Published In Blog, Online Video Editor, Video Marketing - - February 15, 2024
Explainer videos are positioned at the very end of the buyer journey.
They shouldn't focus on how to use your product or service, but should rather show why-to.
Creating an engaging explainer that reassures consumer doubts can be critical to a business marketing strategy.
In this article, we'll cover the basics of why and how to make great explainer content, as well as how Pictory can aid in editing your video creation.
By using the Script to Video feature, you can quickly match your explainer text to quality stock footage and add captions, voiceover, and branding.
Taking the last step to converting potential customers in minutes.
Explainer Videos in MinutesPictory's AI powered online video generator matches keywords from your explainer video to professional stock footage, for content sure to engage. No Credit Card Required |
An explainer video helps pitch a business to customers and show how it can fit into their lives.
They’re a useful part of any marketing strategy to enhance the buyer’s journey and increase conversion rates.
Planning your explainer video is key.
Having a clear set of goals, target audience in mind and both script and storyboard prepared can make all the difference.
Getting good equipment together such as Pictory’s editing suite will also make for a far more engaging final product.
Pictory has various tools and features that can be used to make your explainer video from scratch or customize it further with aspects such as captions and background music.
Some final top explainer video tips include keeping your content concise, taking time to connect with your audience, and sticking to a more casual tone wherever possible.
The best way to think of an explainer video is as a pitch to your customer about why your product deserves their attention and what is interesting about it.
Unlike a How-to video, it doesn’t focus on how to use a product or put it together.
Instead, it features aspects such as the things the product or service can do, why it was designed that way, and how it might fit into customer’s lives.
An explainer video is also typically very short (under 5 minutes) and conveys information in a simple, accessible way.
The role of explainer videos in marketing is mainly as a primer for any customers stuck in the final stages of the buyer’s journey.
They’re interested in your brand but still have reservations.
A great explainer video helps put any doubts to bed and nudge them toward that final purchase click.
Besides enhancing the customer journey and increasing conversion rates as a result, the best explainer videos also:
Show off brand culture and personality: How you explain a product and its best features can say a lot about your business as a whole.
For example, fun and creative visuals can help associate those same qualities with your brand and make it seem more accessible as a result.
Help you stand out: In competitive industries especially, explainer videos are a great way to show the details and nuance that make your offerings better than anyone else’s.
They’re cost-effective to make but pack a punch: Because they’re short and snappy, explainer videos can easily be made on a budget.
The other upside to the format is that they’re easy for your audience to watch and share.
Minimal input with maximum benefits – it’s a marketer’s dream.
A great SEO opportunity: We’re all just trying to keep up with the changes to the Google search algorithms and explainer videos are another great avenue to do that.
Include a transcript with the video (which we can help you create) and boost your rankings in people’s search results.
One of the best ways to get a good understanding of explainer videos is simply to see them in action:
This video is almost a how-to in that it shows users how to use certain features from the brand’s software, so why have we included it as one of our explainer video examples?
Context.
The video doesn’t just show how to use certain features but chats through the situations that would make users need them.
It does one of the most important things an explainer can do: illustrate how the product supports the customer’s other tasks and makes their life easier.
Doing this while also showing how easy the software is to use gives them more confidence in buying it and eases the onboarding process all at once.
We had to include this explainer video.
It’s a perfect example of how the format can be used to both attract new customers and support existing ones.
The video is a step-by-step guide on how to operate as an Uber Eats driver and manages to show what life in the job is like, while also sharing helpful tips on how to be a great driver.
In doing so, it gets ahead of any questions or doubts someone might have about the job.
It’s worth noting that this high-quality explainer video is a simple combination of a voiceover recording and video footage.
They’ve filmed original video clips for this, but stock footage is always an option for those on tighter budgets.
Keep it simple - As the Uber Eats video and this explainer video from Pictory prove, clear audio and accompanying visuals are pretty much all you need for a good explainer video.
Know your audience - Whatever part of the sales funnel you’re targeting, creating a video with a clear audience in mind ensures that you build a video relevant to their needs and pain points.
The YouTube comments on the Uber Eats video show just how much a good explainer can resonate when done thoughtfully.
Music sets the mood - Upbeat music and sound effects help make explainer videos more exciting.
Practicality is key - The key features of your company’s product and how it can practically be used in your customer’s daily life are the most important things to cover. Whatever type of explainer video you decide to make.
When creating explainer videos, like any major piece of marketing, you have to go in with a plan.
From the video script to the visual elements, here’s how to prep your own explainer video:
Are you trying to show off the specifics of a physical product or more general information about it?
What part of the buyer’s journey do you wish to target?
Answering questions like these early in the process can help you nail down the core objectives for your explainer and ensure that the finished video better meets expectations.
Use tools like buyer personas and audience research to get a better sense of what existing and potential customers would be most excited to see.
