7 Tips For Creating a Killer Explainer Video

Have you ever been on a website and found a video explaining a product or service? If you have, you’re familiar with explainer videos.

15:09 13 September 2022

Have you ever been on a website and found a video explaining a product or service? If you have, you’re familiar with explainer videos.

 

Explainer videos explain a product or service in 60 to 90 seconds. They're a powerful marketing tool for engaging audiences and introducing them to a business or product.

 

In today’s digital age, businesses need to leverage explainer videos to keep up with people’s short attention spans. After all, 72% of consumers prefer watching videos over reading text to learn about products or services. 

 

In this article, we’ll go over different types of explainer videos, their benefits, and 7 tips on how to make them effective.

 

Let’s get started!

 

Different types of explainer videos

Explainer videos come in many forms. The most common types include:

 

• Live-action explainer videos. In these, real-life actors (whether it be the CEO, an employee of the company, paid actors, or stock footage) explain the product or service. This puts a face to your brand and helps it seem more human.

 

• Animated explainer videos. These combine stimulating animation with voice-overs. They’re often the most preferred type of explainer video because they are cost-effective and allow for more creativity.

 

• Whiteboard explainer videos. These are similar to animated explainer videos, except that they use hand-drawn animations. The benefit of whiteboard explainer videos is that they are simple and cheap to make.

 

• Screencast explainer videos. These walk you through how to use the product (usually a software) by sharing a computer screen. Screencast explainer videos are good for technical products that are best explained through showing, rather than telling.

 

Benefits of explainer videos

There are many reasons to invest in explainer videos for your business. Here are some:

 

• Increase conversions. Explainer videos help increase website conversions by 55%. More conversions lead to more sales and more revenue.

 

• Improve your SEO. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the art of getting your website to rank high for certain keywords in search engines like Google, and quality explainer videos help boost your ranking. 

 

• Keep viewers on your website longer. The human attention span is 8.25 seconds. If your website only has text and images, visitors are more likely to leave. An attractive explainer video will help them stay.

 

• Get the word out about your product. Explainer videos are easy to share on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, so you can introduce more people to your product.

 

How to Create an Effective Explainer Video

Now that you know what an explainer video is and why you should use them for your business, let’s go over some tips on how to create a good one:

 

• Write an excellent script

The script is the most important part of any explainer video. It’s what drives the narration and keeps viewers watching and listening. 

 

Every script should do four things:

1. Describe a problem.
2. Introduce a product or service as the solution to that problem.
3. Explain how the product works.
4. Offer a clear call to action (CTA).

 

That’s it. You want your explainer video to be short and sweet so that viewers stick around to watch the whole thing. The ideal video length is 90 seconds or less. 

 

You also want to get to the point fast. That means getting to step two (introducing your product or service) within the first 30 seconds of the video. Otherwise, viewers will be wondering what your product is for too long.

 

Also, be sure the script uses the second person (as in “you” and “your”) to address the viewer directly. 

 

• Get a professional voiceover

Next, produce a good voiceover. This means hiring a voice actor (or at least getting someone with a polished voice) to make a high-quality recording of the script. 

You can find voice actors for hire all over the world on websites like voices.com or on freelance platforms like Fiverr, where you can find voiceover talent for as little as $5.

 

• Hire a professional animator

The second most important part of an explainer video is the visuals. They also need to be engaging to keep the viewer’s attention. 

 

However, you don’t need to go overboard and make the next Star Wars movie. Keep the animation simple. A professional animator can help you keep it simple and high-quality at the same time.

 

• Set the right tone with music 

The right background music can add a nice touch to your explainer video. It can set the mood and evoke the emotion you want your viewers to feel. Just make sure the music fits your brand and audience.

 

Also, make sure you don’t infringe anyone’s copyright. Get royalty-free music online at sites like bensound.com and taketones.com.

 

• Create dynamic transitions

Make your explainer video flow naturally by including dynamic transitions. Fade in or fade out, zoom in or out … you get the idea.

 

Dynamic transitions help guide the viewer from scene to scene. You can plan them in during the storyboarding process.

 

• Include captions

Another way to aid viewers is through captions. They help the viewer follow along and understand the audio in the explaliner video when they are unable to hear.

In fact, 80% of consumers are more likely to watch a video in the first place when captions are available. So including them is an easy way to expand your viewership.

 

• Make it entertaining

Lastly, your explainer video needs to be entertaining. Use humor, surprise, and stories to keep viewers engaged. Otherwise, you might bore viewers and they’ll stop watching. 

 

Ultimately, the best explainer videos are short, simple, and entertaining. If yours checks all three boxes, your bound to drive more sales for your business in the long run. So invest in a quality explainer video today!