Gone are the days when dusty old PowerPoint slides are passed around a conference table as a way to share information. Industry leaders have finally realized that to grab an audience’s attention. For instance, they need something memorable like animated video clips, a relatable story, or surprising statistics all delivered in an engaging video presentation.
A Forrester Research study found that people absorb 50% more information through video and sound than other forms of media. It’s also easier to remember. Additional studies show that adults remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, and 80% of what they experience.
If you want your audience to remember you and the information you’re sharing, video presentations are an excellent place to start.
When to Use a Video Presentation
A video presentation is a way to communicate with your audience through the use of a video. Video presentations can be used to inform, demonstrate, or persuade and can be useful when you need to condense a lot of information into an easy-to-understand format. They’re also a great tool when you’re sharing the same information with a lot of people over time.
A few areas where you may want to create a video presentation include:
- Educational videos and webinars
- Sales presentations
- Product demonstrations
- Employee training or onboarding
- Explainer videos or tutorials
- Donation requests
Any time you want to reach a wide audience and give them something to talk about, a video presentation might be the answer.
How to Create an Engaging Video Presentation
Video presentations are a valuable video marketing tool. But there’s no point in creating video content if no one wants to watch it. Your video needs to be informative, engaging, and appropriate for your audience. Here are some tips to create a video presentation worth watching.
Consider Your Audience
When making video presentations, think about who you’re speaking to. If you’re speaking to a room of industry experts you can use some industry jargon and dive deep into analytics. But if you’re explaining how a new product works to an average customer, you want to use their language and speak to their concerns.
Write a Script as if You Were Presenting Face to Face
Try to tell a story with your presentation to connect emotionally with your audience. If you can relate to them they’re more likely to pay attention. Simply listing the facts straight into your webcam is boring, but providing an insightful or humorous anecdote will give them something to remember or even share.
Don’t talk AT your audience, but present in a way that feels conversational even if you won’t hear their reply. Ask open-ended questions that give your audience time to reflect like, “How do you see this working for you?”
Lead Your Video Presentation With Expectations
Your video presentation intro should include specifics about what you’ll cover and what they can expect to gain from viewing your video presentation. You can even have this on a single slide and revisit it as you cover each topic.
If your video presentation is long, it can also be helpful to recap what you’ve covered as you move through topics. For example, halfway through the ten steps to growing their business, you might say “Now that we’ve discussed the first five steps of growing your business…” and list them before moving on to the next. This will help with retention and help meet their expectations by restating what they’re learning.
Be Concise
Your audience’s time is valuable and no one wants to feel like they’re waiting around for the good stuff. Keep your presentation concise and only include the necessary topics and enough to make it memorable and relatable. Whether your presentation is 30 seconds or a full hour, each sentence should have a purpose.
Make It Dynamic and Interactive
This shouldn’t just be a slideshow with your voice reading the text. Use appropriate graphics and animation to emphasize key points. Embed videos or use infographics to highlight data, case studies, or to add humor. Use your voiceover and background music to set the tone and transition between topics. Simultaneously seeing and hearing your message will help with retention.
Wrap It Up With a Call to Action
Leave your audience with a clear message of what to do next. Do you offer additional training on related topics? Do you want them to engage with you on social media? Maybe you want them to buy the product you just demonstrated. Be sure to tell them. You don’t want them walking away and forgetting all the information you just presented in your video.
Pro tip: start with your call to action. What action are you hoping to accomplish with this video? Understanding what you want your audience to do after they watch will help ensure your presentation flows smoothly with a consistent message.
Offer a Place in Your Video Presentation to Ask Questions
In a recorded video presentation, you can’t have the audience raise their hand. But you can offer a place at the end where they can submit questions, like an email address or through DMs on social media. If the recording is viewed on-demand you can consider a chatbot that will send questions to you in real-time. Having a place where your audience can get clarification is a great way to engage with them and leave them feeling supported and valued.
Easy-to-Use Video Presentation Tools
Now that you have your video presentation planned, it’s time to do the recording and design. There’s really no reason to start from scratch when so many online templates are easy to customize. Here are a few that we find easy to use for any type of presentation.
