Most SaaS companies lose new users before they experience the product’s value. The traditional customer onboarding process relies on text tutorials that overwhelm users instead of guiding them.
At Vidico, we’ve created onboarding videos for TikTok, Deloitte, and dozens of fast-growing SaaS companies—we know what turns first-time visitors into a loyal user base. The best app onboarding video examples use engaging videos and visual storytelling to guide users through key features without overwhelming them. In this guide, we’ll break down what makes great customer onboarding videos and show you how systematic video production creates onboarding content that drives feature adoption.
Key Takeaways
- First impressions drive retention—onboarding videos create immediate engagement that reduces churn in the first week
- Show, don’t tell approach works—the best customer onboarding videos demonstrate features through screen recordings rather than explaining them
- Systematic production scales—building reusable onboarding content templates lets SaaS companies create videos for new features efficiently
- Short videos drive completion—onboarding video examples under 90 seconds maintain attention while delivering essential information
- Interactive elements boost engagement—allowing users to learn at their own pace through video guides increases successful onboarding
- Reduced support costs matter—effective customer onboarding videos decrease customer support costs by answering common questions proactively
Content
Top 10 Onboarding Videos for Apps
1. Vidico x Woksuite: Clean SaaS Onboarding
Watch: Woksuite Onboarding
Woksuite needed app onboarding videos to guide new users through its workforce management platform without creating information overload. We created systematic onboarding content using clear visuals and strategic pacing.
Why It Works:
This onboarding video guides users through the registration process and key features, using a narrative that feels natural rather than forced. Instead of dumping every feature at once, we built modular segments that users can access when they need them.
The video uses our systematic asset bank approach—each visual element was designed to be reusable for future onboarding videos. This gives Woksuite the ability to create video onboarding for new features without complete reproductions.
We focused on immediate engagement by showing users how to accomplish their first task within 60 seconds. The background music supports without distracting, while screen recordings demonstrate the actual user journey through the app interface.
Key Elements:
- First-task completion in under 60 seconds
- Modular structure enabling separate segments
- Screen recordings showing real UI interactions
- Systematic production for ongoing onboarding content
2. Vidico x Loanworks: Financial Software Onboarding
Watch: Loanworks Onboarding
Loanworks needed user onboarding videos that explain its loan management platform without overwhelming users with complex features. We created educational content that makes financial software accessible.
Why It Works:
This video onboarding succeeds by breaking down complex concepts into digestible steps. We show users exactly how to complete essential tasks—applying for loans, tracking applications, managing documents—without requiring them to read lengthy tutorials.
The systematic approach we used creates frameworks that Loanworks adapts for different user segments. Borrowers see one onboarding experience. Loan officers see another. Both use the same core video structure, modified for their specific needs.
We kept the simple language throughout, avoiding financial jargon that would alienate non-expert users. The focus stays on helping users understand what they need to do next, creating a successful onboarding experience that drives feature adoption.
Key Elements:
- Segmented onboarding for different user types
- Complex features explained simply
- Task-focused demonstrations
- Reusable frameworks for various features
3. Vidico x Deloitte: Enterprise App Onboarding
Watch: Deloitte Onboarding
Deloitte needed professional onboarding videos for their internal enterprise applications. We created engaging videos that maintain corporate standards while keeping users interested.
Why It Works:
This customer onboarding video works for enterprise audiences because it respects their time while providing thorough guidance. We demonstrate complex workflows efficiently, guiding users through enterprise systems without lengthy explanations.
We built systematic templates that Deloitte uses across multiple internal applications. The consistent structure helps users familiar with one system quickly adapt to others, reducing training time and customer support costs.
The professional presentation matches Deloitte’s brand while incorporating engaging animation to maintain interest. This balance between corporate professionalism and user engagement makes the onboarding experience effective without feeling stiff.
Key Elements:
- Enterprise-appropriate professional tone
- Consistent templates across applications
- Efficient demonstration of complex workflows
- Balance of professionalism and engagement
4. Vidico x Weet: Collaborative Tool Onboarding
Watch: Weet Onboarding
Weet needed app onboarding videos showcasing their asynchronous video collaboration platform. We created onboarding content that demonstrates the product’s value through actual use cases.
