The Complete Guide to Explainer Videos for Any Business Objective

If you are a business owner who is struggling to explain your brand to your audience, explainer videos are just what you need! 

A good quality explainer video is a great way to create instant engagement with your audience, create awareness about your brand, and convert more sales. 

In fact, an explainer video increases the customer’s buying incentives by 97%! 

Explainer videos include both text and video, so gone are the days when infographics used to rule the online world.

So, what is an explainer video exactly? And how can you create one that will actually work, so you are not wasting your hard-earned money and time on something that has no positive effect? 

Thankfully, we have all the answers for you! Keep on reading to learn what an explainer video is, and why creating one will skyrocket your sales. 

Let’s get started!

How Explainer Videos Help Businesses

Explainer Videos are a clear and concise way to showcase your brand’s message to your viewers. This, in turn, creates space for them to relate to your mission, which almost inevitably, leads them to make a purchase.

As a business owner, you know how difficult it is to stand out from your competition, especially if you are in a saturated niche. There are some key reasons why your business would benefit from explainer videos:

Clarify Your Objective

Have you ever read a description of a business, and still felt confused about what it is they actually do? Due to multiple definitions of the same word and different perceptions, there is so much information that can be misconstrued through just text alone.  

Explainer videos help your audience to identify with your business, without the guessing game. Watching a video is much more digestible and easier to understand.

When your potential customers relate to what you do and why you do it, they are more willing to become a loyal customer.

Rank Higher on Google

Google’s algorithm has many elements that lead to better rankings. One of those key elements is a lower bounce rate. This happens when your visitors come across your website, then quickly abandon it because they thought it was about something else. 

The longer your visitors stay on your page, the lower your bounce rates will be. This is why adding an explainer video is the perfect answer to keeping your visitors intrigued and stick around. 

Grab Your Audience’s attention

Many business owners miss the point when they are trying to grab attention from their online viewers. Many will stuff their website full of photos and colourful graphics in hopes of drawing in more customers.  

This will only slow down their website, which will increase bounce rates and ruin their SERP rankings. 

Instead, use all of that creative energy and put it in an explainer video, with a clear and concise description of your brand. 

Showcase Your Personality

Text can only go so far when you are trying to showcase a brand, it is limited due to multiple perceptions of values and words. Speaking to your audience in physical form is the best way to get them to relate to you and convert them into loyal customers.

When you speak to the camera, your tone of voice and non-verbal communication will help you to express your passion in a way that draws in a sense of trust and deeper connection with your viewers. 

Increase Your Conversion Rates

Everyone remembers the humorous Old Spice commercials with the “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign. These videos were for more than just entertainment, as their sales increased by 107% in the first year of the campaign! 

People are more likely to purchase a product once they watch an explainer video, and choose you over your competition that does not have any videos.

Why Explainer Videos Are Effective

Many business owners have a difficult time expressing their business in a way that their audience can comprehend. This usually leaves them with over-sharing with too many words which confuses them even more.

The brain science behind why explainer videos are so effective is quite simple, they incorporate multiple senses such as auditory and visual stimulus to engage the viewer to keep watching.

In neuroscience, there is a study called “Dual-Coding”. During this study, scientists were able to discover which areas of the brain were activated during the specific stimulus. 

They discovered that people are more likely to only retain 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, and then it jumps up to 68% when all senses are combined. This means that there is a whopping 580% greater retention of information when a company uses an explainer video to describe their brand.

If an explainer video is done correctly, the audience is more likely to continue watching a video that they actually have no previous interest in! 

Some other reasons why explainer videos are so effective are:

• Videos are shared on social media more than any other content, making it easier to get your videos seen rather than being stuck on Youtube or LinkedIn 
• They are brief and well-scripted to capture the audience’s attention while being clear and concise about your brand
• Gives you space to embrace your creative side, using funny animation or whatever embraces your personality
• It is much more affordable than hiring a videographer to film live-action scenes of your business
• Using animation opens many doors of opportunity for explaining your business in a fun and exciting way, there are no limits to what animation can do
• Certain emotions are hard to describe in words, which limits you when using only text. When speaking to the camera, you now have your energy, expressions, tone of voice, and other non-verbal communication to explain yourself and your business.
• The use of your voice, along with the text on the screen and the animation of the video make it irresistible to watch, no matter what your niche is. 

