Explainer Videos: Explained

Explaining is a natural part of human communication, whether or not we realize how many explanations we provide daily. Think about everything you’ve explained just this week: a concept to a coworker, how to get to your office building, the benefits behind your services, and so on. These types of explanations work because you are in direct communication with a person or group of people – an opportunity you don’t often have with visitors to your website.

That’s where explainer videos come in.

Explainer videos aim to – as the name suggests – explain a business model, product or service in order to engage website visitors and familiarize them with your brand. As explainer videos continue to expand in popularity and intricacy, the time to add them to your business’ marketing toolbelt is now before your company slips behind the competition.

What Is An Explainer Video?

An explainer video is generally a 1-3 minute long video used to elaborate on a service, product or announcement related to your business. Explainer videos differ from other types of marketing videos because they aim to educate rather than advertise. Rather than simply promoting a product or service, these videos demonstrate value to your website visitors by explaining the problem their product or service is trying to solve, along with how the viewer will benefit from using that product or service.

A successful explainer video piques the user’s interest by informing and entertaining without taking up too much time. Take the explainer video we made for Springpoint Senior Living, for example. This video introduces relatable characters, explains Springpoint Senior Living’s business model, and illustrates how their services would be valuable to the viewer – all in just two and a half minutes.

Why Use An Explainer Video?

Explainer videos have several advantages over traditionally written explanations and descriptions. For starters, videos are significantly more engaging than simply reading a wall of text. With vast amounts of content on the web to choose from, website visitors will be impatient and unlikely to stay on one page for an extended period of time if they are unable to quickly and easily consume information. The average website visitor has an attention span of about 8 seconds – fail to capture their attention in that brief time span, and they’ll likely move onto the next website without hesitation.

Another benefit to explainer videos is broadening your audience by appealing to visual learners. A reported 65% of the population prefers to learn visually. Explainer videos benefit those with this learning style preference by presenting unfamiliar concepts with a familiar narrative using both visual and auditory cues. After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine how many a video must be worth?

Something else that sets explainer videos apart from their written explanatory counterparts is their shareability factor. Perhaps you’re sharing your explainer video on social media in order to reach new eyes across platforms, or maybe you’re sharing it with reporters in hopes of receiving media placement. No matter the objective, an explainer video’s unique format provides you with the advantage of standing out against a sea of bland and formulaic posts, pitches and emails. Clearly convey your message and demonstrate value to your readers, and you will increase the likelihood of your explainer video being shared through a variety of mediums.

Are Explainer Videos Really Worth The Investment?

Simply put, yes – and contrary to popular belief, they aren’t as costly of an investment as one might think.

SEO Advantage

Consumers have a penchant for informative videos, and it turns out search engines do too. According to research reported by Search Engine Watch, a well-optimized explainer video is 53 times more likely to appear on the front page of a Google search than other forms of static content. This does not mean incorporating an explainer video into your marketing strategy guarantees an SEO boost. Make sure you are using appropriate titles, meta descriptions and raw file names containing contextualized keywords in order to reap the SEO benefits.

Conversion Rate Advantage

This serves a dual benefit for both your business and your audience. If a website visitor is reading a simple block of text on your website, they could theoretically skim the page in 30 seconds and move onto another website. Present that same exact information in an explainer video, however, and you could be holding their interest on your page for as long as three minutes. Not only will they receive a better understanding of what your business has to offer, but you will also be decreasing your bounce rate by keeping visitors on your website longer.

Hold your audience’s attention for the duration of your explainer video, and they will be more likely to explore your website further and/or initiate a conversation with your team. Information combined with value and entertainment is the winning formula to convert casual website visitors into long-term customers.

Cost Advantage

If you’re looking to expand your marketing efforts without breaking the bank, consider looking into animated explainer videos. Live video production often requires actors, a filming location and videography equipment – all of which can get costly and time consuming. Animated explainer videos, on the other hand, can be completed in as little as a few hours using professional animation software and a microphone. While both live action and animated explainer videos serve the same purpose, look into going the animated route to get the best bang for your buck.

What Are You Explaining?

Now that we’ve gone through the benefits of an explainer video, the next step is to decide what exactly you want to explain to your audience. Do you have a new product or service to announce, or do you have a unique business model that would benefit from more elaboration than one can provide on a static about page? No matter the topic, it’s important to narrow down the focus, audience and objective in order to craft an explainer video that best accomplishes your company’s primary goals.

Deciding on an angle, script and storyboard can be a difficult undertaking, especially without any background in creating explainer videos previously. To make the biggest impact with your business’ explainer video, consider hiring a digital marketing agency with the experience, equipment and creativity needed to bring your vision to life. Whether you’re eager to get started or just looking for some advice, chat with our team to learn more about how our explainer video services can help your business attract new leads that convert.