You and your customer alike probably prefer to efficiently resolve support inquiries. However, scaling up your customer support org for human-to-human interactions can be costly as your business grows. Thankfully, customer service videos are a way to bridge the gap when your support agents are unavailable or offline. A well-thought out customer service video can equip your customers with the information they need, precisely when they need it. This special breed of video is a great addition to your help center or FAQ section, and they are especially handy after a major website redesign or when you need to explain how new features work. But how to make one?

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In this article, we’ll share some best practices on how to create a customer service video to surprise and delight your audience. 

Three tips to create a great customer service video

While there’s no magic formula to create the perfect customer service video, being aware of a few key elements can help your videos connect with customers in their time of need. Now, let’s break down those components.

Prepare a voice over

As with all things video, the bulk of the work will happen before you hit record. What features do you want to show? What do you want to say? How long will your video be? A quick dive into some pre-production planning can help you answer these questions. Once you’ve figured out the scope of your video, you’re ready to start your script. Write in a conversational tone and try to be as succinct as possible. The goal of your voice over is to guide your customer through a feature or workflow, so aim for a balance between conversational and concise. When you’ve got your script down, read it out loud a few times. Listen for any awkward phrasing and edit as needed! Your goal is to speak slowly and clearly, so don’t be afraid to reword something if you find yourself stumbling over any words. Redbooth, a project management tool, successfully uses voice over to show their users how they can track progress on team projects.

Add a product screen share

Practice your script along with your screen share or screencast flow to make sure they work together seamlessly. Think about how you want to highlight elements of your screen share by zooming in and out or adding animations when you click. And speaking of clicks, you don’t want your mouse cursor to distract viewers. You may want to consider slowing down your mouse tracking and taking your hand off your mouse completely between scrolls and clicks. Once you’re ready to record, make sure to turn off any calendar, email, and chat notifications that could make an unwelcome appearance during your screencast. As an example, Vimeo’s enterprise support team uses Vimeo Record to resolve customer support tickets efficiently while still providing a personalized experience to customers. By empowering the support team to create their own customer service video, each team member can personalize client messaging and ultimately feel more connected with our favorite people — members of the Vimeo community.
“I usually include a video demonstration of a bug when I escalate issues, and I often do video demonstrations for clients, too. Clients love it because it’s not just a general tutorial. I make it for them and address them by their name, so it feels personal. Demonstrating issues on video makes it very clear.” David Dogan, Vimeo Enterprise Support, OTT

Weave in music and sound design

Above all, video customer service should be helpful — but that doesn’t mean they can’t also be fun to watch. Adding background music and sound effects takes a little more editing effort, but they’ll make all the difference in your final result. A few rules of thumb when adding music and sound effects to your video:
  • Don’t let the music drown out your voice over.
  • Go easy on the sound effects. A little goes a long way.
  • Opt for an upbeat song that won’t distract from what you’re saying.
For more tips on using sound effects in your video, take a look at our quick and easy guide on how to add music to any video or take a peep at our community manager Mark’s lesson on sound effects libraries. MOO, a digital print and design company, hits just the right notes in their demo video. They keep things engaging by zooming in and out on different elements of the platform so it doesn’t feel like you’re just watching someone click around on a screen. The sound design and upbeat background music draw attention to what’s happening in the screencast without being distracting. Bonus points for the colorful transitional screens!

Create customer service videos with Vimeo Record

This article was originally published by Alex Dao on April 4, 2016 and updated on September 29th, 2021 by Bianca Galvez.