Explainer Video Buyers Guide13 min read

Buyers guide to an explainer video

Marketers have used several video marketing strategies over the year. According to a statistic by Render Forest, they anticipate that this year (2019), 80%of the content consumed by global internet users will be through video.

To help you find out what to consider when choosing an explainer video company, we have compiled factors that will help you choose the best explainer video for your need. But before we provide you the buyers’ guide for your explainer videos, let’s find out exactly what is an explainer video.

What are animated explainer videos?

Before we tell you what an explainer video is, let’s just show you with this short example.

Consider a company like SaaS, a service business, or a healthcare company. These businesses find it hard to educate their customers about their products, the benefits of using them, and their unique value propositions. On the other hand, a shoe company, for instance, can advertise their products easily and the consumers will understand it since they only need to display photos of the products that they are selling. 

To enable consumers, understand the products and services that complex companies are offering, they use animated videos on their explainer videos. Often these videos are entertaining to watch. The branded and unique illustrations, styles, amusing movements, and energizing movement selections are engaging and fun to watch.

Spotify and Groupon have successfully implemented this strategy, which has yielded tremendous results. Most companies who use explainer videos get great results. Check out Spotify’s explainer video below

You can use the videos on social media for your sales process and to drive conversions and educate new users on your website. 72% of businesses claim that explainer videos have improved their websites conversion rate, while 64% of them claim that their sales have increased due to these videos. 

These statistics prove that videos are the best marketing strategy today. You should consider having an explainer video to showcase your services or products. Click for more video marketing statistics. 

What you need to know about explainer videos before considering them

How long do they run?

Explainer videos mostly run for between 45 seconds to 3 minutes. But there are always exceptions, which can go up to 8 minutes. In cases where the videos are explaining something complex, or they want to dive into something deeper, the videos can go for up to 4 minutes.

For your first video, I would recommend that you go for the shortest video length possible that will convey your message to your audience. You want to capture and hold your audiences attention without boring them. A shorter video is better on the budget too. 

For a more in-depth explanation read our recent article, How long should an explainer video be?

What types of videos exist?

First, you are going to need to select which of the types of explainer videos that you want to be made.

Live action videos


These are videos involving actual people who are using the product in front of a real camera. Sometimes they come with narrations but other times they do not. What makes live videos more compelling is that they show you how to use the product without having to explain it in detail. 

To create such a video, you require a charismatic actor a good setting for the video and other resources.

Animation videos

A simulation of movement created by displaying a series of pictures, or frames. Think of all the classic cartoons that you watched growing up as a kid.

Whiteboard Videos


Unlike animated videos, these come in the form of time-lapse footages of someone writing or drawing on a whiteboard, then clearing the writing and drawings for the next scene. They also require voice-overs to work well.

Hybrid videos


These videos are a mixture of animated videos, whiteboard videos, and live-action videos. For example, you may see a whiteboard video, containing animated effects. Enhancing the whiteboard with effects that you can not do on a real whiteboard. Also, in cases where live action interacts with animations, is another example of a hybrid style.

How to write a script

Your script is the most important part of your video. It needs to properly introduce your product and what it does. The video has to come up with a problem and solve it with the product. It should then create a call to action that shows trust to your brand. Meaning that you should introduce testimonials or logos of your most prolific customers.

The explainer video should be short and concise. Try frontloading your proposition in the first 30 seconds. Ensure that you use the perspective of the second person and that your language is simple unless your audience is industry experts, like in B2B solutions.

Also, you want to add a little humor to make it more entertaining.

For a more in-depth look read our previous article How to create a powerful explainer video script (with templates)

Where to find voice actors

Despite having a great script, you need a great voice actor to make the video. Great voice actors make the video engaging and entertaining. You can even do it yourself, provided you have a clear understanding of the audio levels to use, editing and the voice for radio. 

You can find great voice actors on craigslist, voices.com, or even Fiverr. However, be prepared to spend $5 for each set of words, or the seconds it takes to do them, and not for every voice over.

Related: What Is Voice Over + Tips on Choosing the Right One

screenshot of voice over ad on craigslist

How to measure Explainer success

When you host a video on YouTube and then embed it to your website, you get more flexibility as well as access to tools for analysis. Google Analytics and YouTube Insights combine to create a lot of data collection and even tracking.

Read here for how to post a video to your website.

Buyers guide on choosing the right Video explainer company for you

Every type of explainer video has its own advantages and different applications to different companies. Here are some of the factors that you need to consider when choosing your explainer video.

Clarity

The main purpose of creating an explainer video is to engage with your audience so that they understand your products, new updates, information about the product, among others, that you are giving them. Live action videos are challenging in these cases. 

When you use explainer videos with animations, you will get value for your audiences like higher retention, sales increases, and increased profitability. The videos will engage your prospects if they understand and value the content you are giving them. You will need to stick with an explainer video company that clearly clarifies what you are selling to your viewers so that the viewers receive more information from the videos.

They show images of the platform to give viewers the picture of what the interface looks like, but do not depend only about what you see on the product.

Cost

Most explainer videos go for between 45seconds 3 minutes. The longer your video length then the more expensive it is going to be.  Live action videos are costly- you will need to pay for equipment, talent and location fees among others, to produce one. 95% of businesses spend less than $5000 to make a one-minute video. (https://info.wyzowl.com/ultimate-guide-how-to-create-the-perfect-explainer-video).

Explainer videos charge a 60 to 90 seconds videos around $2500 to $3500, which will take between six o eight weeks to produce. It takes that long because the crew responsible will need to design the characters, tailor the illustrations, come up with the right music and the voice, depending on your requirements.

A good explainer company knows the concept that you want to present. You know when the story they put together talks about your service, your products your logo, or your company, together with other related things. You will know if they are good for the job or not when you talk to them.

