If you’re wondering, “What is an explainer video?”, you’ve come to the right place.
Content
- What is an Explainer Video
- How Explainer Videos Stand Out in the Crowd
- Why Use An Explainer Video
- When to Use An Explainer Video
- The Different Types of Explainer Videos
What is an Explainer Video
An explainer video is a short video that delivers a product’s narrative in a creative and fun way. These videos typically range from one to two minutes in length to capture the audience’s attention, allowing businesses to briefly introduce themselves, their products, services and/or customer successes.
Think of an explainer video as your company’s visually stylized elevator pitch. When placed on a website’s homepage, campaign landing page or product page, it should be used to succinctly explain the nature of products or services, relevant to the markets they serve.
There’s no denying the importance of video as an integral piece of any business marketing strategy. Simply put, the majority of people — from B2B executives to everyday consumers — prefer to watch video on a topic or product versus reading about it.
What better way to catch the attention of your target audience than with a 60-second explainer video that says more than a block of text ever could?
How Explainer Videos Stand Out in the Crowd
When trying to define what an explainer video is, many companies will lump them together with the more general category of branded videos. However, branded videos, by nature, offer more in terms of narrative fluff than their explainer video counterparts.
An explainer video often takes complex ideas and distills them into a package that’s easy to understand and consume. It’s less about solely functioning as an awareness-based commercial and more about providing customers with the concrete information they need to make a purchase.
What makes an explainer video different from other marketing videos is a mix of the following characteristics:
- Explainer videos are short. On average, they won’t exceed more than 60-90 seconds in length.
- Explainer videos are focused on customer problems. In touting a product or service, the video should illustrate its value as a solution to the specific audience targeted.
- Explainer videos are unique selling materials. Don’t think of an explainer video as a tutorial. They describe the values and unique selling points of a product.
- Explainer videos are succinct. The message they’re trying to convey should be easy to digest and free of unnecessary fluff.
- Explainer videos are engaging. Just because your message is simple doesn’t mean how you package it should be. Don’t sacrifice on the quality of your storyline, especially when up against the sheer volume of video competition that already exists online.
Why Use An Explainer Video
It’s no secret that video marketing has become a major trend in the digital marketing scene. In fact, according to Outbrain, 87% of online marketers use video content. And one-third of time spent online for the average person is dedicated to watching videos.
There are still businesses that perceive video marketing as impractical because it is historically known to be expensive and time-consuming to produce. However, more affordable video production trends and techniques are forging a path forward for everyone — regardless of budget.
With explainer videos popping up left and right, and video technology becoming more advanced, there are many reasons why you should also consider this strategy:
- 92% of mobile video viewers share videos with others, which offers additional opportunities for attention compared to sharing other content.
- 90% of users state that product videos are helpful in the decision making process, which can help to increase conversions.
- According to HubSpot, 73% of consumers worldwide prefer seeing videos on social media because they are “entertaining”.
>> Chapter 2: Why Should You Use an Explainer Video?
When to Use An Explainer Video
Deciding on when to use an explainer video should happen early on at the launch of any new product or service-based marketing initiative. If you decide to go the route of creating one, your team is going to need all the time they can get to write an impactful script, choose a production house, create a video brief and allow for revisions.
Explainer videos are most often used to simplify and demonstrating services in an engaging way around:
- A new product launch
- Complex and varied services
- A specific message or idea you want to convey
The Different Types of Explainer Videos
While the motivation behind using an explainer video may prove consistent, how they’re brought to life is sure to vary from company to company. The style and tone of a brand is likely to influence the visual aspects of their videos.
For example, a B2B brand may choose to use simplistic animation and infographic data throughout their explainer video for the sake of appealing to high-level executives. In contrast, an upbeat B2C brand may evoke live action in their explainer video full of color, whimsy and humor to stand out to consumers.
In answering the question, “What is an explainer video?” it helps to break things down in terms of the many different types of explainer videos that exist.
These are the most common types of explainer videos you’ll come across when working to create one of your own:
Live Action Explainer Videos
Live action explainer videos are non-animated promotional videos highlighting a business’ product or service. These usually make the most sense for companies that are either selling a physical product or are people-oriented in nature.
They can prove more costly to organize due to the fact that you’re using live actors — but the results tend to speak for themselves.
2D & Whiteboard Animation Explainer Videos
On the other end of the spectrum is animation. These types of explainer videos often entail 2D, whiteboard or motion graphics animation.
They’re stripped down in feel and can serve as a more cost-effective option for companies on a budget. This isn’t to say they’re inevitably easier to create (as you’ll need to partner with a talented illustrator or designer), but there are fewer moving parts to manage overall.
You can also take another approach to animation when creating an explainer video. This includes videos that use 3D, stop motion and cutout animation.
These approaches are often more labor and time intensive. Consider, for instance, that one minute of stop motion footage can take upwards of an entire week to capture. And this doesn’t even account for editing or additional filming needs.
Screencast Explainer Videos
Screencast explainer videos are fairly straightforward in nature. They offer a POV feel, putting viewers in the user’s seat to better understand how a service can be used in their everyday.
Slack serves as a good example of a screencast type of explainer video, while Grammarly often blends a mix of live action and screencast into their explainer videos.
Infographic Explainer Videos
When your target audience is extremely data-focused, it makes sense to present information in a clear, logical fashion. Infographic explainer videos are highly informative in feel.
They structure and present statistics and metrics in an organized way with animation that helps viewers easily progress from one idea to the next.
This explainer video example from Sevenly better illustrates what you can expect from an infographic approach.
