Educational content are effective tools for any marketing campaign. That’s not to say it should be the only thing. Eye-catching explainers or commercials are still important in grabbing audience attention, but educational content, especially videos, work to further engage with that audience and keep them coming back for more.
In the past fifteen years, we have produced all types of educational content from masterclasses to science demonstrations to history-themed series. Some were more effective than others, which has given us the knowledge and experience to guide our clients through the process of creating educational videos.
Here are some of our tips on how to create engaging educational content.
Charisma over Knowledge
Few years ago, we created a series of tech videos that provided tips on cybersecurity. Fascinating content and our host knew everything there is to know about keeping a company secure. The video turned out to be near unwatchable. It wasn’t because of the quality of the content, which was top-notch, but our host had some weird quirky movements that became distracting and tiring to watch for 20-30 minutes.
Our pro-tip is to always choose charisma over knowledge. Information can be scripted and put on a teleprompter. Charisma isn’t something that can be easily transferred to someone who lacks it. Perhaps it’s someone else in your organization or maybe an actor is the way to go. Especially since educational videos tend to be longer, you need someone that will engage with the audience for the duration, and want to come back for the sequels.
It’s true, you may miss out on some knowledge sharing, and perhaps some feelings may be hurt, but the objective is to ensure your video is watchable and evergreen.
Be Strategic with Animation
Educational videos can sometimes be 100% animation, but it’s important to be mindful of your audience. Professional audiences are not often receptive to watching 20+ minutes of animation. Animation can emphasize key points or make something complex easier to understand, but we recommend combining it with live action to keep your audience more engaged.
Also, animation takes longer to produce and a longer animated piece (10+ minutes) may be quite expensive.
You also want to avoid PowerPoint-type animations if budget allows.
It’s important to be strategic with animation, and when you do use it, make sure it hits home.
Professional Quality
Over the years, several companies have come to us after trying to do a video on their own. Despite the fact that phone cameras and the DIY approach have taken off in many areas, it’s still often time-consuming and difficult to create a well-polished professional look.
And you want your educational videos to be engaging, and an important factor there is that production quality is up to par. If you don’t have someone on your team who can achieve a high level of quality production, then we recommend hiring a professional video production company or consider an alternative approach to engaging with your audience.
Educational content is an important and effective way to engage with your audience, and every brand should consider incorporating it to their overall marketing strategy.
To learn more about how Picturelab can help with your educational content, reach us at info@picturelab.com.
Picturelab is a full-service video production company based in Mountain View, CA, and Irvine, CA. We primarily serve clients in the San Francisco Bay Area, Orange County, Los Angeles, and the greater Southern California region.