Why It Works:
This onboarding video guides users by showing real collaboration scenarios—team updates, project reviews, feedback loops. Users immediately understand how Weet fits their workflow because we demonstrate it in contexts they recognize.
The systematic production approach creates modular video segments Weet uses throughout the customer journey. Welcome emails include getting-started clips. In-app tooltips trigger contextual tutorials. The help center organizes comprehensive guides. One production effort serves multiple touchpoints.
We emphasized quick wins—users accomplish meaningful tasks within their first session. This immediate value creation drives user engagement and establishes trust early in the customer life cycle.
Key Elements:
- Real-world collaboration scenarios
- Multi-touchpoint content distribution
- Quick win demonstrations
- Modular structure for various uses
Download our 10x Creative Production Checklist to identify opportunities for creating onboarding content more efficiently.
5. TikTok: Social Platform Onboarding
Watch: TikTok Onboarding
TikTok’s app onboarding videos guide new users through creating their first video with simple visual instructions. The onboarding experience focuses on immediate creation.
Why It Works: This video onboarding eliminates barriers to first content creation. Users learn by doing. The video shows exactly what to tap, what effects to try, and how to post—converting new customers into creators within minutes.
6. Basecamp: Project Management Onboarding
Watch: Basecamp Onboarding
Basecamp’s customer onboarding videos walk users through six essential tools systematically, showing how teams use them.
Why It Works: This comprehensive approach works because users need to understand the complete system. The clear structure helps users understand where to go for different tasks, reducing customer support costs.
7. Vidico x Payright: Financial Services Onboarding
Watch: Payright Onboarding
Payright’s onboarding videos explain their buy-now-pay-later service through clear demonstrations, simplifying financial concepts.
Why It Works: This app onboarding video focuses on customer benefits rather than technical processes. The simple language and relatable shopping scenarios make financial services accessible.
See how we created systematic frameworks for TikTok, delivering multiple assets efficiently.
8. Trello: Visual Project Management Onboarding
Watch: Trello Onboarding
Trello’s onboarding videos use character animation showing how boards solve project management problems, starting with relatable challenges.
Why It Works: This customer onboarding video creates an emotional connection by showing a character struggling before finding Trello. Users understand the value proposition before learning features.
9. Vidico x Nutrislice: Nutrition Platform Onboarding
Watch: Nutrislice Onboarding
Nutrislice’s app onboarding videos guide parents, students, and administrators through their nutrition platform, addressing different user needs.
Why It Works: This onboarding content recognizes that different users need different information, ensuring each type gets relevant guidance.
10. Pragli: Remote Team Communication Onboarding
Watch: Pragli Onboarding
Pragli’s onboarding videos demonstrate their virtual office platform through screen recordings showing actual team interactions.
Why It Works: This user onboarding video demonstrates value through authentic use cases, showing exactly how the app works in daily routines.
What’s An App Onboarding Video?
App onboarding videos are instructional guides designed to help new users understand and use your mobile apps or software effectively. Unlike marketing videos, onboarding videos focus on the customer onboarding process—guiding users from first interaction to becoming confident, engaged users.
These onboarding videos provide visual instructions for navigating your app, completing essential tasks, and discovering key features. The best app onboarding video examples use screen recordings of actual app interfaces to demonstrate exactly what users will see and do.
App onboarding videos differ from traditional product demos in their focus. Demos showcase features to convince people to try your product. Onboarding videos assume users have already signed up—your goal shifts from “get them interested” to “help them succeed.”
Effective onboarding videos address the critical window when new users decide whether your app delivers value. Research shows users form opinions within the first 3-7 days. Your onboarding videos need to guide users to their “aha moment” as quickly as possible.
Why is It Important?
App onboarding videos directly impact user retention, feature adoption, and customer support costs.
User Retention Starts With Onboarding: The customer onboarding process determines whether new users become loyal user base members or churn. Studies show 55% stop using SaaS products because they didn’t understand them. App onboarding videos show users exactly how to get value immediately.
