Top Instructional Video Advances: Customer Ed Nugget 7

How does your organization use instructional video in customer education? If you rely solely on recorded webinars, I guarantee you’re lagging behind others in your industry.

Not long ago, even simple product training programs were enough for any organization to make a measurable impact on customer acquisition, adoption and retention. But in recent years, customer expectations have grown much more demanding. For example, when learning about new products or services, B2C and B2B buyers no longer settle for basic content that doesn’t meet their immediate interests and needs. They want quick, easy access to information and tools that help them reach their specific goals.

In response, many organizations have stepped up with high-quality customer education programs built on content that is more complete, engaging, adaptive and actionable. This is where advances in instructional video add significant value.

For decades, learners have embraced instructional video. But in the past, it was so time-intensive and cost-prohibitive to produce that organizations reserved it only for business-critical initiatives.

But now, all that has changed. Advances in mobile, social, cloud, AI and other technologies are putting next-generation instructional video within reach, even for organizations with only modest customer education budgets.

How so? Find out in this seventh episode of the Customer Ed Nuggets podcast!

Buying or selling a customer-focused learning system? Get independent insights you can trust, with our in-depth analysis of 20 top solutions. Learn about our 2024 Customer LMS Capabilities Report

Today’s Guest Expert

When talking about learning strategy and systems innovation, it’s always a good idea to include D2L‘s VP of Learning Innovation Advocacy, Kenneth Chapman. D2L is a market-leading corporate LMS solution for customer, partner and employee education (in any combination). And Kenneth has been helping D2L stay ahead of the curve for over 20 years.

Benefits of Instructional Video in Customer Education

Video is a powerful way to enhance customer education throughout every phase of a relationship. Here are five ways businesses benefit from offering video-based learning:

• Deeper Engagement and Retention — By combining visual and audio elements, videos capture a viewer’s attention and drive engagement. This fuels learning retention that surpasses the impact of content based on text or static images.

• Greater Flexibility — Video gives learners the freedom to access content at their convenience and consume it at their own pace. This provides a more personalized experience for customer onboarding, training, certification as well as ongoing support.

• Ability to Illustrate Complex Concepts — Videos naturally facilitate step-by-step demonstrations, making it easier to explain complicated product features, procedures and other topics. This leads to better comprehension, retention and recall.

• Increased Consistency — Instructional video helps ensure consistent communication. This reduces the risk of misunderstandings, oversights and discrepancies, which is especially important for onboarding and other situations that depend on unified messaging.

• Scalability and Cost-Effectiveness — Compared to in-person training sessions, organizations can digitally distribute instructional videos to diverse audiences at a relatively low incremental cost. This saves time, money and resources.

13 Video Advances That Enhance Customer Education

Incorporating modern instructional video content into customer education is a smart, cost-effective strategy. What’s more, learners love it. But what kind of tools and techniques make the biggest difference? Before Kenneth and I compared notes on our top choices, we generated a list of 13 innovative options:

1. Interactive Video — Encourage learners to engage more deeply with content by embedding clickable elements, quizzes and other interactive features.

2. Micro Videos — Boost engagement through short videos that present focused, topical information in a concise format.

3. AI Transcripts/Translations — Expand content accessibility and reach with videos enhanced by artificial intelligence to include accurate, localized captions, transcripts and/or translations.

4. Searchable Video — Improve navigation and findability with AI-driven indexing that enables users to search for specific topics and details anywhere in a video or across an entire content collection.

5. User-Generated Content — Foster collaborative knowledge sharing and enrich the learning experience with diverse perspectives by encouraging community members to create and share their own videos.

6. Recorded Webinars and Podcasts — Make education more convenient for customers by offering pre-recorded webinars, podcasts, conference sessions and virtual events in video format.

7. 360-Degree Virtual Tours — Enhance learning experiences with immersive videos that provide a panoramic view and navigational tools that help customers explore digital environments from a 360-degree perspective.

8. Augmented Reality — Overlay videos with digital information that maps to the real world and enriches learning experiences with additional context and interactive elements.

9. Adaptive Video — Optimize the learning experience with video content that dynamically adjusts with a customer’s progress and preferences.

10. Personalized Feedback — Reinforce learning and improve outcomes with videos designed to provide individualized feedback, emphasizing specific strengths and areas for improvement as customers move through an instructional journey.

11. Live Video Q&A and Support Sessions — Enrich the educational process by inviting customers to attend real-time video sessions where they can ask questions, seek support and engage in conversations with instructors and peers.

12. Gamified Video — Make the educational process more engaging and enjoyable with game-based logic and gaming elements embedded into video content.

13. AI-Generated Video — Automate various aspects of the content creation process by tapping into artificial intelligence tools that assist in video planning and production.

Learn More on This Episode of Customer Ed Nuggets

Which of our “baker’s dozen” instructional video methods can help you make the strongest impact? Find out what Kenneth and I recommend. Tune in to the brief video below, where we compare notes about our top choices…

If you’d rather listen to our conversation, tune in to this audio podcast right here at TalentedLearning.com.

The Bottom Line on Video in Customer Education

Digital video has rapidly evolved in recent years. This has created both challenges and opportunities for customer education providers who must keep up with the expectations of today’s learners.

Video has always been a popular learning format. However, for most organizations, the time, cost and expertise required to produce video content were major obstacles. No more.

Now, thanks to stronger enabling technologies, instructional video is within reach for virtually any company. A modern approach promises multiple benefits, from better learner engagement to higher production productivity at lower cost. Incorporating video into customer education programs is not just a smart business move. It also aligns content with learner preferences, ensuring a more effective and enjoyable learning experience. Ultimately, this translates into stronger customer relationships and better organizational outcomes.

So, how will you level up your instructional video game?

What Types of Instructional Video Do You Use?

Now it’s your turn to weigh in. Help us understand how important video is to your organization. Please answer the 2 questions below…

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About Talented Learning Customer Ed Nuggets

Hosted by Talented Learning CEO John Leh, the Customer Ed Nuggets podcast is a trusted source of advice, guidance and best practices for customer education professionals of all types. In this series of brief video and audio “nuggets” (each 10 minutes or less), we explore key topics with numerous guest experts.

Join us anytime here or on our YouTube channel to explore all facets of customer education learning tech, from how to build a persuasive business case, to effective strategies, technologies and content that help professionals create, deploy and grow successful customer-centered programs.

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Learn More About D2L

To find out more about the D2L LMS solution and the company’s instructional video expertise, check out the full vendor profile — including my Hot Take review, a product demonstration, case studies, insights and more. It’s available for free in our Learning Systems Directory. Or for additional information, visit the D2L website directly.

Get Expert Guidance to Find the Right Customer Education LMS

Looking for a new or improved system for customer education? Be sure you make the right decision. Fill out the form below to request a free consultation with Talented Learning Founder and Lead Analyst, John Leh: