The Best 10 Examples of Explainer Videos

Did you know that grocery shopping is shifting to become an online experience? Data indicate that up to 12% of online sales are in grocery shopping.

Of course, the pandemic did a lot to push this statistic, but it doesn’t seem to be changing. Online shopping seems to be becoming only ever more prevalent over time. And the question today is, how will you stand out online?

Statistics indicate that videos are the way to go! Explainer videos help draw in viewers while also informing their buying choices. But this world can feel a little daunting.

Don’t worry! We will help you find the right video producer. Keep reading to learn all you need about these information pieces.

What Are Explainer Videos?

Explainer videos consist of short videos that seek to convey meaningful information. The purpose of these videos depends a little on the intention of the creators. But the general intention is to create an engaging piece that drives action.

Explainer videos consist of short dialogue pieces told over the backdrop of the video. These dialogues usually have a slow yet engaged tone as the storyteller attempts to get the listener to take specific actions.

Some of the best explainer videos utilize colourful backdrops. But they are not overwhelming or excentric.

These videos have a great retention and engagement result. Creating a video that explains your services has been shown to generate high customer results.

Businesses that use videos to advertise their material and service are much more successful. Even though advertisers have been shifting away from television, this is not indicative of video failure. Rather, it indicates a shift away from television into the internet.

But what are these explainer videos? What goes into their creation?

How Are Explainer Videos Made?

Explainer videos have a simple structure that intends to convey the message of the business. Normally these videos appear on the business’ homepage. This is intentional on the part of the business.

It is meant to immediately pull the viewer in as they open the website page. The immediate pull of the video is the first key component of explainer videos.

The first step to creating your explainer video is to create the video dialogue and script. We will deep dive into this a little later. But, for now, this is the first part of your video creation.

Next, you will need to record the dialogue. Try your best to match the pace of your dialogue with the occurring video format. And, this dialogue needs to be edited before syncing it with your video images.

In some cases, explainer videos do not have animation. Rather, they may use live-action recordings of actors or actresses. In such cases, you will need to record your dialogue and footage at the same time.

Unless you still use a narrator who speaks behind the scenes explaining the service. Then, the dialogue is usually recorded separately from the rest of the video footage.

Next, these videos need to be edited and formatted properly. This may include cutting dialogue or cutting certain clips of your images. Remember, you want your video to be short to catch and keep your viewer’s attention.

Currently, 65% of viewers skip video ads before they finish, or even before they get close to finishing. Even if you do not gain revenue from ad views, this is still bad.

This is why it is so vital to keep your video brief and intriguing. You don’t want to put all that work into the video construction to have it lost.

What Are the Different Types of Explainer Videos?

There are typically five types of explainer videos out there. They usually follow similar structures of introducing the product/service to the viewer. After this, they explain why the viewer may need them. Finally, these videos conclude with a call to action asking the viewer to check it out!

Actually, the structure of these explainer videos is similar to many types of blog posts, especially those blog posts that are geared towards getting the reader to perform a certain action.

These articles engage in SEO (search engine optimization) production. This intends to have them rank high on Google.

Here are the top five types of explainer videos:

• 2D designed graphics and 2D infographics
• Screencast videos
• Word displays (kinetic word display videos)
• Live-action or person to person
• Whiteboard animation

These video types have different specific purposes. Depending on your intentions, some are better suited for different businesses. We will discuss them in more detail as we proceed!

What Is the Best Kind of Explainer Video?

The best type of explainer videos is specialized to the platform on which they display. What makes a great explainer video depends on your platform. Sometimes a very short message is best, but sometimes you can stretch the length of the video out a little.

And, the formats you take also depend on the platform you select. What platforms may you have your explainer video displayed?

Some popular platforms include social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. But remember that you will also be putting this video on your blog/website and YouTube.

So, how can you optimize these videos to perform well on each site?

Here are several aspects that make great explainer videos for any platform:

• Cute not overwhelming animation
• Clear message
• Tone of voice
• Fewer than 200 words

To discuss each of these descriptions in detail, let’s dive in.

The animation and/or live-action visuals should be appealing but not overwhelming. This is done to ensure the viewer likes the video without feeling distracted by the actions.

The message must be clear so that the viewer does not feel lost. If you want the viewer to buy milk from you, make this clear. Start your video by stating you are a milk company and explain what sets you apart.