Reduced Customer Support Costs: Every support question costs money and time. Customer onboarding videos work as scalable self-service support. Users learn at their own pace without requiring human assistance. SaaS companies report 30-40% reductions in support tickets after implementing video onboarding.
Faster Feature Adoption: Onboarding videos drive feature adoption by demonstrating value and showing exactly how to access new capabilities. When you launch features, app onboarding videos help existing users discover them quickly.
Improved Customer Satisfaction: Users who understand your product are satisfied customers. Onboarding videos create a positive customer experience by eliminating frustration, translating into customer loyalty and positive reviews.
Scalable User Education: As your SaaS company grows, onboarding videos scale effortlessly. Whether you onboard 10 or 10,000 users monthly, your onboarding content delivers consistent guidance without proportional resource increases.
Why Do You Need Videos for Onboarding Clients?
Creating videos for customer onboarding has become essential for SaaS companies serious about customer success.
Videos Communicate Complex Concepts Quickly: Visual demonstrations communicate complex features faster than written instructions. Users process visual information 60,000 times faster than text. When you create onboarding videos, you help users understand your app in a fraction of the time text tutorials require.
Users Prefer Video Learning: Data shows 65% of customers say video is their preferred way to learn new products. By creating your own customer onboarding videos, you control the narrative and ensure users learn correct workflows.
Videos Work Across Learning Styles: Onboarding videos with voiceovers, on-screen text, and visual demonstrations accommodate multiple learning styles simultaneously, ensuring more users successfully complete onboarding.
Mobile-First Learning Demands Video: With users accessing apps on mobile devices, video onboarding becomes crucial. Short, focused onboarding videos work perfectly on mobile without requiring users to zoom or scroll through lengthy text.
Videos Create Emotional Connection: Videos featuring real people or engaging animation create an emotional connection with users. This human touch builds trust and makes users feel welcomed rather than overwhelmed.
Systematic Production Enables Efficiency: With systematic production approaches, you build reusable templates, making creating video onboarding efficient. Once you establish your structure, creating videos for new features becomes straightforward.
Best Practices & Tips
Creating effective app onboarding videos requires strategic thinking beyond recording your screen.
Keep Videos Under 90 Seconds: Users have limited attention spans. The best customer onboarding videos deliver key information in 60-90 seconds. Create separate video segments rather than lengthy tutorials.
Show, Don’t Tell: Use screen recordings demonstrating exactly what users should do. When users see the actual interface with clear visual indicators, they can replicate actions easily.
Focus on Quick Wins: Structure onboarding videos around helping users accomplish meaningful tasks quickly. Early success builds confidence and motivation.
Create Segmented Content: Different users need different information. Create separate onboarding content for distinct user types, experience levels, or use cases.
Use Clear Visual Indicators: Add arrows, highlights, or circles showing exactly where users should look or click. Guide their attention explicitly.
Add Captions for Accessibility: Many users watch videos without sound. Include captions, ensuring your onboarding videos communicate effectively even when muted.
Place Videos Contextually: Trigger video content contextually—when users first access a feature, offer a quick video guide. When users seem stuck, suggest relevant tutorials.
Build Systematic Templates: Create standardized structures for different onboarding content types. This systematic approach makes producing new videos efficient.
Test With Real Users: Before finalizing onboarding videos, test them with actual new users. Use their feedback to refine your video content.
Update Regularly: Your app evolves, so should your onboarding videos. Build systematic processes for updating video content as you release features.
Schedule a free strategy session to explore how systematic onboarding video production can reduce your support costs and improve retention.
Why Work With Vidico
We’ve produced app onboarding videos for fast-growing SaaS companies, and we’ve seen how effective onboarding is in transforming user engagement.
We Understand the SaaS Customer Journey: Unlike traditional agencies that create generic content, we specialize in SaaS customer onboarding. We understand the customer life cycle, what drives feature adoption, and how onboarding impacts customer retention. This expertise means we create strategic onboarding experiences that move key metrics.
Proven Impact on User Metrics: Our clients report measurable results—30-40% reduction in support tickets, 45% improvement in first-week retention, 2.5x increase in feature adoption, and 60% faster time-to-value. These business outcomes impact your bottom line.
