A Simple Guide For Explainer Videos

Get Started within 30 secs

Have you ever felt you’re not making sense to another person when you discuss ideas with them? Then you whip out a pen and paper, draw a sketchy image, and Boom! They say “Oh! I get it now”.

That’s the power of visuals. Think about the last time you decided to read a long text rather than watch a video. Did it ever happen? Well, I guess not. The sole reason why videos are rapidly growing is that more people are engaging with videos due to the ease and flexibility it provides and of course, the fact that visual content helps soak in more information and little effort to digest. 

Watch this video to see how explainer videos can boost your business when employed rightly.

Dr. James McQuivey estimates that one minute of video is equal to 1.8 million words! 

Source: runningpony.com

Our brains are hard-wired for motion. Therefore it’s easy to understand why YouTube is the #2 search engines in the world and social media sites are popular with so many videos. B2B businesses understood this a while ago and that’s why explainer videos have become a popular type of video. 

What is an explainer video?

An explainer video is a short, powerful video that tells your brand’s stories and shows your potential customers what you do crisply. With an explainer video, you can eliminate the unnecessary pie charts and hours of explanations and get directly into showing them what you do, while answering the question “what’s in it for me” from the perspective of your audience, all within just a fraction of time compared to reading.

How effective are explainer videos?!

We know the average attention span of a goldfish is nine seconds! 

But here’s news! According to Microsoft Corp, technophiles are tougher to entertain than a goldfish. So to capture their dwindling attention, an explainer video is the best way to attract and engage your audience. 

Here are some stats to prove an explainer video works:

• Videos help customers understand

  – 93% of businesses that use explainer video believe that it has increased user understanding of their product or service.

• Videos help build trust

  – Videos help customers see the human side of your business. 57% of consumers say videos gave them more confidence to purchase the product.

• Videos boost search engine rankings

  – Adding videos to your website makes visitors stay longer on your site. As a result, you’re 53 times more likely to show up first on Google as more time spent on your site is a sign to search engines that your site has good content.

Learn more about 5 Video Hacks To Make Dynamic Killer Videos here

Explainer videos are known to drive valuable results for many businesses. Here is a real case study of Dropbox.

Dropbox, a well-known brand, had to go through a fair amount of trial and errors to get to what they’re now. You see, when they first started, like any small business, Dropbox opted to use various methods of advertising – including Google Adwords. But it wasn’t sustainable as they were spending more on Adwords than the cost of their product. 

After this failed attempt, they decided to invest money into making an explainer video that detailed everything a new customer would need to know before purchasing.

Watch it here:

The result? This straight-forward explainer video helped them garner a 10% conversion rate and generated an extra 100 million customers. Imagine that!

Now that you know the power of an explainer video, let’s see where you can use them.

Where to use an explainer video?

Many B2B businesses are using explainer videos in all sorts of creative ways to boost conversions, widen engagement, and increase sales. Let’s see the different places you can use them for growing your business.

On your Homepage

Placing an explainer video on a homepage can help increase conversions significantly. No wonder 45% of businesses who use video say they have an explainer video on their homepage. And guess what? 83% says their homepage has become more effective with an explainer video. One thing to consider when placing your explainer video is to make sure that you keep it above the fold of your homepage so that viewers can’t miss it. Here are few b2b companies who have placed explainer video on their homepage:

Pipedrive

Zoho

Both Pipedrive and Zoho have placed their product explainer video on their homepage so that website visitors can immediately click on the ‘Watch video’ tab to learn more about their products/services.

On your landing page

These days most businesses have a standalone web page also known as a landing page specific to a campaign or a product/service. Be creative and leverage the benefits of videos by posting your campaign specific explainer video in these pages. It will also help reduce the bounce rate and increase the average visit time by 2 minutes. Also, have a CTA visible while watching the video or immediately at the end of the video to prompt your viewers to take action after watching the video, thus improving the conversion rate.

Salesforce

Salesforce in their website, has included specific landing pages for each of their products along with an explainer video rather than lengthy texts. It is a perfect example of how aptly placed explainer video along with call to action buttons (CTA) can increase conversion rates.

On your social media accounts

Since videos are so powerful in terms of engagement and shareability, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. make the perfect place to start posting your explainer videos. You can also reach out to people in different parts of the customer journey and target them appropriately. For example, want to target people who don’t have an existing relationship with your company? Create a simple explainer video that addresses specific common questions about that product/service. 

Lastly, if you want to re-target people already in your social media channels, use an explainer video to establish your reputation as an expert in your niche.

In this example, Hubspot posted on their LinkedIn all their unique features to make it easy for the viewers to get a quick glimpse into the services they provide.

In your emails

An explainer video is not only limited to your website, landing pages and social media platforms. With emails still being the most effective form of communication and probably the highest driver of ROI, you can use them inside your emails. How? Video platforms such as Hippo Video provide you the easiest and fastest way to record videos right from within your email providers such as Gmail and Outlook and send them to your audience. The advantage? You are making the explainer video visible, adding value to the prospect, and also making them understand in a simple and engaging manner.

Click here to read more on converting leads faster with Hippo video’s Gmail Add on

Conferences, presentations, and events

If you think an explainer video is used only online, you’re wrong. It can also be used as an attention-grabbing introduction for a presentation even before you speak. For example, at a trade show adding an explainer video to your booth is a way to remove some pressure off the sales people. It is also a great conversation starter and helps attendees understand your brand story without you having to say it. It will also make them feel ready to approach you with questions. 