The last two instructions can be summed up together. If you wish your video to hold the viewers’ attention, you should strive for it to be less than 200 words. This is very hard, to say the least, but with an effective writer, the words can be few and powerful.

What Makes an Explainer Video Effective?

We already discussed what attributes make explainer videos effective. But we touched only briefly on the different platforms and how these impact your business.

Based on your business, you should advertise on certain platforms. One aspect to consider is what is your content about? What age group does your product target? Are they older or younger audiences?

This may seem like meaningless information tidbits, but they’re not.

Each social media platform has a different demographic of users. Asking why explainer videos are effective is the key to understanding these statistics.

For example, Facebook has an audience ranging from the mid-twenties to the early thirties. They also have a higher male demographic than females. When creating your explainer video, ask yourself about these demographics.

Your marketing strategy should be different for this age group than for Tiktok or Snapchat. Each of these apps has a much younger demographic who are accustomed to brief and entertaining videos.

Older audiences are looking for engaging and informative videos. On platforms such as Facebook, a longer video may do well. But, on websites such as Snapchat, you’ll want it to be significantly shorter.

What Kinds of Companies Need Explainer Videos?

Almost any industry can create a video marketing campaign. But certain industries do exceptionally well with explainer videos.

These include the following:

• Financial industries
• Educational industries
• Nonprofit industries
• Technological industries

Part of the reason these industries do so well with graphic advertising is their products. Financial industries can create informative little infographics containing coins and dollar signs. These images convey wealth and security to the viewer.

Educational industries can create informative and fun content for their audiences. Perhaps a school or some other institution can benefit a lot by creating a math or science video. Viewers may come to the site in search of help and end up desiring their services as a result.

Nonprofits and volunteer advocates can create non-violent yet informational pieces. Non-violent yet informative content can attract young viewers.

Technology companies benefit a lot from these videos. With the small bite-sized videos, they can inform even the least knowledgeable viewer. This is useful for helping less technologically informed individuals understand tech products.

No one really wants to purchase a product they don’t understand. By creating explanation videos in a digestible way, you can lure in more business.

Should Your Explainer Video Be Animated?

Generally speaking, explainer videos should be animated. It’s one of the most effective means of return on investment out there.

This is because it combines the effect of voice over with easy to follow infographics. Live-action videos are an effective way to draw in viewers. But, for explainer content, animation is a much more effective system.

Another factor contributing to this success is the placement of the product in the video. Similar to how SEO content must avoid keyword stuffing, your videos can’t be obvious.

People do not want to feel they are having a product shoved down their throats. You want to inform the customer as to why the product is necessary. This should be done without saying this outright.

What Makes a Great Explainer Video Script?

To create a great explainer script, you will want to first lay out what the script is about. This may seem totally obvious, but having an unclear plan of action can lead to your message becoming lost.

Your first step should be to identify the goal of the video. Once you have this goal well in your mind, you should identify your audience. Knowing your audience combined with knowledge of your product will make your video engaging.

Make your tone match your brand. This means the speed and tone of voice you take in your script should be reflective of your product. For example, if you are trying to market a sleeping aide, you will want your voice to be calm and soothing.

And you should keep your speed to a slower rate as well. But a sports product should denote speed and agility. You want the viewer to feel like they are energized when they hear your script.

Last, make sure you connect with the listener a couple of times throughout the script. If you only speak in the third person, the listener won’t feel they are a part of the dialogue. Speaking in a passive and unengaged voice will not end in your client feeling they are present.

Top Ten Explainer Videos

Now that we know what goes into creating an explainer video, let’s go deeper. Here are some explainer video examples that exemplify these standards very well.

In each section, we provided a sample video and a small breakdown of why it’s effective. We hope you find these videos engaging and informative.

1. Infographic Videos

Infographic videos use data and images to convey their messages. In this example video for Zentaris, the producers stuck to a steady tone throughout.

By doing so, the narrator creates a sense of confidence in the listener. You can see from the video that the intent is for the viewer to come away feeling empowered.

And they see from the content that this empowerment can be delivered by the company. Last, by shifting the focus back and forth between the voice and the image, the audience relates the two.

Finding ways to connect the tone and the image is a powerful tool!

2. Historical Informative Videos

The tone of voice in this video is much more urgent sounding than in the last. The purpose of this video is to make us feel empathy with the topic discussed.

A topic such as modern slavery in Australia is an intense topic to cover. But the amazing part is, they capture the viewer’s attention in only 19 seconds.