For a more extensive breakdown read our post on How much does an explainer video cost?

how to calculate the cost of an explainer video

Customization

The outcomes of using an explainer video are numerous. Professionals in this sector will create explainer videos with great styles, music, colors, and voices to match your preferences. An animated video feels sophisticated and technical, playful and fun, and also, serious and somber. Or if you consider yourself a creative type then read here for how to make an explainer video

Changeability

The way you explain your business through these explainer videos will grow and change over time. You can add features or products in the next, say, 12months, and you may have to change your message. An animated video enables your brand to grow with your video content

Creating a live-action video involves a lot of planning-settings, props, lighting, actors, need careful planning to make the right shot. Recreating the shot is expensive and difficult. Meaning that, with live action videos, you will not get flexibility, because adding new footage will not work well with the video.

Animated videos make it easy to change voice overs and graphics quickly to show changes that you have made to your product. A motion graphics designer needs only to find the original file and input the new content.

High quality

Your explainer video is your first impression on new customers. You will want it to be memorable to your intended audience. It also has to be unique. To create a high-quality video will require that you consult the services of a highly qualified explainer video company.

The videos should have great visuals, clear messages, and good audio. To know whether or not a company can create high-quality content, take a look at their own explainer videos. If a company can create an explainer video that captures your attention, then that is the first sign of the company’s ability to create good videos for you.

After that, look at their portfolio. You need to read their testimonials to know about how other people who have used the company feel about their service.

If you did not like the way they presented themselves, it is pointless to look through other videos. Their testimonials and past work are the best indicators of what the company can do for its clients. Make sure you understand how they communicate their messages through their animations and the way they make the videos fun.

This will show their quality.

Reasonable prices

Cheap videos go with cheap quality. Reasonable prices do not mean that the videos presented to you should be cheap. You want a company that offers you affordable prices but good quality videos. An explainer video is an investment since it has a high ROI, and it also has a long shelf life.

A good explainer video should boost the sales of your products or services so that you get a return on your investment in the shortest time possible. A cheap video, on the other hand, will no make the cut. Your audience will not want to know more about the company because the video does not hook them, so they won’t want to buy your products.

Great Portfolio

When you are searching for a video agency that will suit your needs and preferences to your satisfaction, you need to get a sample of their work. Most companies put their portfolios on their site, but you can inquire to see a video that they created specifically for a certain industry.

This will help you understand the quality of their work, their animation styling and the way they make each of their videos to meets your brand’s needs.

Ensure that you are attentive on the nuances that make animation videos great, such as thoughtful sound effects, seamless transitions, well-rehearsed, and quality scripting.

Good reputation

Quality of work that the explainer company offers should not be your only deciding factor. You should also conduct background research on them. Look at the reviews that people who have partnered with the company wrote about them, or do a Google search. 

You can even use LinkedIn if you want to get more personal. Find out if your connections know anyone who has worked with the firm that you want to partner with and ask their opinions on the reputation of the agency.

funny good reputation meme

Have a proven process

A great explainer video company will have a perfect and well-established process over time. This includes steps in the process of production of the videos, storyboarding animations, soundtracks, script writing and voice over selections.

Despite every agency having a different process, you should choose a company that can clearly articulate the process they follow for their video to ensure that they make thoughtful decisions on the work they put to create the videos.

The agency should also clearly tell you how long it will take to create the video so that you can make a proper estimation of when you will want it presented. This is usually somewhere between 2 to 12 weeks for a one-minute explainer video.

Related:  List of Explainer Video Production Companies

Tell a great story

This is the basis for any successful explainer video. When going through the portfolio of a company you want to choose, do not only just watch the video. Follow their story, the way they create a problem, the way they find a solution, and the way they build value.

Look at these great examples of storytelling in videos

You will like working with them

This point is important for creating a successful explainer video. Choose a company that you have a good relationship with. Do you look forward to your meetings? Do they make communication with them easy?

Open communication line

An agency that enhances communication with honesty and openness makes it easy and enjoyable to work with them. If replying to your emails is difficult, they do not satisfactorily answer your questions, and meetings take long, issues are likely to arise from your partnership. 

Do they care for your company?

Try speaking to a representative of the company you want to partner with. In a few minutes, you will know whether or not they will give your company the attention it needs after you ask them some important questions about their company.

Do they have fresh and creative ideas?

You will want a company that will create for you an explainer video that is different and stands out from other similar videos. Find a company that creates unique content for their customers so that you will know that the content that they will produce for you will be unique. You do not want to be on the production line! Ask them to present to you a few ideas, so that you can evaluate their creativity.

brain creating fresh ideas

Do I need an explainer video?

In spite of the extensive information we have presented to you about explainer videos, you might still be wondering whether or not it is what you need for your business. To reassure yourself, here are some of the questions you should ask yourself to clear your mind.

Do you want to make an attractive and fancy message out of complex information?

Explainer videos are the best for conveying complex information in a fancy, attractive, and fun way to your audience. So, if you want to present information with hard data, big numbers, or complicated charts, then you should definitely use explainer videos.

Do you want to communicate complex information in an educative but appealing manner?

Images explain things better than text, obviously. If you put videos into those images, then the communication becomes even better. Explainer videos will summarize the information you want to convey and make it into an educative and captivating concept.

Do you want to shorten concepts and make them educative and appealing to your audience?

Moving images have much more to say than just using images. Explainer videos do this effectively. You can synthesize content with these videos and make them educative to your intended audience, making them more compelling.

Conclusion

That’s everything that you need to know when buying your explainer video. If you would like to speak to an explainer video expert then contact Top Explainers today and we can answer any further questions that you may have.

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