Rapid Production for Fast-Moving Teams: SaaS companies ship features constantly. Our systematic approach delivers onboarding videos in days, enabling you to launch features with comprehensive guidance from day one. We’ve helped clients go from feature release to complete onboarding content in under 48 hours.
Multi-Format Content Strategy: Great onboarding combines welcome emails with videos, in-app tooltips with tutorials, help center guides, interactive walkthroughs, and mobile-optimized content. This multi-touchpoint approach ensures users get help whenever they need it.
Cost-Effective Compared to Support: Every support conversation costs $5-15 in staff time. A well-produced onboarding video might cost $2,000-5,000 but answers thousands of questions automatically. If your video prevents 500 support tickets, it’s paid for itself many times over.
Continuous Optimization Process: We help you analyze performance, identify where users struggle, and continuously refine onboarding content. Our clients update videos based on real user data, creating increasingly effective guidance.
Built for SaaS Scale: As you grow from 100 to 100,000 users, your onboarding videos scale effortlessly. Your investment in great onboarding content compounds as your user base expands.
Book a free strategy session to discuss how we can reduce your churn and improve activation through systematic onboarding video production.
FAQs
What’s included in an app onboarding video?
App onboarding videos typically include welcome messages introducing your app, demonstrations of key features through screen recordings, step-by-step instructions for completing essential tasks, and clear next-step guidance. The best customer onboarding videos focus on quick wins, helping users experience value quickly.
What is the best app to post videos?
For SaaS companies, videos work best embedded directly in your product through in-app tooltips or resource centers. YouTube works well for help center guides. For mobile apps, platforms like Wistia or Vimeo provide better control. The platform matters less than strategic placement—onboarding videos should appear contextually when users need them.
What does a good onboarding process look like?
A good customer onboarding process guides users to their first accomplishment within minutes, focuses on essential tasks before advanced features, provides help contextually, allows learning at their own pace through video guides, and continuously evolves as your product develops. Successful onboarding combines multiple formats to deliver comprehensive guidance that drives feature adoption.
How long should onboarding videos be?
Most app onboarding videos should run 60-90 seconds for getting-started content. Welcome videos can be 30-45 seconds. Complex workflows might extend to 2-3 minutes but break these into shorter segments when possible. Users prefer multiple short videos over single lengthy tutorials.
Should we create one long video or multiple short ones?
Multiple short videos almost always outperform single long tutorials. Create separate video segments for different features or user types. This modular approach lets users watch only what they need when they need it, enables contextual delivery, and improves completion rates.
How do we measure onboarding video success?
Track metrics including video completion rates, time to first meaningful action after watching, support ticket reduction for covered topics, feature adoption rates for demonstrated capabilities, and user retention comparing users who watched videos versus those who didn’t.
Can we create effective onboarding videos in-house?
Yes, with the right approach. Successful in-house onboarding videos require a clear understanding of what users need to learn, screen recording software, basic editing skills, consistent structure and templates, and a willingness to iterate based on feedback. Many SaaS companies start with simple screen recordings and improve over time.
Final Thoughts
The best app onboarding video examples share common traits: they guide users to immediate success, demonstrate value quickly through visual demonstrations, respect users’ time with focused content, and help users feel confident rather than overwhelmed. They prove that great onboarding videos don’t require massive budgets—they require strategic thinking about what users need to succeed.
Creating effective onboarding videos isn’t about copying templates—it’s about understanding your users’ journey and building systematic production that delivers consistent guidance. The SaaS companies winning with video onboarding treat it as strategic infrastructure supporting customer success, not one-off projects checking boxes.
Traditional approaches to onboarding don’t scale. Text tutorials get ignored. Generic videos don’t address specific user needs. You need systematic video production that creates engaging videos efficiently while maintaining quality.
That’s exactly what we’ve built at Vidico. Our approach has helped dozens of SaaS companies reduce support costs, improve user retention, and drive feature adoption through strategic onboarding content.
Ready to transform your customer onboarding? Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to explore how systematic video production can turn more new users into loyal customers.
References:
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/video-production-company-vidico-launch-130000641.html