PowerPoint
You may be familiar with PowerPoint slides on your desktop, but did you know you can turn them into an interactive video presentation with just a few clicks? PowerPoint from Microsoft has long been the leader in creating slideshows and some of the more recent updates include adding laser pointer gestures and voiceover narration. The video creation option allows you to record your screen if you need to give directions for an Excel doc for example, or you can create a video out of your slideshow.
To record, go into the ‘Edit’ option and under ‘Customize Ribbon’, choose ‘Recording’. Now when you create your presentation slides you can include recording options like screen recordings or voiceovers.
Clips of screen recordings can also be added directly to your slides. Another feature is recording your screen and voiceover as you are making changes to your slides. This can be saved as a separate video file for easy edits and transitions between slides. It’s a great way to create “how-to” videos and create a more dynamic experience. All of the features of creating a video presentation in PowerPoint are included with your Office365 subscription.
Keynote
Keynote is the Apple version of PowerPoint and is available on Mac computers. This video editing software has over 40 themes and layouts to start your video presentation. You can also create your own designs by adding custom backgrounds, animations, gifs, and more. Apple is a leader in integration and Keynote has the option of scanning documents with your iPhone and easily adding them to your video presentation.
Record your screen and computer audio at the same time using Screenflow. Or record your voiceover separately and layer the video files at the end using iMovie. Keynote is a fun way to create animated videos that can be used for product demonstrations or course content.
Macs come with Keynote already installed so there’s no need to purchase additional software for your video presentation.
Loom
Loom is a free video software to create and edit video presentations across platforms. You can even store your videos inside Loom HQ for easy reference.
It’s a great option for creating screen recordings for your video presentations. If you’re creating an explainer video, tutorial, or even a sales pitch, it’s a great video presentation tool for adding voiceovers to Google Slides, PowerPoint presentations, or any course material.
To record your video presentation ideas, you can use their Chrome browser extension or desktop or mobile apps. There is a limited free version or you can upgrade to a paid plan that offers additional features like unlimited videos at an unlimited length.
Visme
Visme is a cloud-based video presentation software that allows you to upload your own video footage or choose from hundreds of stock video clips. Find predesigned templates for your industry and choose from millions of images to customize your design. Visme allows the import and integration of third-party content and data to make your message stand out. Every slide has optional transitions making your presentation super polished and ready to share.
Include audio in your video presentation from the Visme audio library or upload your own music clips. You can also record a voiceover for your entire presentation and embed it all into your website or download and share it offline.
In regards to pricing, the basic Visme plan is free or you can upgrade to paid plans that allow you to upload your own fonts and create a brand kit to hold your logos and template.
Vyond
Vyond is a video presentation software that allows you to create video files that can be uploaded to popular slide-based software like PowerPoint. The benefit of using Vyond over linking to an online video like those on YouTube is that you don’t have to rely on streaming them during the presentation. Whether you’re presenting live or through video, having an interrupted video stream distracts from the message you’re trying to send.
Another fun way to engage your audience is with GIFs throughout your video presentation. These can be added to highlight key points or just for a break in the information. Vyond makes adding GIFs easy by allowing you to have your animated videos as GIFs if you have a premium or professional account.
In regards to pricing, Vyond doesn’t offer a free option. But their Essentials plan includes everything you need to get started as long as you don’t mind their logo hanging out in the corner of your video presentation.
No matter what type of video presentation you’re creating, there are tools to support you. Read about more of our favorite video presentation makers to find the right tool for your project.
Work With a Professional for High-Quality Video Presentations
Creating an engaging video presentation is no small feat, even with the help of easy-to-use video presentation tools. You need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. And understand the best way to get your audience to engage with you. Working with a professional to create a high-quality video presentation will help you deliver the clearest information to your customers and give you a valuable marketing tool to use inside and outside your company.
If you need some guidance in creating your next video presentation, contact Levitate Media and talk with one of our video producers or video editors to see how we can best support you.