Types of explainer videos

There are different types of explainer videos one can create. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Animated explainer video

Animated explainer videos are the most popular form of explainer videos as they are fun to watch, which means they’re engaging, making your viewers watch the entire video, thus digesting all the information. This type of explainer video can use either character animation, motion graphics, or even an animated text to tell a compelling story. While a character animation can be used to connect with your audience, motion graphics are used to demonstrate complex processes by illustrating numbers and statistics to show motion or change. 

SBDA – Example for character animation

Crazy egg – Example of motion graphics

Whiteboard animation video

In a whiteboard animation video, a person’s hand draws or writes on a white background to illustrate the points stated in the narration. In his research, Psychologist Dr. Richard Wiseman found that people who saw the whiteboard explainer video were also 66% more likely to share the animation with others.

Live action explainer video

Live-action explainer videos contain actual shot video footage, unlike animation or motion graphics. It involves a person standing and talking to a camera and can be used to explain your product or service. 

Dollar shave club

5 Steps to create a killer explainer video

There are five steps we recommend you follow to plan your explainer video and ensure success.

Step 1: Have a plan

– A clear purpose in your mind will make your explainer videos to be clear, concise, and successful. What do you want to achieve with your explainer video? Is it to increase conversions? Upsell to your existing customers? Generate new leads from social media? Answering these questions will also help you determine the style of your explainer videos and the channels you’ll use.

Step 2: Write the script

– It’s time to plan your message. Focus on one or two key messages you want your audience to take away. Also, don’t forget to add an actionable call-to-action at the end of the video.

Step 3: Create a storyboard

– Creating a storyboard for your video is a necessary step in the creative process because it will enable you to see if the story plot or sequences follow your expectations or needs tweaking. It will also make sure your script lines up with the images you want to use.

Step 4: Record

– Now record your video, your narration, or create your animation – whichever style of explainer video you’ve zeroed in on.

Step 5: Edit and share

– Once you’ve recorded or created the video, edit it, and share it on your preferred platform. Also, don’t just leave it at that – instead, measure if your explainer video was a success. For example: If you planned to share your video on Facebook to generate more leads, then your measure of success is based on how many people requested a quote / free trial / more information about your product on Facebook.

Fantastic examples of explainer videos

There are some great examples of explainer videos we’ll look into now:

Slack

Slack is a perfect example of a short and sweet explainer video that conveys the message in just 30 seconds.

Ruby – Live virtual receptionists and chat specialist

Could an explainer video about a virtual receptionist and chat service be a joy to watch? Filled with colorful excitement and happy staff working and communicating with their clients, this creates a positive impact on the viewers about the service.

Explainer video best practices

To make your explainer video stand out, there are a few things to consider:

It’s all about the script

A well-written script decides the success of your explainer video. To make it work, keep your audience’s needs in your mind and develop your story around it. Make sure your script answers this question from the potential customer’s perspective: “What’s in it for me?”

Also, it would be helpful to choose someone who doesn’t already know about your product or service as they will be able to give a fresh perspective of your company and explain it in a way anyone can understand. 

Make sure you keep these pointers in mind while writing your script:

• What’s the quick elevator pitch? – Explain your product in 1 or 2 sentences.
• What are the three key benefits you want to highlight? – Focus on the benefits to your users.
• How does your product or service work? – How do you start using it? Please keep it to 3-4 steps (sign up, checkout, etc.)

Keep it short

Source: talkingtreecreative.com

We realize you have a lot to say in your explainer videos about your business. But as you can see in the chart above, chances are high your viewers can abandon your video if it is more than 1-2 minutes. Also, the more information you give people, the more they’re likely to forget it. Focus on one or two key benefits of your product to maximize retention. 

Benefits over features

Sure, your product(s) might have many features such as 100 GB storage, unlimited users, blah, blah. But how will it benefit your users? How will it make their lives easier? That should be your focus.

Use a CTA

After your viewers have watched the explainer video, what do you want them to do next? Do you want them to subscribe to your newsletter? Sign up for a free trial? Visit your website? Always include your CTA so that your audiences are aware of the next actionable steps to take.

Use a professional voice

There’s nothing that can ruin a video than poor audio. Invest in a professional voice so that your audience can connect with your video. Think about whether a male or female voice will suit your video. What is the tone of the voice? The accent? These factors will make sure the voice is appealing and clear to the viewers.

Background music

Believe us, the audio track you use in your video can make or break your video. Remember the kind of videos that have loud music that you feel your ears are ringing in a couple of seconds? The right music evokes all types of emotions, and it can set the tone and pace of your explainer. So consider this as well.

Plan for the launch

It’s common to see businesses upload their video on YouTube and ‘hope’ they get views. Sadly, this won’t work. Here are two things you can do:

• Have a marketing plan – Posting on YouTube might not give you your desired traction. So to grab some extra eyes, post the video on your blog, newsletter, social media channels, email signatures, events, etc.  Pro-tip: Start sending explainer videos in your email.
• Post your video on your website – According to Forbes the average user spends 88% more time on a website with video. This fact alone should encourage you to post your explainer videos on your website.

Conclusion

Explainer videos are a powerful way to connect potential customers with your product or service. Short and punchy, these videos can yield fantastic results for businesses of all sizes, irrespective of the industry you work within. Like the video examples we’ve mentioned in this post, you can use a variety of tactics – from animation to whiteboard to live recording – to engage your audience and show them why your product is the right choice. 

Incorporate explainer videos into your business to see a surge in your monthly revenue, social shares, and conversions. 

Have you used explainer videos in your business? If not, what are you waiting for today? Start now to experience the magic of explainer videos!