Incredible skills and talent are required to create a video that explains about a product in a short time. Visuals that instruct or tell about a product or service in understandable, powerful and engaging ways are called explainer ones. They play a significantly important role in business marketing, since people often watch explainer videos to learn more about a product or service.
So, how to introduce a complicated and informative content in a colorful and simple way? How to make it in less than three minutes, so viewers’ attention isn’t scattered? What design and style should you consider? How can you put it to work on your brand? In other words, how to create explainer videos that actually work? Here all your questions will be answered, and help in implementing your ideas will be offered.
The following steps are necessary in the process of creating your own outstanding explainer video.
Step 1: Preliminary plan
First of all, you need to define your target audience and its pain points. With this information you can highlight the problem that more likely concerns video viewers the most and describe how your product solves it. Moreover, knowing these facts helps you to decide which explainer video style to use.
Types of Explainer Videos
Live action videos are commonly used for promoting physical products (detergent, washing powder etc) or people-oriented services (a hotel, travel agency etc). Looking at real people and hearing their opinions emotionally connect people, and as a result, trust in the company grows.
The most popular type of explainer video is animated one. This style is more preferable for tech and impalpable products (a laptop, smartphone, software etc.). It lets your imagination take flight, since there are no constraints of a live action video.
Whiteboard explainer videos are popular in studying, since they are like short and structured synopsis. Watching videos with animation hand drawn and erased on a whiteboard make the 15% increase in retention of information versus a person spoken on a camera.
However, you shouldn’t choose only one method. Consider every tiniest detail, to reach your goal. If common styles are not able to release the potential of your product or service, try to mix styles or even to create your own type of explainer videos.
Step 2: Write a script and make a storyboard
Script is a significant part in creation of a solid explainer video. Focus on no more than two key messages, so as not to overload the audience with information. Make sure your narration fits the 2-3 minutes video, however don’t focus on it too much. You can always cut it down. Write several samples and choose the one which is the most easy to understand and won’t confuse viewers.
Next step is storyboarding the video, so the script perfectly matches the images you intend to use. Highlight a few critical frames such as an opener, problem statement, solution and call to action. They help to outline the structure of the video. As with the script, do not make it too complicated. Many details only distract the audience, hence all your efforts will be in vain. Do a dry run, and make adjustments until you are satisfied with the result.
Step 3: Record a voiceover
A voiceover guides the story and explains to the audience what the product or service is. That’s why your first step must be finding a suitable voice, which is pleasant to the ear and resonating with the viewers. Just as students don’t like a dry and monotonous lecture, an explainer video with such tone will not attract people, let alone convey its message. Hence, a voiceover must reflect the right attitude for a product.
Once you have done it, find a recording studio with qualitative facilities like a microphone and softwares. The process is labour intensive, so spare enough time for this step. The longer your video is, the much time it takes to record strong narration. There will be bad takes or some noises, like breaths between lines. Editing the soundtrack is also a time consuming task. At worst, you may need to re-record the text. As with a storyboard, do as many attempts as needed until you reach as close to perfect as possible.
Step 4: Choose background music and sound effects
Important elements for adjusting the tone of a video are music and sound effects. These tools allow the commercial to make up for the shortcomings of voiceover. Moreover, the soundtrack has a great influence on highlighting the mood of the explainer video. Music and sound effects that do not match the product or service will definitely ruin all your efforts.
For example, an explainer video about a luxury watch accompanied by ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’, song. Or a commercial of a plane with some depressed soundtrack, which can only be heard on a funeral. Let’s admit it, they even sound ridiculous and absurd.
One critical moment to remember is that before implementing the jungle into the video, you have to get permission or buy a license for the chosen music. Otherwise, you will face legal consequences of violating the copyright law.
Step 5: Make a video
Now, craft an amazing explainer video according to your chosen style. If it is a live action type, then find appropriate locations, actors, wait for the best weather condition and time to film your short movie. With animated explainer videos, you need a team of highly skilled specialists who will make your dream animation.
After that mount the video, overlay music and sound effects. Do final amendments. Congratulations! You have completed your explainer video. However, the last step that affects your marketing strategy remains – video hosting platform.
Choose the stage to shine according to the website’s features, price and statistics. These three main options help to decide where to host your explainer video, so as to engage more target audiences.
To recap
Explainer videos tell about your products or services, increase conversions, improve ranking of SEO search and bring many more benefits than can be listed. Hope, the article has convinced you how explainer videos are useful in business and how exciting the process of creating them is.
