In the digital world, DIYs and tutorials have become very common. Whether it’s for a hobby or professional use, many internet users look up instructions on a regular basis. These online tutorials help people solve complex issues without calling in a professional. They can also aid someone trying to learn a new skill without having to pay for formal education.
Creating tutorials of your own will help you share your expertise on a project or process. For business owners, tutorials provide great support for consumers, and encourage loyalty. Regardless of your motivation, publishing DIY guides helps you share knowledge and make an impact on those eager to learn.
When there are so many tutorials out there, it’s important to make your creations stand out. Not only do you want your tutorials to be easy to follow, but you want them to be engaging and worth sharing. Visual aids help users see the actions needing to be completed and can be important for hands-on skills like household tasks. The following are ways that you can use visuals to spruce up your DIY guides:
Tutorials for Digital Platforms
For digital platforms or websites, it’s important to have a clear and concise method for helping consumers use technology. Especially if the platform isn’t the most user-friendly, you want to provide users with easy-to-digest steps to help them achieve their goals. This is incredibly important if it’s for a product you are selling. When writing out your guide, avoid using long paragraphs. Keeping step instructions to short bullet points will make your tutorial easy to follow. Including screenshots will aid the visualization and what key pages look like.
You can create a step-by-step by using video as well. Using a screen recorder, you can record a video of your screen while completing the steps of the action. Most screen recording tools will let you record voice too, allowing you to narrate the process. This visualization helps you give detailed instructions without missing any important aspects. The viewer will be able to see every click you make while learning from your tutorial. Recording your tutorials will help for instructions that are more complicated and difficult to follow through text.
Get Creative With Social
Tutorials don’t have to be dry or boring. For instance, they could be created to engage with an online follower base. Influencers have increasingly used Instagram and TikTok to record their DIYs and share them with their audience. When creating instructions in this manner, you’re able to share your own creations while keeping the tone casual. These platforms are perfect for inspiring others to hop on trends. So while people may not be seeking out these tutorials, sharing some pointers, like with makeup or crafts, will motivate viewers on their next project.
Brands with FAQs may find it beneficial to create fun infographics to share on Stories on either platform. If you’re a business owner, you can easily create a graphic that shares the steps to request a service. You can then pin these Stories to your profile so that visitors see this content right away, making it one of the first things a person sees when looking at your page. This format turns instructions from something that could be overwhelming, to content that’s fun and quick to absorb.
Webinars and Classes
Not all skills taught are easy to learn without assistance. For digital projects, hosting a webinar allows you to share your screen and walk your audience through the process at an appropriate speed for them. You’re also able to engage with your viewers this way and answer any questions that come up. Even better, webinars are recordable, so they can be published for others to access post-session.
Through all these new digital avenues, it’s important not to forget the value of in-person experiences. For crafts and other hands-on skills, hosting an in-person teaching session will allow you to give demonstrations of the task at hand. You can also provide your class with written instructions to help them as they continue their project after class. In-person courses allow you to provide hands-on support, which is ideal for crafts that are less forgiving of mistakes.
Photos and Graphics
A final way to introduce some visual support to written instructions is through the creative use of photos and graphics. Digital tools mean that artists are no longer limited to static images and examples. Through the use of GIFs, you can show movement and the completion of physical steps without embedding a video file.
Graphics and typography can also help a tutorial look more engaging and fun. Using some colors and creating graphics that depict steps will help the user visualize the process. Inserting arrows and highlighting areas of the directions will guide the user’s attention to important steps. Additionally, graphics are beneficial if you aren’t able to get a picture of what you’re describing. Quilting patterns, for example, aren’t always easy to photograph but are simple to draw on paper. Laying out the stitch and quilt patterns in this manner will make a great reference for those learning from your guide.
Visuals Never Hurt
Including photos, videos, and graphics in your DIYs will only enhance your finished product. Having supporting visuals will aid in the user’s comprehension and ability to learn from your content. With today’s many digital tools available at your disposal, you can easily create a powerful tutorial that will help many achieve their personal goals.
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