Guiding your customers through a problem is an essential part of customer support. One of the first touch-points between your customer and your business is a knowledge base.
On its own a well-written and well-organized website knowledge base is a great tool for breaking down processes, features, and frequently asked questions.
However, these articles can be quite long, and people just don't like reading. 🙅♂️
That's why video is a powerful medium for communicating information through visuals and audio in an easily-digestible and engaging way.
If done right, adding videos to knowledge base articles can transform the platform into a self-service support universe and take the load off of the customer support team.
In this article, expect to find:
- 4 reasons why videos are some of the most essential tools in a knowledge base
- 3 steps to creating knowledge base videos using cost-effective tools
- 5 tips & tricks to making great videos in Synthesia STUDIO
- 3 examples of video knowledge bases to get inspired by
Are you one of those people that don't like reading? Watch our in-house Learning Strategist Kevin explain and demonstrate the process through video👇
Otherwise, let's get started!
What is a knowledge base video?
A knowledge base video is a type of informational video that answers common support questions and helps customers learn about a specific topic.
It can be an answer to a generic question about the business/product, or a demonstration of how to solve a particular problem with a software or tool.
Knowledge base videos usually have a narrator who speaks slowly and clearly, using simple language that is easy to understand. The videos also often include visuals, such as animations or screen recordings, to help illustrate the points being made.
Here’s what a knowledge base video would look like for Intercom, for example:
4 reasons why you should create knowledge base videos
Including relevant videos can enhance the customer experience, decrease strain on customer support teams, and lead to better customer satisfaction.
Beyond that, there are 3 more nuanced benefits of embedding videos in knowledge bases/help centers. 👇
Reason 1: Easily demonstrate and explain a problem
A knowledge base article serves to explain a solution to a problem and educate the users on the individual features of a product/service.
Text-based knowledge base articles are usually written as how-to guides and FAQs and include step-by-step instructions. Depending on the particular feature that the knowledge base explains, the article can get very long and hard to follow.
That's why a video is a perfect medium for a knowledge base, as it shows context and allows the users to follow along at their own pace.
Besides, at each step of the video, the user can compare what's on their screen with what's in the video.
Here's a great example using HubSpot showing how creating videos to go along with text-based articles can make for a more comprehensive knowledge base.
Reason 2: Serve a wider audience
Wouldn't you rather watch a short video than read a long article or blog post?
We sure would, and so would most people.
In fact, people take in 95% of the information presented through video vs. only 10% through text.
If that isn't a good enough reason, consider accessibility. Text can be difficult to read for some customers, while videos designed with accessibility principles in mind can be viewed by users with all kinds of disabilities. Plus, video content includes audio, allowing users to listen to the instructions instead of watching them.
Lastly, maintaining knowledge base articles in multiple languages is difficult enough, but creating videos with a human face or narration in every language is incredibly costly.
Language barriers and high costs aren't an issue with video creation tools like Synthesia. The tool allows you to create videos from text with human-like AI avatars in 120+ languages, including text-to-speech narration.
Oh and you don't need a video camera, microphone or actors. Pretty cool, huh? 😉
Reason 3: See analytics and engagement data
If you're hosting your video on a site that offers analytics, like YouTube, you can understand exactly how your customers find and interact with a video.
This can help you understand what's working and what isn't and give you an idea of how to improve video content on your knowledge base.
Here are a few things analytics can tell you about your video content performance:
- Are people skipping over a particular part? Maybe that part doesn't offer any value. Consider omitting it or changing it.
- Do people keep rewinding to a specific point in the video? Perhaps the instructions aren't clear. Consider expanding that section with more information or slowing it down to make it easier to follow.
- Do the views drop dramatically towards the end of the video? Perhaps their questions are answered in the first half and the last bit is redundant, or that answer wasn't what they were looking for.
Whatever the case, knowledge base video analytics can tell you a lot about your customers, which in turn can help the support team tackle issues more efficiently.
Reason 4: Videos are not time-consuming to create and maintain
Hear us out.
Sure, filming professional videos in a studio, recording voice overs, or even using an at-home setup to record videos for your knowledge base is a hassle. And refilming videos with updated information simply isn't feasible for most companies.
However, using an AI video maker like Synthesia, companies can create narrated instructional videos with realistic presenters by simply typing text. No need for any equipment or editing skills.
And, it's incredibly easy to update the videos. Simply click the 'Edit' button, update the information, and generate again. If the video was embedded on your landing page, you don't even have to copy-paste the new embed code. 🤯
But enough chit-chatting! Let's get to creating videos for your knowledge base!
How to create a knowledge base video in 3 steps
We'll be using a tool called Synthesia STUDIO to demonstrate, but the steps are universal for most video tools and features.
Step 1: (Almost) Simply copy/paste your text
In a perfect world, you could simply copy and paste all the content from your knowledge base article into a video maker and call it a day.
But the reality is slightly different. Most knowledge base content is too long and dry to be turned into videos without alteration.
So before you simply paste your article, take a few minutes to turn it into a video script.
