Secrets of the Best Explainer Videos (+3 Examples)

Marketing explainer videos are the bridge between great products and services and the customers who need them to solve a problem or fulfill a need. If you consider that consumers watch an average of 90 minutes of online video every day, it’s no surprise that an animated explainer video is one of the most powerful tools you have to grab viewer attention and tell your brand story.

So what’s the secret to creating a video that gets results? Here are a few proven best practices for creating a standout explainer video, along with three examples of some of the best we’ve seen.

Follow the formula

One of the best things about marketing videos is the freedom they give brands to highlight their creativity. There is no “cookie cutter” method for creating great video content. If there were, audiences would quickly lose interest and video would lose its storytelling power. There are, however, a few proven steps that will help achieve the right results and convert viewers into customers.

Don’t skip the creative brief

While it may be tempting to skip out on writing a creative brief for your video project–don’t. The creative brief will serve as your guide throughout the entire production process to keep the message on track and the project in scope. Above all, as you plan your video, keep it under two minutes, if possible, for maximum viewer engagement.

Use a professional scriptwriter

You might have the best animations and message on the planet, but without the right script to communicate with your viewers, your video will fall flat. Invest in a professional scriptwriter to take your creative brief and turn it into a clear, concise story that viewers will remember. Don’t forget to include a strong call to action somewhere inside your story.

Create your storyboard

After you have your script, it’s time to sketch out the vision for your video. If you don’t know where to start, an explainer video company can help bring your script to life. It all starts with a scene-by-scene description of the story you want to tell. A storyboard is simply that visual map of the story from start to finish.

Animations

This is where the best explainer videos separate themselves from the rest. Humans are visual creatures and remember far more of what they see than what they hear or read. The sky is the limit when it comes to animated explainer videos, but one thing is certain– animations partner with your script to help drive your message home to your target audience.

Voiceover and music

You’ve worked hard to create the perfect message with the perfect script and the perfect animations. Don’t ruin it with a bad voiceover or the wrong music. Enlist the help of a professional voiceover artist and a royalty-free soundtrack to bring it all together.

3 of the best explainer videos

Now that you know the secret sauce for creating great explainer videos let’s take a look at a few of our favorites and why they resonate with viewers.

1. Crazy Egg

Explainer videos should do three main things: explain a product or a service, illustrate how the product or service solves a problem for the viewer, and convince the viewer that the product or service is the best possible solution available.

Crazy Egg does an excellent job of explaining the problem right away: low conversion rates. They continue by communicating the struggles and expense of implementing other, more complicated, more expensive tools, and then immediately show viewers their solution in a very simple, visual way, using a combination of heat maps and graphics. The narration follows the style of the graphics with simple language and a casual tone, and they close with a strong call to action to sign up for a free trial. The whole video was just over two minutes long, but it effortlessly accomplished all three of the goals of an effective explainer video.

2. Spotify

We love the creative direction that Spotify took with this explainer video. “But wait–didn’t you just say that good explainers videos need a professional voiceover? This is just music.” We did, and it’s true for nearly every brand. In this case, however, Spotify ties their product (music) into the very foundation of their explainer video, letting the music tell the story (along with a few well-timed text graphics). Coupled with the movement between animations and live people, this video is engaging without speaking a single word about the brand.

Spotify is a great example of creatively differentiating your brand from run-of-the-mill videos. An explainer video company can help you take your message and personalize it into a memorable story that viewers relate to and will remember.

3. Microsoft

https://youtu.be/qeEfHuBUdb8

Microsoft uses their explainer video to take a complex topic and distill it into simple terms in seconds of video time. Despite their brand recognition and global reach, they understand that not every viewer immediately understands their offering and how it will solve a problem.

With strategic animations that perfectly complement the narration, Microsoft takes viewers through a visual explanation of cloud technology and how it helps solve a variety of business challenges. In a great explainer video, the voiceover will not overshadow or distract from the animations– and vice versa. Microsoft is the perfect example of a video that follows the tried-and-true path of brevity, storytelling, and high-quality animations, scripting, and voiceover.

Ready to create an explainer video that gets noticed?

Now that you know the secret formula and what it takes to create an explainer video that converts, contact the Explainify team to help tell your unique story. Some of the world’s biggest brands rely on Explainify to capture their message, show their products in action, and create a video that resonates with audiences and inspires them to act.