Video-Based Guidance Experiment

We're piloting some video-based guidance.  Here's what I want to accomplish for the videos:

  • Factor "What Is" from "How To" type videos (i.e. reference vs. action)
  • Do more, smaller videos vs. a few larger videos (modular vs. monolithic)
  • Show me how vs. just tell me how
  • Outcome-based videos (walk away with actionable insights)
  • Share strategies and approaches that sometimes don't across in just text

For the user experience:

  • Ability to quickly browse an index of the videos
  • Ability to preview the videos inline
  • Ability to download and watch the videos at your convenience

I'd like the videos to complement our text-based guidance modules (how tos, guidelines, checklists.)   While doing video is nothing new, I think the tough part for my team is figuring out:

  • How to balance prose-based guidance with video-based guidance
  • How to figure out the most useful videos to avoid signal to noise ratios
  • How to figure out the most effective channels and mediums

I think a lot of our guidance can be more consumable in video form.  At the same time, I think some things aren't as useful in video.  I see video as a supplement to augment baking knowledge into plaintext (where we can efficiently search it, share it, tag it … etc.).