By Harpal Singh · · 5 min read
A promo video for a software product has one job: make someone want to learn more in less time than it takes to scroll past it. That is a smaller job than people think, and it does not need a studio. It needs a clear idea, the real product on screen and an edit that respects the viewer.
This guide covers how to make one from a screen recording, with the structure that holds up whether the video is for a home page, a launch or social.
What kinds of promotional video are there?
Promotional video examples for software fall into five kinds, and promotional marketing videos work best when you choose one before you script.
- Feature promo. One new capability, shown working, in 15 to 45 seconds.
- Product promo. The product's central job, shown start to finish, in 45 to 90 seconds.
- Launch promo. A "today we are shipping" piece that pairs the new thing with the reason it matters.
- Social promo. A vertical clip built for a feed, with the hook in the first seconds.
- Company promotional video. Who you are and what you stand for; the hardest to make well and the one most worth hiring for.
For a software team shipping regularly, the first four come straight from a screen recording. A SaaS launch video from a screen recording goes deeper on the third.
What makes a promo video work?
Three things, in order.
- A hook that names a want. "Stop copying the same reply into your inbox." Not "Introducing our new feature."
- Proof on screen. The product doing the thing, in the real interface, fast enough to hold attention and slow enough to follow.
- One next step. Where to go. Say it, show it, stop.
Everything else is decoration. Cut anything that does not serve one of the three.
Which promotional video strategies work for software?
There are three that recur. Show the new thing: a feature promo for each release. Show the old pain: a short before and after. Show the first minute: what getting started looks like. Software promotional video strategies are mostly a choice between these, repeated on a steady cadence.
How do you script a promo video?
Write beats, not paragraphs.
- Hook (first 3 seconds). The want, in the viewer's words.
- Show (the body). Three moments at most, each one click and one result.
- Payoff (last 5 seconds). The result, held long enough to read.
- Next step. One action.
A fifteen-second promo is three beats of three seconds and a payoff. A product demo script template gives a fill-in version and a worked example that adapts to a promo by shortening each part.
How do you record it?
Prepare the account so every click lands on something plausible, close the other tabs and turn off notifications. Then record the window of the product at high resolution and frame rate, so text stays sharp when it is zoomed and motion stays smooth.
In ReScreen:
- Choose the window or application you are showing.
- Start from the Product Demo preset, which records at 4K and 60 FPS.
- Press ⌥⌘R, perform the beats once, press it again.
- The take opens with zooms already built from your clicks.
Pause between beats and resume; the paused time is cut out of the take, and a short promo is easier to get right one beat at a time. The product demo video page lists the preset and the recording controls.
How do you edit a promo video?
A promo lives or dies in the edit, because it has no slack.
- Cut every pause, and every word that does not move the idea.
- Speed up what you cannot cut: a loading bar at double speed.
- Check each zoom lands on what you mean, and delete the ones that do not.
- Hold the payoff for a beat longer than feels natural.
- Watch it muted. Much social video autoplays without sound, so the picture has to make sense alone.
ReScreen's timeline editor does the cuts, the speed changes and the audio balance. It does not add titles, captions or music, so if the promo needs them, export it and add them in another editor.
How do you export for the website and social?
From the same take. Export a landscape MP4 for the home page or a launch post. For a feed, choose a 9:16 or 4:5 canvas and let the framing follow the clicks: vertical video explains how, and export and presets lists the destinations. Vertical screen recording for Shorts, Reels and TikTok covers the pacing.
What are some promotional video ideas for software?
- The before and after. The same task in the old way and in yours, side by side.
- The one-minute setup. A new user going from sign-up to first result, uncut.
- The feature you shipped this week, in fifteen seconds.
- The question a customer asked, answered in the product.
- The shortcut. A trick most users do not know, shown once.
- A day in the product. One workflow, from the person who uses it.
Each is a single idea, which is why each fits in a minute.
What are the common mistakes?
- Starting with the logo. The first second is the only one you are guaranteed.
- Too many features. One promo, one idea.
- A cursor nobody can see. Zoom and mark the click.
- A hidden call to action. If you have to look for it, so does the viewer.
- Never updating. A promo of an old interface is worse than none.
Start with the idea you would put on a home page above the fold, and make it in a morning. If you need the wider plan, video marketing strategy for software companies places promo video beside the other formats, and landing page product videos covers where it should sit. When you are ready, download ReScreen for macOS.
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