Explainer videos are highly effective marketing content that can boost a brand’s customer awareness and increase website conversions. Whether you are creating an in-house explainer video or writing a creative brief for a production company, finding video ideas can be challenging. That’s why we have created a list of the top 10 best explainer video examples – some of which you may even remember.
But what are they for?
Companies use explainer videos for their homepage, landing pages, email campaigns, paid advertising, commercial outreach, and social media.
Think of an explainer video as the “elevator pitch” for your company. What experience does your product or service create for your customers? How does it change their lives?
This videos succinctly illustrates your product’s value proposition. It answers the “why?” instead of focusing on the features (the “how” and “what” of your product).
For this reason, explainer videos more easily persuade consumers by presenting the “before” and “after” transformation they will experience with your product or service.
The benefits of explainer videos are:
Increased brand awareness
Explanation of how the product works
Inclusion of a call to action
How to create an explainer video (step by step)
Let’s go through each step to create an explainer video. There is no right way; remember who you are communicating with and why your product or service is important. The best explainer video is sincere and effective in presenting your company’s solution to a problem.
Determine the production budget: Before thinking about ideas for the explainer video, it is essential to determine the budget. We have broken down how we spent $4,000 on creating our explainer video. But there are various options depending on the type of video you want to make and the money you can spend.
How long explainer videos?
Video production costs are estimated per minute. The typical explainer video will run from 60 to 90 seconds, while B2B explainer videos tend to be a bit longer, from 2 to 3 minutes. Therefore, it is essential to consider this aspect in video creation when writing the script or requesting quotes from production companies.
How much cost explainer videos?
Larger budget companies may hire a production company to create the video. A production company works with you to find the best way to highlight the most important information about your product and make it engaging.
The average cost per minute in the industry is $1,000-$10,000. However, this can vary significantly depending on the company, with an average of about $8,500 for a 60-second video.
Alternatively, a company may hire a professional animator or use their in-house video production team. Although these alternatives present some lower budget options, a company should expect to invest in its video to see a return on that investment.
Write the script (or creative brief) The script sets the tone for the entire video. In previous examples of explainer videos, we have seen many approaches. Some brands, such as Match.com and Poo-Pourii, use shock value and humor to delight and surprise while selling their product or service.
Once your video is complete, it’s time to create and launch a marketing plan. Follow these three simple steps to launch your explainer video.
CHOOSE A VIDEO HOSTING SITE FOR EXPLAINER VIDEOS
Where will you upload the video?
Many companies upload their videos to YouTube for the general public and to their video hosting platform. A video host allows the company to integrate the video on its marketing website without advertising, with custom branding, calls to action in the video player, and post-play screens. Learn more about marketing tools included in a SproutVideo account here.
CREATE YOUR MARKETING PLAN
Plan to share your new explanatory video through marketing channels. Celebrate the launch of this video by debuting it to your audience on:
Homepage or landing page Email newsletter Blog Social media Community thread (e.g., Discord, Meta Group) Live streaming event Paid advertising Make a list of all the channels your company uses to communicate with both customers and your target audience. Choose a launch date and create marketing materials to celebrate the launch of this new explanatory video.
The most important part of this step is figuring out how you will drive traffic to this video. Using past and current data to estimate views and set conversion goals can be helpful. If your website is capable, consider running an A/B test with and without the video.
LAUNCH YOUR VIDEO ON MULTIPLE CHANNELS
When the launch day arrives, it is officially time to integrate the explanatory video into your brand and website. Before the launch, make sure your team has coordinated the marketing materials and publication timing. Once published, it’s time to celebrate.
It is very likely that many people have worked hard and devoted a lot of effort and love to creating this video. Don’t be afraid to share that journey with your audience. Consider creating a behind-the-scenes video or post to let your audience into the experience.
MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF THE VIDEO
An explanatory video can provide value to your audience for years. For this reason, consider measuring the initial engagement boost you receive from launching your video on different marketing channels. Gather this data within the first two weeks of launch.
Subsequently, continue to periodically measure the success of the explanatory video as part of your ongoing marketing plan.