessary information that doesn't directly relate to solving the problem. Let's use the example of a how-to video for installing a new dishwasher. You want to focus on proper hookups and stress the importance of making everything level.

You wouldn't start giving advice on general kitchen renovations. You also wouldn't combine the video into a general plumbing tutorial. Each video should address exactly one topic or solve exactly one problem.

Make sure the topic you choose is something you can effectively demonstrate in a video format. It should be something you can visualize and show the audience step-by-step. The more abstract or imagination-dependent your topic is, the less valuable or impactful your video will be.

Video works best for visual, hands-on demonstrations where showing is better than telling.

Know Your Audience (Pitch at the Right Level)

Before you create any tutorial video, you need to understand your audience. This helps you determine what level to pitch your content at. Is the customer most likely to benefit from your advice a complete novice or someone with existing skills?

Answering that question dramatically improves the quality and usefulness of your how-to videos.

You don't want to confuse beginners with technical jargon or industry terms they won't understand. But you also don't want to bore knowledgeable viewers with overly simplistic explanations they already know.

Sometimes a customer needs a specific answer to one question and has everything else covered. Other times a customer has no idea where to start and needs comprehensive guidance from the beginning.

It's smart to make both types of videos, but keep them separate and clearly labeled.

Let people know which videos are beginner-friendly and which ones aren't. Common approaches include:

• Using terms like "101" or "the basics" for introductory content
• Using "intermediate" or "advanced" for more skilled audiences
• Creating series that build from basic to advanced topics

You can even connect your videos to your blog, allowing people to sort through them based on their skill level and needs.

Keep It Simple (Don’t Overcomplicate Production)

Over-complicating things is a fatal mistake when making how-to videos. You don't need fancy equipment, expensive cameras, or professional editing software to create valuable tutorials.

All of that can come later as you grow. Everyone starts somewhere and learns as they go. What every successful how-to video creator understands is focusing on the basics first.

All you need is a camera. Your smartphone works perfectly fine. Think about it - some of the most informative tutorials are 60-second posts on social media platforms.

Start small and simple. Use your phone's built-in editing features or find free editing software online. When making videos, don't worry about fancy transitions, animated graphics, or complex effects.

Don't stress about being super entertaining, funny, or flashy either. Keep your early videos focused on straightforward, clear instruction. The only thing that truly matters is whether people can learn from your videos.

As you gain experience, your videos will naturally look more polished. However, never lose the soul of your videos: helping people solve their problems.

Production quality is secondary to providing genuine value.

Make Videos Short and Focused

Whatever you do, keep your how-to videos short and focused. Nobody wants to sit through a 30-minute tutorial for a 60-second fix. This frustrates viewers and wastes everyone's time.

The best-case scenario when videos are too long is that people skim through looking for the specific part they need. This wastes all your effort and defeats the purpose of creating the video.

Figure out the simplest, clearest way to address the topic, then execute it efficiently.

Be informative and provide helpful guidance, but don't drag things out unnecessarily. If you can explain everything and demonstrate what to do in under 3 minutes, do that. Your customers will appreciate concise, focused content.

People searching for how-to videos are usually in the middle of a project or trying to solve an immediate problem. They need quick, clear answers - not lengthy explanations.

Respect their time, and they'll respect your brand.

Constantly Ask: Is This Actually Helpful?

While scripting or creating your how-to video, continually ask yourself: Is this video, in its current state, actually helpful?

If it's not the kind of video that someone in a difficult situation could benefit from, it's missing the mark. The same applies if your video looks confusing, isn't informative enough, or doesn't clearly demonstrate the solution.

If a two-line Google search result answers the question better than your video, your video isn't serving its purpose.

The main goal of creating how-to videos isn't entertainment or even directly driving traffic. Those are bonuses that help build your brand as byproducts. The primary goal is genuinely helping people when they need assistance.

Strive to make the best, most helpful how-to videos possible, and your customers will trust you more. Publishing rushed, poorly thought-out filler content has the opposite effect - it damages trust and credibility.

Quality over quantity always wins with instructional content.

Why How-To Videos Matter for Your Small Business

Creating how-to videos is an excellent way for small business owners to reach their target audience and differentiate themselves from competitors.

By creating engaging, easy-to-follow tutorials and demonstrations, you give customers a better understanding of your services or products. When people understand how to use what you offer effectively, they get more value and become more satisfied customers.

Video format allows you to illustrate instructions visually. Customers can quickly learn and better comprehend how to use your product or service when they see it demonstrated rather than just reading about it.

Plus, how-to videos are highly shareable. They can be distributed on social media, embedded on your website, included in email campaigns, and shared by satisfied customers. This extends your brand's reach far beyond your immediate audience.

How-to videos create interactive learning experiences for your customers. They provide intuitive solutions that drive greater engagement and customer satisfaction. When you help people succeed with your products or services, they remember you positively and return.

For small businesses competing against larger companies, how-to videos are a powerful equalizer. A small business that genuinely helps customers through quality tutorial content will build more loyalty than a large company that doesn't invest in customer education.

Your Website Should Showcase Your Videos Effectively

Creating great how-to videos is just the first step. You also need a website that showcases those videos effectively and provides an excellent viewing experience.

If your website is slow, difficult to navigate, or doesn't display videos properly, you're undermining all the effort you put into creating helpful content.

Your website is where customers come to find solutions. It needs to be fast, organized, and optimized for video content.

We Help Your Website Perform at Its Best

At Your WP Guy, we're your one-stop solution for all things business website related. We can help you take your ideas - including tutorial videos and other content - and push them to the next level.

We specialize in WordPress website design, optimization, and maintenance. We ensure your site loads quickly, displays video content beautifully, and provides an excellent user experience that keeps customers engaged.

We handle all the technical details - speed optimization, security updates, regular backups, and ongoing monitoring - so you can focus on creating great content that helps your customers.

Your how-to videos deserve a website that presents them professionally and makes them easy to find and watch.

Ready to ensure your website supports your content strategy effectively? Don't hesitate to contact us today. We'll show you exactly how we can help you create a website that showcases your expertise and serves your customers better.

Let us handle the technical side of your website while you focus on creating valuable content that builds trust and grows your business.