Demonstration Video

The demonstration can be vital to making a connection between your product or service and a potential customer. The ideal video for you will, of course, depend greatly on the product you are selling.

There are two main directions you will want to choose from when making a demo video. There is the classic second-person blogger video and the hyper-realistic 1st person video. As always with these video types, the rules are never final. Your situation may be totally unique, but you must know the rules well before you can break them effectively.

Classic Second-Person Vlog

The second-person vlog is a staple of YouTube and demonstrations using this format are almost as old as YouTube itself. This type of video really predates YouTube and video blogs, mostly in the form of cooking and exercise shows. However, YouTube really opened this type of video up to every possible topic imaginable. The general idea is that you film yourself actually doing whatever it is you’re trying to demonstrate, and explain what you’re doing directly to the audience as if they are there in the room with you. It’s straightforward and it gets the job done. In this type of video, you are really relying on the personality and charisma of the presenter or presenters to carry the narrative. It will have a natural feel that viewers have come to recognize and feel comfortable with.

The First Person GIF

The first person gif explainer is a style of video that has become very popular with the rise of social media. It is most commonly used to teach people how to cook a particular recipe. This will usually feature a fixed first person shot with hands completing some sort of task. Often there will be graphic text in place of a voice over or a speaker.  It doesn’t necessarily need to be a GIF, but should be easily understood without audio, whether it requires the use of text or not. This type of video is meant to show the ease of whatever it is demonstrating. For this reason, I caution to only use it for simple tasks. It should be super compact and feature lightning-quick cuts. The first person GIF has an inviting quality about it. It is designed to automatically start playing and catch the eye of the viewer. I am often guilty of stumbling upon these videos on Facebook and before I know it I’ve watched the whole thing. You very careful to pick just the right topic when using these videos. They have a reputation for being cute and easy to watch, but they must be immediately intriguing or they will be rendered ineffective.

Here’s a great example: https://www.facebook.com/officialgoodful/videos/1338836969520099/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE

Demonstration videos can be a powerful tool because, unlike a sales video, or business overview, it has intrinsic value for the viewer. A good one will make customers feel as though they got something for free. Choose the right style of video for your topic and start spreading your knowledge to the world.