Explainers, as the name suggests, are animated videos created to explain complex and abstract concepts or products in a clear and straightforward manner. Companies, organizations, and brands use these to attract new clients and train employees.
For video explainers, it is common to use animation, audio, and voiceovers. This helps to provide visual and verbal explanations of a product, service, or process. You can find them in different styles and formats, e.g. whiteboard, screencast, 2D or 3D animation. Such videos can come in handy when you need to convey the product manufacturer’s or author’s ideas and increase audience coverage. In the end, you get higher conversion rates and better sales. Sooner or later you might need to use one yourself, which is why we are here with some tips to make a good video explainer.
10 tips to create a video explainer
- Collect information. You need to know everything about your product, its USP, competitive advantage, and novelty. You also need to decide on the timing (2 minutes should be enough), voiceover (male or female), and narrative style (formal or informal, humorous).
- Determine your target audience. You should know who you appeal to and make sure that your message is clear and interesting to your TA. Find out what key information they need to know and use it in the video.
- Draft a script. Without a good one, you are bound to fail, which is why you need to think it through. Include all the relevant details: product information, its benefits, lead magnet (features that will attract potential customers), message to the target audience, and call for action.
- Production. Here, you have several options available. The first is to hire a professional production team. A top-quality video will cost around USD 5000. The second option is to make a video yourself. There are a lot of animated programs where you can find templates, tips, and a good choice of tools. This option is much less costly.
- Proper voiceover. Tell a fascinating story and liven it up with sound effects, intonation changes, and humor. A lot depends on the narrator, of course. Whatever you do, don’t be monotonous, otherwise, no one will like the video. The narrator must have a pleasant and vibrant voice and be able to change the intonation, pitch, and pace of their speech.
- Quality sound equipment. If the choice is whether to have a voiceover or not, it is better to go for the first option. Such videos have a much greater impact on viewers. However, if there is no chance of having quality sound, you’d better do without a voiceover. The video will be less efficient, but better than a badly-dubbed one.
- Video effects. A lot of video editors (e.g. Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, iMovie) give you access to a wide range of effects you can apply to your video. There are also various plug-ins and filters to add such features as lighting effects, blurring, field of view expansion, movement acceleration and deceleration, etc. Some plug-ins and filters come with the software, others can be downloaded additionally. Animation software such as Adobe After Effects or Blender is worth considering, too. It allows you to create different effects and animations that help you boost your explainer’s potential.
- Music. Many sites, such as YouTube Audio Library and Free Music Archive, provide free music tracks that you can use in your explainers without copyright violations. You can choose a piece in tune with your topic and mood and add it to the final product.
- Video optimization. Before uploading your video, you need to optimize it to ensure that the target audience will watch it to the end The best place to do so is YouTube; however, if you work in a specialized niche, you can try Vimeo.
- Don’t forget about optimization for mobile devices. Make sure that the video player works on different gadgets, including mobile phones and tablets.
We hope that our expert advice on how to create a video explainer will help you bring your ideas to life. But if you don’t want to take chances and opt for hiring a professional video production team to shoot a quality video for you, fill in the application form at the Zelios Agency website and we will contact you ASAP.
The visibility and success of your company or product in the market depends on a high-quality explainer video. Zelios team has realized more than 100 successful projects and knows how to turn video into an effective marketing tool.
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