How to integrate screencasts into help and make them engaging

Slowly, but surely, statistics are emerging that show screencasts are a cost-effective and engaging way to provide instructional content.

Now technical writers can focus on how to most effectively integrate screencasts into their documentation in an engaging manner. Video content seems to be very effective for grabbing and holding the attention of viewers, and you can leverage this to help guide them through the tedious details of your user documentation.

Here are some tips for using screencasts more effectively.

Integration

Work to build tighter integration between video content and other user assistance content. Much of this integration can be achieved by increased hyperlinking from screencast to screencast. You can also increase integration by building shorter, granular screencasts that can easily be found through the Search functionality in your help.

Don't fall into the trap of one-way links from help topics to screencasts. Instead, consider linking from screencasts to related procedural and overview topics. Also, you can daisy-chain screencasts so that the end of one screencast links to a related screencast. By linking from introductory screencasts to more complicated procedural screencasts, you can provide a complete and accessible video learning experience.

Smart implementation of screencasts can lead to a more engaging user assistance experience. For example, consider replacing the help's Welcome topic with a screencast. You can then provide a list of links to help topics discussed in the screencast. This is a great way to pull users into the detailed help topics. Such a tactic might be most effective for users who have a lower tolerance for reading text.

Increasing the amount of visual content you provide is likely a safe investment. Don't fear duplicate content. Publishing text and video addresses multiple learning styles, and video provides a lower barrier to entry for most people. If you treat screencasts as merely a compliment to text, you will lose the vastly growing audience of those who expect you to show them what to do visually.

It may also be useful to embed short, task-related videos directly into procedural help topics to allow for a visual visual equivalent of the text. The short duration and limited information displayed would make it practical to produce many of these, and make them easy to update. Space restrictions can be solved by using crop and pan techniques, and using hidden DIVs with Show Me links to hide or show the screencast (see image below).

Engagement

As you create screencasts, work closely with marketing and sales professionals. They can often provide you with information about how to motivate consumers, and how to use key benefits to draw them into a deeper discussion of the details of a product.

Using copywriting techniques in your screencast scripts and help content can keep readers moving through the more mind-numbing details. When engagement lags, you will start losing readers. You've worked hard to provide accurate instructional content, so don't waste it by failing to market your work. Explain the benefits of reading the help and watching the screencasts before you dive into the long-winded details.

Bulleted lists are a wonderful tool for explaining benefits to your audience. Consider introducing your screencast with a bulleted list of the goals viewers can reach by mastering the concepts in the video. As a result, you may see an increase in the number of viewers who stick around until the end of the screencast. Close the screencast by introducing related content, and using bulleted lists to highlight the benefits of viewing the related content.

Hopefully these tips will help you to better integrate screencasts into your existing documentation and engage your audience.

How to create an effective screencast | 18 tips

Screencasts are quickly becoming an essential component of software documentation. They combine visual and auditory learning with text to provide a balanced learning experience. Here are some tips on how to create a screencast that engages viewers and provides maximum results for your efforts.

• Start by listing the conventions you will follow for all screencasts, so that they will have a consistent look and feel. Users will have an easier time focusing on the content if all screencasts are presented in a similar way.
• Create a template project that follows your conventions. That way you can generate new screencasts efficiently by inserting content into placeholders in the template. Be sure to include a title screen, corporate logo, and copyright information that should appear in all screencasts.
• Consider the features offered by your screencast tool. Professional tools like Adobe Captivate offer robust features and scripting tools that will allow you to create interactive screencasts. Also, by using proven tools, you gain the benefit of active user forums in case you need assistance.
• Start with a script or a storyboard. This will allow you to make extensive changes to the content without losing hours of work. If you start recording sequences immediately, you may end up scrapping a lot of work when reviewers suggest content changes.
• Include plenty of summary slides. As you present increasingly difficult concepts, you may hit a point when the reader becomes overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information in the screencast. By providing summary slides, you can hammer in key concepts before moving on to more challenging information.
• Pay attention to the pace of the screencast. Preview your work often, and verify that it moves slowly enough for the viewer to grasp the steps shown, but not so slow that it loses their attention.
• Ask reviewers to pay attention to the pace also. As the creator of the screencast, you will be more familiar with the material, and may select a faster pace than someone who is relatively new to the content.
• Be careful with your use of color for callouts, highlighting, and so on. Too much color can cause visual confusion. Save bold colors for only the most important element on the slide.
• As you record the tasks in your software program, be sure that the tool is picking up the essential mouse movements, button clicks, and key presses. Some tools allow you to press a key to manually record a slide at any time. You can always delete unessential slides during the editing process.
• Use the Save As option now and then to create multiple versions of the screencast. That way, if you make a mistake and delete or alter an important slide, you can revert to a previous version and avoid losing a lot of work.
• Pay attention to the viewing area captured during the recording process. It should contain only the windows for the software applications you wish to demo. You may need to adust the recording area prior to recording the screencast; most tools allow you to do this manually or snap to fit an open window. You don't want to include random portions of your computer desktop that will distract the viewer from the important information you wish to present.
• Consider whether the task you are recording should be presented as one long screencast or as multiple shorter demos. Longer demos may lead to weariness on the part of the viewer unless they are very easy to follow.
• Watch for awkward transitions. As one slide fades and another appears, you may see ghost images, poorly timed button clicks, and so on. If necessary, adust the timing of these elements so that the slides resemble the actual software process.
• Spell check your content. This is often an afterthought when working in applications other than word processors. However, typos are just as embarassing in screencasts as they are in printed documents.
• Use image editing tools to alter backgrounds. If you spent a lot of time trying to record a process accurately, don't throw out your work because of imperfections in the screens. Simply edit those images to remove, replace, or touch up the background screens.
• Add your screencasts to a server so that you can track usage data. The log files should tell you how many viewers are actually watching the entire screencast. You can make adustments based on this data, including trimming unnecessary content if users are only watching for a few seconds. Also, putting screencasts on a server helps reduce the size of software downloads and saves CD space.
• If you add audio, invest in a quality microphone and fine tune your recording process ahead of time so that you get a clear signal. You don't want to waste time making adjustments for quality when you sit down to record. If you hire voice actors to record the audio, such adjustments could get expensive. There are many tutorials on the Internet for recording voice; research now so that you will be more efficient when it is time to start recording.
• Provide appropriate context for your screencasts. If you link to them from help topics, be sure to include a video icon in the link, and use link text that summarizes the content of the video. For longer screencasts, consider adding a short outline of the material, so that readers can decide if viewing the video is worthwhile.

I hope these tips have given you some ideas on how to create a screencast that will engage your users and provide a positive learning experience. Good luck!

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