The 7 Keys Ingredients of a Great Explainer Video

An explainer video is a very short animated video used to introduce a concept, product, website, company, or anything else that has many details. The explainer video is short, usually between 1 – 3 minutes, and is usually presented in the form of a cartoon. These videos can either include talking characters, a narrator, or both.

Sounds easy enough, right? But how exactly do you make an effective explainer video that your audience will like, share and engage with through social media? The first thing that you need to do is to understand the basic structure of a great explainer video. Without understanding the proper construction of the various types of explainer videos, it will be very difficult to create an interesting and compelling message that will capture and satisfy your audience’s attention.

Here are the 7 fundamental necessities of a great explainer video:

1. PROVIDE A CLEAR EXPLANATION

The most critical step you will take is to ensure that your explanation is clear and easy to understand. Your goal is to help your audience learn the topic at hand. In order to do so successfully, you must make sure that your video can easily be understood by at least a fifth grader. There is no point in creating an explainer video that is difficult to understand; you will lose your audience in a matter of seconds.

2. OFFER AN INTERESTING PRESENTATION

Your viewers have chosen your video because they want to learn about a particular subject. If your presentation is boring and monotonous, they will scroll right by your video and move on to your competitor’s videos. Explanations can be made more exciting and interesting through the use of creative animation. I personally like whiteboard videos for business. Oftentimes, multiple explainer videos will be “hosted” by the same main character or narrator. This allows you to be able to increase the affinity towards your identity and your brand quite easily via your videos.

3. REMAIN FOCUSED BEGINNING TO END

The goal of your video is to explain a detailed or difficult concept in a succinct, easy-to-understand fashion. Your audience is expecting this video to remain focused on the main topic with no distractions. It is best to create an outline of your key message and important points your video needs to cover. This will ensure your audience receives the explanation they are looking for and are not confused by unrelated topics.

4. HIGHLIGHT THE BENEFITS

A great explainer video should feature the benefits the audience can expect rather than the features of the product or service. While the seller is eager to highlight all of the features of his product, the only the the buyer cares about is, “How will it make my life easier?”

If you successfully answer this question for each of your prospective buyers, you will create a booming business.

5. KEEP IT SHORT & TO THE POINT

It’s time to implement the old K.I.S.S. model of explanations: “Keep It Simple…”. The most successful explainer videos are right about 2 minutes in length, and leave no question in the buyer’s mind about how the product or service will improve their lives.

THERE ARE ALSO 4 CRITICAL ELEMENTS THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED IN YOUR EXPLAINER VIDEO:

• Empathize with your customer. Let them know you fully understand their problem.
• Resolve their problem and alleviate their pain with your product or service.
• Explain clearly how your product works and how it will resolve their problem.
• Call them to action. Direct them to order your product and minimize their stress ‘right now.’

6. BREAK IT DOWN IN STEPS OR LISTS

Simple steps and brief lists are 2 important tools to use when explaining detailed information. Similar to the outline, steps and lists can easily help you condense the topic into a few easy-to-digest points, which will enable you to explain it more thoroughly. Remember, these videos are very short. Therefore, you shouldn’t offer too many steps or lists in your video itself. Instead, choose to use 3-5 steps or points to highlight in your explainer video.

7. USE A VOICEOVER PROFESSIONAL

You need to use a professional voice-over artist for your explainer video. Moreover, you need to ensure that the artist has an appropriate and attractive tone of voice for the specific product you are selling. Are you explaining the technical aspects of a diesel engine? You probably do not want the voice of a teenager. Are you explaining the cool features of the latest game console? You might need to steer away from using an elderly person for the voiceover. Additionally, always be sure to keep the tone of voice light and fun for your explainer video.

The explainer video market is a unique advertising medium, and the market is growing at lightning speed these days. As you begin to create your explainer videos, remember that following the 7 tips above will not only help you create meaningful, exciting videos, they will help increase your bottom line and return on investment.