What are explainer videos and why might you need one?
We love explainers, and want you to love them us much as we do. So we're going to take some time to show you how they can help your business, because you might discover some use cases you weren't aware of.
Simon van Wyk
We’ve been involved in the explainer video market for so long, sometimes we forget that some people don’t actually know what they are.
In short, they’re videos which help explain something.
That ‘something’ could be a product, a service, a protocol, a concept… it could be anything.
If you often find yourself explaining the same thing over and over again to different people, an explainer video might be for you.
Explainer videos are more engaging than an email or powerpoint.
They’re often clearer, shorter and more precise than a live explanation.
They offer consistency and control to your messaging.
If you’re still struggling to see how they could help your communication, let’s break down some of the most popular use cases…
1. Pitching
If you’re a start-up on a mission to find funding, you’re going to find yourself in rooms with executives who are pressed for time, and might be sitting in their 8th presentation of the day.
Kicking off the meeting with an explainer helps you stand out from the crowd. It gets the basic explanation of your company out of the way quickly, and tees you up to spend the rest of that meeting answering the nitty gritty questions.
You don’t need to limit yourself to one overview video. If your experience is that prospective shareholders keep struggling with one particular part of the business, that might be another great gap for an explainer that helps de-clutter the concept.
These videos can also be shared with the execs after the meeting, acting as clear reminders to your core business and ideas.
2. Advertising
Explainers can also be used to teach the general public about your product or service.
Whether they sit on your homepage or become sponsored videos on social media, explainers can act as a powerful advertising tool. While there sometimes aren’t major differences between what traditional adverts and modern explainers are doing, a generalised distinction is that explainers tend to go into a little more detail. They don’t usually have to hit a specific duration, so they’re able to take the time they need to make sure a viewer is left with the full information they need.
Research suggests that a viewer retains 95% of a message when it's delivered through a video, compared to 10% when reading text. If your website isn’t making the most of video, we suggest you change that as soon as possible.
3. Customer Support
If the product or service you offer has you constantly answering the same customer questions, or talking customers through the same problems, then explainer videos can help you revolutionise your customer support.
These days when someone runs into a problem, they will often search YouTube for an answer. If your explainer video is able to come to the rescue, your clients will feel properly supported by you, they’ll solve their issues faster, and you’ll have more time to deal with the issues a video can’t solve.
4. Internal Communication
If you’re a small company, communication to your employees is easy. You can have a meeting, take people’s questions, and walk away confident everyone has got the message.
The moment your company grows to larger numbers, everything becomes more difficult. Suddenly it’s harder to onboard employees correctly. It becomes tougher to make sure everyone is up to date on your health and safety information. Are all employees aware of your code of conduct? Are security concerns being properly dealt with?
If you don’t want to risk vital information getting lost in an email, an explainer video ensures your employees are getting the information they need.
5. Education
Last but not least, explainers are a perfect fit for the e-learning / EdTech market.
Whether it’s bringing school or university curriculums to life, or providing learning journeys for employees, explainers are a great way to go deep into a subject and help information stick.
Explainer videos have come a long way since the early whiteboard animations of the 2010s. They are more diverse and vibrant, able to capture your company’s look and feel and tone.
If you’re convinced, or need more convincing, get in touch - we’d love to chat more about how 2D explainer videos have helped our clients and how they might be able to help you too.