How To Write Explainer Video Script

This is perhaps the most important part of your explainer video. The script is what draws in emotion and relatability with your audience, so if your explainer video is dry, it will seem unappealing. 

You could create the most exciting graphics ever known to mankind, but if your script doesn’t match it, you are basically wasting your time. Plus, you only have around two minutes to gain attention and interest, so it must be desirable. 

Set an Intention

Before you begin writing your script, you need to become clear with what your intention is for the explainer video. Are you wanting to create more engagement and connect with your audience? Are you trying to explain the purpose of your business? Are you just trying to create more sales? 

Being clear with your intention will help you to curate your explainer video script in a more captivating way. 

Process Overview

The process overview explains your product or services, how it is done, and a bit about who you are here to help. Outline your explanations in clear steps so that it moves fluidly to the next point efficiently.

Problem and Solution

This type of explainer video describes in detail who your business is a hero for, and why. It is vital that you explain the problems in a relatable way, from the shoes of your target customer. Then describe how you have the solutions for them in greater detail than the problem. You want your audience to fantasize about the solutions that you have for them, not wallow in their sorrows.

Break Down the Story 

No matter what type of business you have, from being a business consultant to a financial guru, you need to explain your video in an easy way. Explain your business like you were talking to a 5th-grade student, however, not in a condescending way. 

Even if your audience is highly-educated, you need to explain it simply, so that they are able to explain it simply to others as your video is passed on. Follow the “KISS” principle, keep it simple, silly!

Talk With, Not at Your Audience

This is one of the biggest mistakes that businesses make when scripting explainer videos. They speak in their own language, which completely confuses and throws off the audience. Remember that your potential customers do not speak in your business lingo, they care about how they will benefit, not the science behind your process.

Consider Presidents, for example, they target their scripts towards people with a 6th-grade language level. This way, they know that no one is left out and everyone can understand. 

Speaking in second-voice is another great way to connect with your viewers, and helps you to speak with, not to your audience. 

Incorporate Emotion

In order for someone to really connect with your brand, you must pull on their heartstrings a little. Use quotes, statistics, short stories, anecdotes, and anything that sparks an emotional response.

The more you can “humanize” your brand, the more people are willing to support you. You are their new friend for support, not a generic robotic business with no emotion. 

Keep it Short

If you haven’t engaged your audience in the first 10 seconds, you have a 45% chance of losing their interest. Your video must be impactful from the start. Once you have created your script, read it out loud numerous times. You will notice that you may have to remove nearly half of the words you originally used.

Keeping your explainer video short is nearly magical. That is why it is highly recommended that you seek a professional explainer video creator for assistance. 

Keep the Flow

If your video is animated, especially with handwriting, you need to ensure your language flows from one word to another. Avoid adding any clunky words that disrupt the flow.

One of the greatest writers of all time, Ernest Hemingway, stated that:

“He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use”. 

Try not to impress people with your words, and aim to impress them with how you will solve their problems. 

What Makes A Good Explainer Video

There are a few qualities that make an explainer video seem legendary, these qualities may seem simple, but incorporating them together in your video takes some practice and skill.

Having an Effective Script

As explained above, a script is the longest process of your explainer video and needs to be curated for your intention. 

Solving Someone’s Problems

Remember that the more you can show that you are here to solve someone’s problem’s, the more your audience will connect to and support your brand. This also includes knowing your target audience and what their pain points are. 

Explain the Value

Describe how your business will benefit someone else, without bragging about all the fine points about your brand. Use clear examples of situations in which your business can help them.

Be Exciting

With today’s monkey mind mentality, everyone’s attention span is about as short as a two-year-old. Your video must have some fun and exciting elements to captivate your audience’s interests. 

Use Visuals

Think of where you can include a visual image instead of just trying to explain the image, this saves time from describing the scene when you can easily just show the scene. Whiteboard videos are an excellent way to describe a scene in a fun, exciting way. 

Incorporate the Right Music

The music can make or break the tone of your explainer video. Music sets the mood and draws in emotion for people, so choose wisely on your music of choice. 

Include a Call to Action

Your video needs to have a prompt to encourage your viewers to take action at the end. This could be a link to your website or social media, or it could be to your course or products that you have to share. This depends on the intention that you set in the beginning. 

Learn More About What is An Explainer Video and Create Yours Today! 

There you have it! The complete answer to your questions of what is an explainer video exactly, and how to create one that will skyrocket your business.

If you would like to learn more, get in touch with us for your free quote today!