Trainual's video tutorials

When users sign up for your product, you want to make a great first impression and show value quickly. But, being too pushy or interruptive during onboarding can backfire and turn users off. The key is providing helpful resources when needed while giving users space to explore independently.

Trainual, an employee onboarding and training software, moved their video tutorials and other educational resources into discrete hotpots sprinkled throughout their UI.

The result? Their activation metric went up 100%, and our conversion rate went up 80%.

We chatted with Taylor Sell, VP of Product at Trainual, about how they used hotspots and video tutorials in their onboarding.

1. Provide contextual help. 🙌

Instead of overwhelming new users with tutorials or tours, take a more subtle approach. Use techniques like contextual tooltips or embedded walkthrough videos that are opt-in. That way, resources are available for those who need guidance without interrupting users who want to dive in on their own. Trainual's hotspots allow their users—primarily C-suite executives and founders—to explore on their own time, clicking on hotspot videos if they want some extra help or info. 

2. Use contrasting colors. 🎨

Trainual's hotspots are well-designed—small enough to be discrete but eye-catching enough to let users know they're available. Using contrasting colors also helps them pop off the screen and grab the attention of users scrolling by.

3. Cater to your audience's learning style. 🧠

Adding hotspots may seem like a minor tweak, but they've had an outsized effect on Trainual's key metrics. As their Director of Product Taylor Sell puts it:

"Our activation metric went up 100%, and our conversion rate went up 80%. Those are pretty massive increases, and it's a testament to the team understanding who's coming in and just saying, 'This is how they learn. This is how they think. So let's build an experience around that.'"

Ultimately, Trainual didn't experience these significant increases because of the hotspots. They saw improvements because they optimized their onboarding to what their target audience wanted. Hotspots were just the right tool in their toolbox for creating the stripped-backed experience their C-suite clientele sought. 

💡 Key Takeaways

There are several key lessons we can learn from Trainual's hotspots and video tutorials: -

• Provide on-demand guides: Avoid interrupting users with forced tutorials or tours. Instead, offer optional tooltips, videos, and guidance that users can access when they need it
• Use contrasting colors: Make educational resources visually distinctive by using colors that contrast from your main brand palette. This helps users quickly identify optional guidance.
• Cater to different learning styles: Understand how your target users prefer to learn and explore products. Tailor onboarding to their technical proficiencies and self-direction preferences.

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