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What is an explainer video?

An explainer video is a short video that helps your customer understand the business closely. This could also include the brand’s story for better connection. The video consists of a brief explanation of the products and services that are offered by the company.

Explainer videos have grown very popular benefiting the companies/brands in reaching their target audience. But how to make creative, effective explainer videos? That is the main catch!

Let’s understand it with these top 12 tips to create a killer explainer video.

1. What would you do without a better explainer video Script?

A well written script is the key to a successful explainer video. It’s the foundation upon which everything else is built. It’s good if you yourself write the script because you know your company very well. You know the product and services the company offers. You know the target audience and their needs that are to be catered! So, it’s easy to write and build the content for the desired script.  Sometimes, it’s good to have an outsider write the script. But, make sure to choose someone who can take a fresh look at the company and explain the function easily for better understanding.

Production companies offer a creative brief that one needs to fill first. This exercise helps you think about the business at a high level and makes you point out the part that matters the most. Here are some typical example questions:

-Quick elevator speech- product or service information in 1-2 sentences.

-Working of product or service

-Specific problem being solved

-Target audience

-Key Benefits

-Tone of video- professional, conversational, humorous

-Specific ideas or requests for the visual style- colors, characters, sketchy, cartoon, professional

-Call to action to mention- sign up today

2. How does a video sound in Morgan Freeman’s voice? Sleek and Sharp!

When most of us think of voice overs, we probably think of great actors like Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones or Amitabh Bachchan. We tend to associate voice over with having a really great voice. And while that can help, it’s not necessary. With practice, nearly anyone can do professional quality voice over work.

But still, in some cases, use a professional voice over. Nothing can ruin a video faster than poor audio. We have all heard it- the crackly voice over seemingly recorded on a Talkboy.

Or maybe the quality is fine, but the voice just doesn’t have the polish and delivery that a professional might provide.

Either way, investing in professional talent is a must. There are plenty of options out there, but a good place to start is Voices.com. Some other options could be craigslist, fiverr.

The essential elements of a good voice over are;

1.Audio clarity and volume

The clarity of your voice and a comfortable volume may be the most essential parts of great audio.

2. Pacing

Too fast and your audience won’t understand the context. Too slow and they are likely to get bored, doze off or simply move on.

3. Vocal tone and inflection

This refers to you speaking in a natural and pleasant manner. You want to be friendly and engaging, but not so much that you sound fake.

4. Pronunciation and enunciation

Ensure that you pronounce each word correctly and that you speak clearly enough to be understood. Avoid mumbling but don’t shout or enunciate, either.

3. Ever wondered what an explainer video with Amazing visuals could bring to the table?

Having an amazing Voice Over matters, the same way, videos with professional visuals are important too. However, they are not as important as you may think. There are plenty of videos with effective yet simple visuals, like the one of Eventbrite.

The key is using visuals that help illustrate the story and reinforce the voiceover. You are not looking to create the next Mega blockbuster movie with over the top animation. Too many cooks spoil the soup! Don’t over do it for a video of 2 to 3 mins. It might take away the attention from the main message and leave the audience clueless!

Think of an overall visual image that will convey the main message properly- for example whether it is some mechanical movement or is it related to emotions.

Try creating a rhythm throughout your visuals so the flow doesn’t break. And the message is conveyed seamlessly.

4. Music not only plays a beautiful part in real life, but also in the animated world!

It’s truly great what a song can do. Like video, music can evoke all types of emotions, and it has the ability to set the tone and pace of your explainer video.

At times, we do have this one song in our mind for that one specific video. Sometimes, it doesn’t fit the video as we wished for. It’s better to research the music after the video is made to fit the song according to the video’s tone. One can use services like Premiumbeat.com, Tunefruit, or audiojungle, they have thousands of options for $100 or less for adding some amazing music to your video.

Don’t forget to read the policies and license agreement before using the music. Some of the content is royalty free and others might charge some amount.

