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Key Creative Ingredients in Software Demo Videos

1. Using Screen Capture in Software Demo Video

An almost mandatory component of software demonstration videos is the use of screen capture. Screen capture has the potential to be quite dull, so it’s important to consider ways to lift the content to bring your software to life and highlight its key features.  Don’t just settle for static screen capture, video can bring the product to life with the power to zoom in, pan and transition from linear to 3 dimensions.

2. Using Green Screen in Software Demo Video

Green screen technology allows you to take an on-screen presenter and drop them into any animated surroundings you wish. This allows you to create continuity through a constant human presence on screen, whilst using animations and screen capture to explain key concepts and software features. Green screen also allows you to create fluidity between concepts and sections by visually responding to the voiceover to create a visual narrative. Through the use of colour palette and graphical styling, green screen can also allow you to stamp your own distinct brand identity on your software demo.

3. Adding Additional Graphics

In addition to screen capture adding tailored 2D or 3D graphics to set the stage, your video can use brand assets or animation to help the viewer visualise more abstract concepts such as data flowing through networks, represent statistics and use metaphor to highlight ideas and selling points. All of this allows you to create your own unique style and approach.

4. Working with Presenters and Voiceovers

A key challenge for many software providers is to bring their product to life and make it more human. More often than not software demo videos feature a presenter or voice over in order to appeal to both visual and oral learners. This allows you to create a compelling narrative that will anchor the viewer, engaging and grabbing their attention, before going onto demonstrate your product’s features. By using an on-screen presenter you can also present a more human side to your company.

5. Taking an Interactive or Modular Approach

To help maintain engagement your software demo could also have a modular structure whereby you create short video chapters that demonstrate and explain individual aspects of your software. This can help bridge the sometimes conflicting objectives of promotion vs. training that software demonstrations often struggle with.

6. Be Different with your Software Demo Video

There are lots of software demonstration videos out there with lots of innovative ideas. Take a look at how both your competitors and companies in other industries tackle this and then look at what you want to achieve using these creative ingredients.

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Advantages and Benefits of Making Software Demo Videos

The Power of Video to Clearly Explain and Illuminate

Software Demo Videos are fast and effective. They have the power and flexibility to present your software to an audience like no other medium, helping to explain in a few seconds what it might take many minutes to achieve with just text and images.

Visualise and Contextualise Problems and Processes

By combining screen capture with animation, you have the power to help your audience visualise complex problems, before presenting your software as the solution. Video also allows you the opportunity to put your software into a real world scenario, using real or hypothetical case studies. No other medium has the potential to showcase your software in such a way.

Finding the Right Visual Style for your Product Demo Video

Pick a visual style, influence or identify that reflect your brand values or purpose. You can choose any backdrop from an idyllic countryside, fictional sci-fi world, bustling metropolis to a completely virtual set. By choosing a unique visual backdrop, you can inject a sense of your own distinct brand identity into the look and feel of your video.

The Marketing Potential of Software Demo Videos

Software demos fall into the Help content category of YouTube’s Help, Hub, and Hero content marketing model and their brand building potential is huge on such platforms. By creating a series of shareable and useful video guides to your software you can encourage engagement and brand advocacy amongst your existing YouTube channel subscribers, whilst simultaneously raising your profile with your potential customer base.

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Watch-Outs and Considerations when Producing Software Demo Videos

There are many considerations and a variety of options when it comes to producing a software demo video. Below are just a few to consider before you even begin:

  • What is the main objective of your video? Are you creating a video to promote and showcase your software or educate people how to use it (or both)? Establishing your brand objectives in the planning stage will help us strike the right balance here.
  • How tech savvy is your audience? Will they be SME directors or senior IT managers in a large blue chip organisation? Should you create separate versions for both audiences?
  • What is your budget? Can you achieve what you’ve set out to do on budget? As a general rule of thumb the shorter the better (2-3 mins), but they can sometimes be longer if you have a captive rather than browsing audience.
  • How long should your video be? This can depend a lot on audience and video purpose. Generally it’s best to keep it short. If you have a lot to cover, then think about a modular format, with individual videos covering separate functions or processes.
  • When you think about your presenter – weigh up the advantages of using a professional or one of your internal staff? Your staff may have the expertise but they may not come across as naturally and amenably as a professional presenter.
  • When it comes to scripting no one knows your product like you do, so it’s often a lot more time and therefore cost effective for you to put together a rough script to begin with. This can then be polished and tweaked by us to work with your video.
  • The screen capture process is also best handled by sitting down with one of our experts who are better placed to operate the software. Getting the timing right is crucial at this stage as the screen capture recordings must match up with the script.
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To understand both how we work and see an overview of the types of work we do please take a look at our showreel and expertise pages. We’d love to hear from you and learn more about the projects you have in mind and how we might help.