Naming and Describing Your Video
Tell viewers what they will learn, then make the description carry the details and next step.
To title a video, name the viewer's question or task and add the useful outcome the video actually delivers. Use familiar words and make the promise specific. A whiteboard explainer video's description should explain who the video helps, summarise its content and give the viewer one relevant next step.
Choose the promise before choosing the wording
Watch the finished film and write one sentence describing what a viewer will understand afterwards. Use that sentence as the boundary for the title. Our recommendation is to lead with the recognisable task or question, because that gives a reader a concrete reason to choose the video.
Match the title to the actual film. A video explaining the first step in a process needs a title about that step. Keep wider topics for the description or another video. If your audience uses a particular name for the task, prefer that wording to an internal project name.
Use this title formula
Start with [specific task or question] + [useful outcome or condition]. The second part earns its place when it helps the viewer decide whether the video fits their situation. A clear task can stand alone when the extra phrase adds little. These are editorial suggestions to try with your audience, rather than claims about platform performance.
FORMULA [Specific task or question] + [useful outcome or condition] TASK: Join a community book swap VIEWER: Someone visiting for the first time USEFUL OUTCOME: Know what to bring and where to start TITLE: Your First Book Swap: What to Bring and Where to Start CHECK Does the film answer this title? Would the intended viewer recognise the task? Does every promise have a matching explanation in the film?
Ten worked examples by platform and placement
These examples use a fictional community book swap so you can see how one clear subject changes with the intended placement. The titles and descriptions are suggested copy, with each promise limited to something the matching film would need to explain. Adapt the details to your real event before using them.
| Platform or placement | Formula inputs | Example title | Description opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Task: attend a first swap. Outcome: understand the process. | Your First Book Swap: What Happens When You Arrive | Follow a first visit from handing your book to a volunteer to choosing your next read. |
| Task: organise a workplace swap. Condition: one clear arrival process. | A Clear Welcome for Your Workplace Book Swap | Use a simple handover and browsing sequence to help colleagues understand how your swap works. | |
| Question: what should I bring? Outcome: arrive prepared. | What Should You Bring to a Book Swap? | Choose a book you are ready to pass on, then check the organiser's event details before you visit. | |
| TikTok | Task: make a first visit. Outcome: know the first action. | First Time at a Book Swap? Start Here | See the arrival step, meet the volunteer and find out where your book goes. |
| Task: explain a local event. Condition: new visitors. | New to Our Book Swap? Here's How It Works | This short explanation walks through the fictional swap's handover, browsing and collection steps. | |
| X | Question: what happens to a donated book? Outcome: understand the handover. | From Your Shelf to the Swap Table | Follow one book through the arrival process and see how a visitor finds a new read. |
| Event website | Task: plan a visit. Outcome: know what to bring and do. | Before You Visit: Your Book Swap Guide | Find the practical arrival steps here, then use the event information beside this video to plan your visit. |
| Email to registered visitors | Task: prepare for the event. Condition: already registered. | Ready for the Book Swap? Choose Your Book | Watch the arrival guide and choose the book you would like to pass on. |
| Volunteer knowledge base | Task: welcome arrivals. Outcome: use the agreed process. | Welcoming a Visitor at the Book-Swap Table | Review the volunteer's handover steps and the wording used to direct a new visitor. |
| Private reviewer share | Task: review a draft. Condition: check the process wording. | Book Swap Arrival Guide — Process Review | Please check that the handover sequence matches the agreed event process and note any unclear moment. |
Write a description that helps the viewer act
Use the first sentence to explain who the video helps and what it covers. Add the practical detail the viewer needs after watching, then give one relevant action and destination. Keep event dates, service conditions and other changeable details accurate wherever you place them. Our recommendation is to keep one current source for those details so the video description and destination agree.
DESCRIPTION TEMPLATE This video helps [audience] understand [specific task or question]. It explains [the main steps or points actually shown]. Next, [one action] at [the relevant destination]. WORKED EXAMPLE — FICTIONAL EVENT This video helps first-time visitors understand the book-swap arrival process. It explains handing a book to a volunteer, browsing the shelves and choosing a book to take home. Check the organiser's current event information, then choose a book you are ready to pass on.
Fix three naming problems
Compare each draft title with the film and the viewer's language. A useful title sets an expectation the explanation can fulfil.
- The title is an internal filename: replace 'Project final version 3' with the task the viewer wants help completing. Keep version details in your working records.
- The title promises the whole subject while the film covers one step: name the actual step and use the description to explain its place in the wider process.
- The description repeats the title: add the audience, the specific content and the next action so it provides practical help.
Prepare the film and its handover together
AutoScribble turns a typed idea or pasted script into a narrated animated whiteboard explainer video. Use the proposed title and audience in your brief so the script has a clear question to answer. Review the words before rendering, then check the finished film against the promise in the title.
When the film is ready, download the MP4 or share it with an expiring private link. Prepare the title, description and intended destination alongside the file or link so the recipient has the context needed to use it. Review the final wording in the place where the video will be watched.
Next step: name one useful explanation
Write the viewer's question, the answer your film gives and the action that follows. Turn the first two into a title using the formula, then use the description template to connect the film to its next step. Check both against the finished video before sharing.
Try this with your own idea
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Common questions
- How should I title a video?
- Name the viewer's specific task or question, then add a useful outcome or condition when it helps them decide whether to watch. Check that the film delivers every promise in the title. Prefer the audience's familiar wording to an internal project name.
- What should I put in a video description?
- Explain who the video helps, what it covers and the next action the viewer can take. Include the relevant destination and keep practical details current. The description should add useful context to the title.
- Should my video title be a question?
- A question can work when it reflects the question your intended viewer is asking and the film answers it clearly. A direct task title can also make the purpose easy to recognise. Choose the version that matches the explanation and the reader's situation.
- Can I use a different title when I share the same video elsewhere?
- You can adapt the wording to the audience and placement while keeping the promise consistent with the film. Recheck the description and next-step destination at each placement. Keep the subject recognisable so people understand that the same explanation is being shared.
- How can I use a title in an AutoScribble brief?
- Include the proposed title, intended audience and question to answer when you type an idea or paste a script into AutoScribble. Review the proposed words before rendering and compare the finished video with that title. Download the MP4 or share a private link with the description you have prepared.