Explainer videos are short videos used by businesses to quickly introduce themselves in a visual way and explain their services/products and tell how the customers’ requirements can be met.
Explainer Videos are the best way to explain any product or service or communicate any business related message to the target audience. Everyone prefers watching short videos rather that reading longer text. Explainer videos are small videos presenting information visually and audibly in small bites which introduce a product, service or a concept. They are also very entertaining because of using attractive visuals which catch target audience’s attention easily.
The key points in an explainer video:
- The Problem – Addressing the pain points of the end customer
- Solution – Introducing the product/service as the answer to the pain points
- Features and Benefits – Briefly explaining the features and benefits of the product/service
- How it works – Describing how the to get started or how it works
- Call to action – Directing customers on what you want them to do next
Characteristics that are addressed in Explainer Videos:
There are several characteristics that explainer videos should address in some or other form. Few of them are:
- Targeting: Building explainer videos with target audience in mind
- Branding: Putting the branding elements like colour selection, placement of logo and texts.
- Rhythm: Proper timing the action and story in the right way helps keeping audiences engaged throughout the video
- Proper Message: Giving a clear message to the target audience
- Quality: Maintaining good quality of the content ensures right impression of the audience
Use of Explainer Videos
Explainer Videos can be used in the following places:
Websites and Landing Pages
Your website is the best place to post your explainer videos. An explainer video with introduction to your company, your product/service can be used in the Home page of your website and more product or service specific videos will be effective on relevant landing pages.
Social media pages/posts
The best place to experiment your explainer videos is the social channels where you can get results and feedbacks/comments in a very short duration. The explainer videos can be region/language specific and can be posted region wise.
Conferences and Events
A short explainer video is the best way to grab attention of the audience before you start speaking about your product or service.
Newsletters
Good newsletters can get constant website traffic and Explainer Videos on Newsletters are the best way to engage with the audience and to give them regular update on your business
Product Demos
A product demo video provides visual proof as it shows the product in action. It shows your audience your product’s practical functions.
Types of explainer videos
2D Character Animated Explainer Videos
This is the most commonly used and popular choice for explainer videos. It is cost effective, less time consuming and easy to produce. In this type of explainer videos the characters, other objects, background and the storyboard fit in a 2D environment
2D Motion Graphics Explainer Videos
This type of explainer videos are also suitable for small businesses. Instead of using 2D characters it uses texts and images including brand logo (which is also an image) with a lot of visual effects.
3D Explainer Videos
This type of explainer videos do not use 2D visuals or any live action, instead use designs modelled and rendered in 3D. The only difference between 2D and 3D explainer videos is the way the visuals are created.
Whiteboard Animations
Whiteboard animation videos are very good for explaining difficult concepts in a very simple and engaging format. These are video recordings of static images being drawn on screen and aided with professional voiceover of narration script.
Screencast Explainer Videos
Screencast explainer videos are screen captures of computer or mobile screen with professional voiceover explaining the process. It can be best used to demonstrate the application in action.
Infographic Explainer Videos
Infographic explainer videos use a combination of text and graphics to tell a story with or without a voiceover.
Live-Action Explainer Video
Live action explainer videos show live action videography of people in real instead of animation. It primarily used to demonstrate how to use a product.
Stop Motion Explainer Video
Stop-motion explainer video is a type of 2D explainer video where numerous photographs are taken demonstrating back to back developments done gradually and meticulously. The photographs are connected together to make a video and voice and music is frequently included subsequently.
Kinetic Typographic Videos
A kinetic explainer video is one that utilizes voiceover and moving content in an outwardly engaging manner. The content for the most part recounts to a story and moves along to a voiceover or potentially music.
Testimonial Explainer Videos
Testimonial explainer videos are used to tell a positive story about the company/brand.
Benefits of Explainer Videos
- More sharable than text: According to Forrester Research, a video of one minute is worth 1.8 Million words which is equivalent to having around 900 blog posts with 2000 words each
- Increase conversion rate – People are more likely to buy a product/service if they see explainer videos preview first
- Reduce the bounce rate of your webpages: Visitors are likely to spend more time on your website and engage more around it if there is an explainer video added to it
- Bigger reach on social media platforms: In today’s world it’s all about videos; hence, having an explainer video can reach a comparable wider audience on social media
- Improve email marketing campaigns: Adding explainer videos in email marketing boosts Email open rates and click-through rates
- Improve SEO rankings: SEO ranking of the website increases because of the user engagement rate and time spent on a website
- Build trust and credibility: Engagement with target audience with an effort to explain things to them earns trust of your customer
- Reflection of your brand’s culture – Easy to convey your brand culture through entertaining videos
Ingredients of Effective Explainer Videos
In order to produce an effective explainer video you need the following:
- A simple and easy to understand message
- A creative script
- Characters to express emotions
- Good quality motion graphics design
- A professional voice narrating the story
- Quality sound effects
- Involvement of your client
Explainer Videos Best Practices
Following the key points while creating an effective explainer video will eventually result in attracting more audience and hence more sales.
- Focus on Target Audience – Know your audience and their pain points
- Use a good Explainer Video Script – The script determines the success of the explainer video, so make the script keeping needs of the target audience in mind
- The Shorter the Better – Keep the video short
- Keep it Simple – Don’t complicate
- Show Benefits – Try to focus more on Benefits, not Features
- Use a Professional Voice – Choose a polished voice which makes sense for the video
- Visuals are Secondary – Give lesser importance to visual effects, the message should be crisp and clear