This means they will not run the risk of losing the audience before they offer the solution. Pay close attention to the music that plays throughout the flow of images.

We see images of workers and individuals crying while soothing heartbreak music plays. By combining these images with the music, the audience can feel they relate to the topic.

3. Financial Management Software (Trapeze EAM)

This video operates similarly to the infographics video. However, there are some important distinctions.

First, in this video for Trapeze EAM, the narrator starts by explaining the issue. They explain that many managers do not realize the lifecycle of their business.

The purpose of the product is also explained right at the outset of the video. This product intends to extend the life of your assets. It then proceeds to explain how this product can help you accomplish this.

Last, the music is an uplifting and encouraging theme. It helps you feel some sense of hope, where you might have been feeling overwhelmed.

4. Educational Advocacy Video (NSW)

This video creates a very engaging atmosphere with the viewer. By employing a whiteboard background, the creator can make it feel like a classroom.

This is the perfect method to employ in a system that seeks to encourage educational endeavours. By making the graphics match the speaker, the viewer can follow along easily.

When the narrator says “success” the image shifts to the hand drawing a staircase. On it, a girl climbs upward while the hand writes “success” with an arrow.

This sort of image engagement helps the listener follow along very easily. It also ensures the viewer will not get lost at any point.

5. Famous DropBox Video

This video has become very popular amongst those seeking to expand their business. DropBox created this video years ago and has seen their subscriptions skyrocket as a result.

In this video, the narrator wisely identifies a common issue: disorganization. Everyone has trouble keeping track of all of their documents and wallet. And, they provide a great example of a boy travelling to Africa.

They explain how this service provides an answer to lost items, and how you can travel with ease of mind knowing your data is safe.

6. Disolve’s Standard Format

This video is sort of a piece of hyperbole about explainer videos and advertisements. However, Dissolve’s video helps to illustrate how images relate to the product.

By showing images of hardworking individuals, advertisers want you to feel they relate. When advertisers show time passing and people scuffling about, they want you to feel that pressure.

However, they also usually tie in images of nature and tropical paradise. They want you to come away with a positive relation to their company.

Even though the video is funny, they make some excellent observations of how this system works.

7. Explainer Video: Eswitch

This video is amazing because it makes you feel concerned about turning off light switches. This is something many of us do not stress out about regularly.

But, in this video, the narrator illustrates how frustrating sports lights can be. If left on, the team loses valuable money over nothing. But what if you are at home and don’t know whether the light were turned off or not?

That is where this product can help. This is an excellent way to pitch your product, and an excellent way to keep the viewer feeling like they may in fact need this.

8. Slack

Slack created an image video with colours and edges that match their product. The edges are sharp and the colours are bright. And, we get a clear message despite there being no words throughout the video.

This highlights the power behind the images and their structure. It also helps to convey the ways in which sound impacts perception.

Throughout the video, we hear a recurring alarm and buzzing. This is to say, don’t stress about due dates. Slack can help your team stay focused.

9. Chipotle’s Bright Explanation

Chipotle plays with colours very well in this video. The images convey a deep message that relates to the purpose of the company: back to the start.

They show simple farmers raising happy pigs on a large farm. This image says “this is the way it should be”. This is supported by the colourful additions throughout the video.

As things become more city-like, greys and clouds are seen. This conveys the message that things are no longer okay. And, the image of the pigs being turned into cubes of meat is clean yet precise.

Without showing blood or gore, the viewer knows the message is that pigs are now unhappy.

10. Engaging Volunteer Advocacy

The final video does an excellent job of encouraging the viewer to engage. In this nonprofit volunteering advocacy video, the message says, “Come on!”

The purpose of the tone is to inform. But, the images show different people from all walks of life. By doing this, the video shows that there are people just like you out there volunteering.

They use diverse people and state that volunteers range from students to professionals. Everyone and anyone can benefit from volunteering.

This helps the viewer feel they belong. And, they are more likely to join as a result of this feeling!

Why Should You Use Explainer Videos?

You may have come to this article wondering, why use explainer videos? Explainer videos help you get your message across in a fun and engaging manner.

You do this when you create images people relate to with a script that catches their eyes. And, you do not need to feel like you aren’t ready to get started!

Our team at Punchy Digital Media can help you generate the results you’ve been after! Contact us for a free quote and start drawing in new clients!