Time is money.
And one of the biggest time commitments for your business is explaining your company’s products or services to potential prospects.
You want to know how to consistently and effectively save more time — and to reallocate that time to make more money. We all do, right?
Making explainer videos is the answer. And if you’re wondering how to create an explainer video, look no further. We walk you through how to make an explainer video and what it should include.
Explainer videos are short marketing videos used to explain your company’s products or services. They can have a powerful impact on audiences.
Think of an explainer video as your “elevator pitch.” The elevator door opens. Your potential customer gets on. You’ve got about one minute to share your vision and hook them in. What do you say? How do you present yourself?
Explainer videos:
There are many ways to create explainer videos. At Ridgeline Media Marketing, the direction we take depends on the desired objective and your target audience. Let’s take a look at four common types of explainer videos.
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Live-action explainer videos use actors, presenters, or real customers to explain or review your product or service.
This is a great option when you want to connect with your viewers on an emotional level — and especially for people-oriented products and services.
Live-action explainer videos are among the most expensive types of videos to produce, as they can require actors and props.
The biggest benefits of live-action explainer videos are that they are often seen as being more:
This helps build a strong emotional connection between your viewer and your message.
Take a look at this video live-action explainer video created by Ridgeline Media Marketing.
Whiteboard explainer videos use a whiteboard with hand-drawn artwork to create a style of animation.
The primary benefit of using whiteboard explainer videos is the low cost. If you’re working within a tight budget, this can be a good option for you — especially if you have a good script and high-quality animation.
Many viewers appreciate having content created right before their eyes. If you need to communicate a bigger topic within the context of its smaller parts, whiteboard explainer videos may work well for your needs.
This Elevations Credit Union video demonstrates how a whiteboard explainer video can offer a short and to-the-point, yet interesting, presentation.
Animated explainer videos are ideal for explaining abstract or intangible ideas, such as software, where live-action videos might be impossible.
These videos can allow for more creativity in the video’s concept. Plus, they’re easily updated, allowing for more flexibility and future changes.
Because of their versatility, animated explainer videos can be a more expensive option.
This video is a good example of using animation to better explain software.
Screencast explainer videos work to show how the application functions by incorporating imagery from a screen while a website, software, or application is in use. Essentially, it’s a recording of a computer screen.
They can be effective for showing customers how to interact with new apps or features, reducing many pages of information to a video.
Screencast explainer videos can be thought of as the budget-friendly version of live-action videos — and actors aren’t required.
They can be a popular option for start-up tech companies with limited income.
This QuickBooks demonstration video is a good example of a screencast explainer video.
At the minimum, a killer explainer video includes:
You have two options when you need to make an explainer video:
Filming one yourself could be time-consuming to do correctly — especially if you have no experience.
If you think you’re ready to tackle it yourself, below are simple, low-budget steps to help get you started.
The script is where you’ll need to spend the majority of your focus. A well-written script is a key to a successful explainer video.
Even if you hire a production company, it’s best to write your explainer video script yourself.
You know your target customers better than anyone else:
Your explainer video will address those questions and offer answers.
Keep in mind these five tips when writing your explainer video script:
Once you have your script, you’ll need to do the voice-over.
There are a lot of options out there. Talent sites such as Voices and Fiverr are popular for finding affordable voice-over artists.
Make sure your voice-over is professional and high-quality.
When you’re ready to begin filming, you can simply use your iPhone:
Then, use a video editing app on your iPhone to piece it all together.
Music can evoke all types of emotions, and it helps set the tone of your explainer video.
You may already have the perfect song in mind before or during production. But most of the time, you’ll need to research music once the video is complete.
Search for music that fits the mood of your video. You can find plenty of options online. AudioJungle and Premium Beat are great options to get you started.
Measure video engagement — and be ready to make any changes necessary to improve your video’s performance.
YouTube Insight can offer some solid data tracking. But if you want to dive deeper into your explainer video’s performance, check out Google Analytics.
If you want to go even deeper and see where your audience pauses and how much of the video they watch, Wistia is another source to check out. It can pair well with Google Analytics.
Not quite ready to make an explainer video yourself? Wanting a professional explainer video that gets results?
Look no further than Ridgeland Media Marketing. We create explainer videos to help you:
We study your target audience to ensure the videos we produce fall into the right hands. We know what works.
Contact us today to learn more and schedule your strategy call.