Every product or service requires explaining! So what better way to accomplish this challenging task that through an animated explainer video?
Explainer videos are among the most effective ways to capture users' attention and educate customers. In this post, we will cover 3 highly effective explainer video strategies that countless world-class marketers have used to increase engagement and conversions.
We'll provide an in-depth analysis of each strategy using real videos to help you fully grasp each concept. After reading, you'll be able to use these formulas for success in your next marketing campaign.
3 Explainer Video Strategies Proven to Convert
We've picked the 3 most effective explainer video strategies to help your video turn viewers into consumers. We'll provide a detailed explanation for each concept and give examples to show you how companies have implemented the strategies.
Keep in mind there isn't a rigid framework you need to follow when producing an explainer video. You'll notice that our examples feature elements of various strategies that help contribute to the goal of informing the viewer.
1. Storytelling
The first is storytelling. This strategy is typically used from the perspective of the founders or the consumer. You can show how the product or service can benefit the characters through a series of linear events or give a history of how and why the company began.
Stories help establish a connection with viewers. The challenges the character or characters face in the story should resonate with your audience, creating a relatable experience.
Tourbuds
The animated explainer video from Tourbuds follows a disappointed tourist traveling through Italy. He's restricted to a crowded tour bus as he makes his way through Rome, but after finding the Tourbuds app, he unlocks a GPS-mapped, local-assisted, digital tour guide for Venice and Florence.
Everyone has had a disheartening experience while visiting a popular tourist destination. Tourbuds uses storytelling to relate with a broad target audience who could benefit from a different approach to exploring a foreign destination.
Stacks City
Another excellent example of storytelling comes from a much more complex platform called Stacks City. The explainer follows a proprietary customer journey using blockchain to seamlessly connect the video's protagonist with a coffee farmer across the world.
Stacks City's business model includes distributing ads through public WIFI that can create a bridge between consumers, store owners, and advertisers using cryptocurrency. The process is complicated, but the explainer simplifies the concept using a story of a character enjoying a coffee at a café.
2. Problem-Solution
Addressing a problem common within your niche and offering a solution is a highly effective explainer video strategy. While most explainers use this framework in some form, overtly stating the problem and providing a clear solution is a proven formula to capture attention and increase conversions.
AdQuick
Here's how AdQuick opens its animated explainer video:
- "Online advertising costs are skyrocketing."
- "Facebook rates have doubled every year since 2011."
- "Are digital ads alone your best option?"
The marketers get directly to the problem, provide statistics to back up what their target market is probably already aware of, and asks a relatable question.
Then, AdQuick is explained as the solution to the problem - digital marketers can access outdoor advertising space from an online platform similar to Facebook and Google ads.
3. Objection Handling
Objection handling is similar to the problem-solution strategy but answers a common concern about a specific product or service. For example, if AdQuick wanted to take an objection-handling approach, they would ask a question like "why can't marketers view detailed analytical reports for outdoor advertising campaigns like they can with paid social media ads?" The question is more direct and targeted at the product or service presented in the explainer video.
The Watch Standard
The Watch Standard explainer above is an excellent example of objection-handling. As you can imagine, an expensive watch reseller has issues trusting a company that promises to buy a timepiece after it is shipped and inspected. The animated explainer video from The Watch Standard addresses this objection and provides a detailed example of how orders are insured and payments are handled.
What is an Explainer Video?
An explainer is a short-form video (typically between 30 seconds and 2 minutes) created to highlight a company's products or services. The format is highly efficient and covers the big-picture ideas of the business while answering the most obvious questions. An explainer video can be used on a company landing page, social media advertising, pre-roll, or even traditional TV commercials.
Useful Resource.
10 Simple Ways To Start Using Video For Business
Businesses use explainer videos to help spread awareness of their products or services by providing helpful information. Viewers should walk away understanding what the company does, how the product or service solves a problem, and how it can benefit their lives.
Benefits of Using Explainers as Video Marketing
There are many ways to implement videos in your marketing campaigns; however, if you want to give viewers the best explanation of your business possible, an animated explainer video is the way to go.
Affordability
Animated explainers are relatively cost-effective compared to live-action. There are far fewer moving parts when working with motion graphics than with actual human (or animal) actors. Really you just need animation software and a VO, but we highly recommend hiring a professional agency if you don't have experience producing animated video content.
You can expect to pay anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000 for a 60-second animated explainer video. While this is a significant investment, compared to tens or hundreds of thousands for live-action, animation is a fantastic deal and can offer the same if not more value.
Memorable Easy to Share Content
Explainers are highly versatile forms of video content. A well-done video explaining what your company offers can serve as the centerpiece of your company’s marketing. You can include explainers on your website, YouTube home page, and social channels. In addition, a creative explainer video has the potential of going viral and getting in front of millions of people overnight.
Explain Your Business Concept
Finally, the most significant benefit to an explainer is communicating your business's purpose.
Many companies use the format to explain the products or services as well as company values, mission statements, plans for the future, or how they positively impact society. While explainers should answer the big-picture questions, you don't have to be limited to just providing details about the product.
Final Words
An animated explainer video is one of the most practical, efficient, and effective ways to reach new customers. Using one of the strategies or a combination has been proven to increase engagement with viewers and drive conversions. If you are ready to implement an animated explainer into your next marketing campaign but don't know where to start, contact us, and we will discuss which strategy fits your business goals.