5. Did you ever get bored while watching a very lengthy video?

I am sure we all have sailed into that boat! Getting bored, losing interest, forgetting the main motto of the video as the end gets closer. So, we know that it’s really important to keep our explainer video short, crisp and to the point! This way the audience sticks to the video. Also, the less you say the more likely people are to remember

I came to know that the typical rule of thumb in an industry is to have 130 to 150 words per minute script in order to keep the audience involved.

Not to mention, the longer your video is, the less people will pay attention to it. And we also have the statistics to prove this.

6. What is your reaction when you come across tough words, complex content and confusing formations?

Well, we as humans tend to avoid anything that’s complex and hard to understand in the first attempt. So, we dust it under the carpet and move on! This should not be the case of your audience!

This is what I came across to develop a creative yet simple explainer video:

       –The problem- address the pain of your customer- 0 to 20 sec

       –The solution- introduce your product or service as an answer- 20 to 25 sec

       –How it works- a brief description of the product or service- 25 to 50 sec

       –A call to action- make people understand the next step- 50 to 60 sec

Here the video will look very concise, just the way it should be; small, crisp, clear and easy to understand.

7. It sure irritates when we see brands bragging about the features, but exactly do we expect instead?

Benefits are what we are looking for! Benefits create an emotional attachment, as it talks about how the product/service will be useful to sort the issues we are aching for. This informs people how this product/service will make their lives easy.

Your explainer video needs to tell the audience what they are expecting, what needs to be told. There is no point in repeating the information that your audience already knows. The better information would be, explaining to them how your product is different from others.

8. Who does not like to be entertained!

And the most important tip is to have fun. Develop a video that resonates with your audience by maintaining authenticity. So, it doesn’t matter who exactly is watching the video, keep in mind, people love being entertained.

Add something unique to your video, a touch of humor, a surprise element, something wacky, funny, this can go a long way.

At the end all that matters is getting people to smile and helping them connect with your content, with your brand in a way a simple website can’t.

9. Measure the performance of your explainer video

Digital marketers have jumped all over video marketing. It drives more engagement. It’s memorable. It’s hugely popular with consumers. Remember 80% of online traffic is “video”. So it’s very vital that you measure the performance of your video. Various tools like Talkwalker, Vimeo, Vidyard and so many more are available in the market to measure the performance.

With the help of google analytics you can go deeper down the rabbit hole to understand the video better to make the necessary changes.

10. There’s one tiny part of an explainer video, which is mighty!

Have you ever heard about the word- thumbnail. A great custom video thumbnail can make a huge difference when it comes to your audience clicking through the video out of curiosity because they found it interesting.

A thumbnail should have a clear text, bright colors if possible, logo, brand name, exciting graphics while keeping in mind that it is what people are going to glance at. So, make sure it catches their attention.

Do not forget to choose a custom thumbnail, if there are people involved, otherwise it will be picked up automatically and you might end up with a weird looking face on the thumbnail. So, when possible, show the close up face of the person speaking in a fun and inviting way with a smile.

Keep it optimized for any device.

11. Have you ever clicked on a video because you find the title very interesting?

Make sure to have a catchy title. Rename the explainer video file using a target keyword. But don’t just stuff the title with keywords, let it be natural.

Optimizing video description is another good way to attract the audience. This will also help them understand your product better.

Categorize your videos and tag them with popular keywords that relate to your video topic broadly. Use SRT file to add subtitles and closed captions. Also, you can add cards and end screens to increase your video’s viewership.

12. Disappointment happens when two things suffer from mismatch!

We all face disappointments when something that we came looking for is far different from what we had expected. So, make sure your video animation style, 2D, 3D or hybrid is in sync with the video story. This grabs attention and keeps the viewer engaged.

Make sure that each part of your animated character is layered properly to give it a better visual appearance.

The storyboard must depict the expected message in a stark, flamboyant way. Otherwise the animation starts declining.

Check here how to make killer Explainer Video!

Also Check – 8 things common in the best Explainer Video!

About Post Author

Media Lab

lisha@sndmedia.com

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