If a picture is worth a thousand words – then what’s the value of a video? Clearly – that depends on the video itself.  The kid who reviews individual flavors of Hot Pockets…not worth very much (remixes notwithstanding). On the other hand – Grape Stomping Lady? Priceless. Video, if done right, can be fun, engaging, and – yes – even educational.

eXperticity strives to make each product training a unique experience that leverages a brand’s assets and strengths – creating something that not only captivates experts in a particular field, but also gives them the knowledge and motivation to be vocal about their specific product expertise, as well. Unfortunately, in the whirlwind of generating scripts, graphics, quiz questions and more,  many brands include video as an afterthought (if it’s included at all). Typically they’re commercials or YouTube clips which might be helpful or entertaining in their own right – but they weren’t created with an educational training platform in mind.

So how can you leverage the power of moving pictures to turn your trainings into true multimedia experiences? Lets look at a brand that’s doing it right. With an overall training presentation that’s easy to digest and thoroughly entertaining, Teva put the icing on the cake by developing custom video presentations for each of its shoes. Featuring a unique host for each video, Teva’s clips introduce the designer of the shoe, the cool features, and often a demonstration of said features (like the clip below). It’s video like this that really does what no other medium can do – illustrating a product’s strengths in a way that will be remembered long after the last Edu-Game question is answered.

Although Teva went above and beyond in their video assets, there are some definite basics that can make a video asset more effective in a educational platform.

1. Have a Purpose: It’s great to feature killer athletes or pandas skydiving or cinema-quality action setpieces – but if it’s just fluff, your video will get ignored. In a training setting people want to glean  info they need to sell a product better – not a commercial.

2. Make it Brief: Brevity is a virtue and when you consider the context – a training experience with dozens of accompanying pages of information. There’s no need for your video to tell the whole story behind a product or have lengthy introductions. Consider it this way – if your video has a section people would skip if pressed for time – that section can go.

3. Make it Count: Video is the ultimate visual medium – and the perfect time to “show not tell”.  Every product on Earth has some sort of functionality or doodad that could be shown exactly how it works rather than described in a paragraph. Think of the marriages that would be saved if IKEA cabinets came with a how-to-video instead.

4. Have a Voice: People connect with people – and having a point of view (POV) helps the viewer relate with the info presented. Whether it’s a retail associate demonstrating selling tips, a beauty consultant demonstrating application techniques, or a snowboarder talking about how your product helps him carve more powder, finding a relatable POV goes a long way toward info-retention.

There you have it. Sure it takes a bit more time and resources, but with increased retention and a more engaging user experience (which leads to greater brand loyalty) you’ll find that video is more than worth it (and worth waaaay more than a thousands words).