Here are a few tips on transforming existing content into an engaging video script:
- Use a conversational tone
- Keep sentences short and coherent
- Only include essential information
Once your script is ready, add it to your video by going to your video canvas and simply pasting the text into the script box.
Step 2: Add screen recordings
Now that you have your written content ready, time to create videos.
The easiest way to visualize a step-by-step process is by doing a screen recording, especially if you have a software knowledge base.
Combine the exact steps with a screen recording that aligns with the narration of the video.
To create a screen recording in Synthesia, simply press on 'Record' on the top bar.
In the window that pops up, you can choose between recording the entire screen, the browser window, or the browser tab.
Enable the 'Match to script' toggle to automatically adjust the speed of the video to match the narration.
Step 3: Give it a visual identity
A video knowledge base is a content library that will be seen by thousands of customers, so all video content should be recognizable and on brand.
One way of doing that is by giving all of your knowledge base video content a visual identity.
Visual identity can be created in different ways. Here are a few ideas:
- Use consistent, on-brand colors
- Stick to a clean content structure in your video
- Keep script writing sounding similar to your brand's tone of voice
- Use an actor or AI avatar consistent with your brand persona.
5 tips for creating knowledge base videos using Synthesia
Now that you're familiar with the 3 steps to creating a high-quality knowledge base video, let's look at 3 different ways you can make it even more engaging.
Tip #1: Use 4-5 sentences per slide
Why? Well, it's quite simple.
The longer the text, the longer the screen recording has to be.
The longer the screen recording, the more challenging it is to record, and the harder it is to match the recording to the narration.
Besides, most users prefer watching short videos under 2 minutes anyway. 🤷🏻♀️
Tip #2: Use the 'Match to script' function
The easiest way to ensure what you show on the screen recording matches the narration is to use the 'Match to script' function in Synthesia STUDIO.
It automatically slows down or speeds up the video to match the narrated script. 🪄
Pretty cool, huh?
Tip #3: Create a template from an existing video
You can make a template from any existing Synthesia video to:
✅ make video production less time-consuming
✅ keep the video formatting and layout visually consistent and on-brand
You can make video templates in Synthesia in two ways:
1. Create one from scratch by going to 'Templates' in the main dashboard, then clicking on 'Create new template'. Once you have finished creating it, click on 'Publish template'.
2. Another option is converting an existing video into a template. Select the one you want to convert and click 'Create Template' in the 'Video options' area. Make any adjustments, then click 'Publish Template'.
Tip #4: Keep the videos simple
Always think back on the reasons why you're adding video to your knowledge articles in the first place - to provide clear, easy-to-follow instructions for your users, right?
Well that means keeping the video simple and free of bold visuals and loud audio. By eliminating any distracting elements, you ensure that viewers focus on the instructions at hand.
Tip #5: Add closed captions for accessibility
This step can be achieved by one simple click in Synthesia, but it can make the world of a difference for a hard-of-hearing or deaf person.
Closed captions also make the video more accessible for people in noisy environments, or who prefer to watch the video with sound off. By including closed captions, you not only make your video more inclusive, but you also increase the chance of it being viewed and shared. It's a small step that can have a big impact on the accessibility of your video content.
3 great examples of knowledge bases with video content
Now that you are equipped with theoretical knowledge, it's time to do some research for inspiration.
Here are 3 of our favourite knowledge base examples:
Example #1: Synthesia's Knowledge Base
Synthesia Knowledge base is a good illustration of a simple but well-organized platform to support customers.
Most articles use video to demonstrate a new feature, tackle a particular issue, and provide an easy-to-follow solution.
Example #2: Notion's Help Center
Notion's 101 series of video tutorials stands almost as a separate course that viewers can use to get familiar with the platform and its extensive features.
Most separate articles also contain videos guiding customers through a specific feature or task.
While the production was kept simple with screen recordings, the results offer a high-quality user experience that is engaging, easy to follow, and recognizable.
Example #3: Slack's Video Tutorials
Slack's video quick start guide provides a fantastic overview of the software and its main features.
The first thing viewers are greeted with are videos including cheerful audio, helpful animations, and a straightforward breakdown of individual features and processes.
The YouTube videos are embedded both within written articles and as part of their own collection of how-to videos.
How do you embed video in a knowledge article?
To embed a video in a knowledge article, you can follow these steps:
- First, upload the video to a video hosting platform such as YouTube, or Vimeo. If you're using Synthesia, you can skip this step.
- Once the video is uploaded, you can get the embed code from the hosting platform.
- Finally, you can copy and paste the code into the HTML editor of your CRM tool's knowledge base platform. The video should now appear in the article.
Note: Different CRM tools may have different methods for embedding videos, so you should check the platform's documentation or support resources for specific instructions.
Conclusion
We hope you have learned that you don't need fancy equipment, thousands of dollars, or a lot of time to create a video knowledge base.
If you want to help your customer support team (and the users) by creating knowledge base videos in a fast and scalable way, check out Synthesia STUDIO.
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