Prioritizing your target market this early in the creative process will also help show how best to break down complicated topics so that they still feel relevant to your audience.
Whether you’re making animated explainer videos, a talking head video, a whiteboard video, or any other version of the format, you have to start with the script.
Many assume that a storyboard is just for animated videos but again, it’s a crucial part of any explainer video project.
The script is a text representation of anything said or shown in the video while the storyboard uses images to give a sense of the visual style.
Here’s an explainer video template to use when approaching your next explainer script and storyboard:
Start with the problem - What issue or situation is your audience facing that you can solve? This helps hook them in within the first 10 seconds.
Show how your product can be used to address that problem. Make sure it can be summed up in a quick, key message.
End with a call-to-action and link to any necessary landing pages.
Equipment needs will shift slightly depending on whether you make a live-action explainer video or an animated explainer video.
Regardless, here are the basics for making a high-quality piece of content:
A setting that shows off the product best.
Camera and lighting equipment.
A good sound or voice-over recording setup.
Comprehensive editing software, like Pictory, allows you to fine-tune your explainer video with music tracks, etc.
Live-action videos can be a pain to film so to lessen the burden, we’d recommend keeping things as simple as possible.
The most important thing is that people can see your product or service in action.
With that in mind, consider filming your clips and adding your own voiceover recording to narrate.
Separating footage and audio like this makes for a far simpler recording process in all areas.
Good videos are often made in the editing suite so it's important not to underestimate this step once you've finished filming.
That’s why having a tool like Pictory on your side can be such a game-changer.
This is how easy it is to use Pictory’s script to video function:
Upload the text of the document.
Let Pictory convert your script into a storyboarded video with highlighted keywords, captions, and stock visuals, powered by AI.
Use our library of hyper-realistic AI voiceovers from Elevenlabs to provide narration, or record your own voice for a personal touch.
It’s really that simple.
We do most of the heavy lifting but still leave plenty of room for you to play and edit as you see fit.
This feature is perfect for creating faceless videos that focus on processes and can be boosted by stock footage.
That's not to say you can't use recorded footage in Script to Video though.
At any point during the storyboard, you can add scenes and add or replace images and videos with your own uploaded assets.
This allows your video to be truly personalized and means your video can be a mix of stock and necessary product footage, or anything else you might have recorded yourself.
For more information on using AI in the explainer video process, check out this guide on making an explainer video with Pictory and ChatGPT.
If you’re stuck with one long piece of uninterrupted footage that needs to be cut down to one or many short videos, Pictory's Edit Video Using Text feature is the best way to do things.
Here you can make highlight reels, remove pauses and unwanted sections, and change captions, all from the video transcript generated by Pictory.
It also doesn’t require any editing expertise to use.
This means you can record footage in the wild in one long take, and not have to worry about shots, as you can cherry-pick the best moments in this tool.
On the other hand, any footage you upload into the Script to Video tool has to be edited beforehand, or the shot you want to use, as you cannot use features like removing filler words and pauses in the storyboard editor.
Here are some top tips on how to use Pictory to customize and create an explainer video that grabs people’s attention:
Use captions. The auto-caption feature on Pictory provides on-screen text to emphasize any key points from your video and means that viewers don’t miss a thing.
Add music from our royalty-free library for a greater emotional connection.
With all the explainer examples mentioned, the visuals were accompanied by music that complimented the brand spirit and video messaging for added impact.
Create a branded video template on Pictory to ensure that all your explainer videos show off your business’s logo, etc.
You can use and adjust these video templates at any time in the future.
We can’t offer anything hand-drawn but elements and text animation additions are very easy to do on Pictory and make it easier to emphasize important points for the viewer.
Even if you don’t use our script-to-video feature, you can still access our library of 10 million Getty images and stock footage under the “teams” and “pro-user” subscriptions.
Adding stock b-roll can elevate even the simplest explainer video.
Before you start a new explainer video project, here are 5 of our final top tips for ensuring the content’s success:
Shorter is better. Explainer videos are typically quite succinct so focus on providing a quick overview rather than an in-depth look at your product.
With businesses that have a more people-oriented service especially, providing a human touch goes a long way.
Whether this means showing a real person in your explainer video using your product or just having a friendly voiceover that viewers can relate to is up to you.
Speak directly to your audience to connect with them better.
If you’re mentioning a product or service and the explainer is going up on a video platform separate from your website, don’t forget to link to a landing page.
Keep it light. An informal, casual tone is far easier to engage with than something overly technical and stiff.
You don’t need to be an experienced explainer video maker to produce engaging, effective content.
A clear point of view and some great video editing software will get you further than you’d expect.
Sign up for a free trial of Pictory today and see just how much Pictory can improve your explainer video process.
Keep your video under five minutes with a clear, concise message that targets a relatable pain point for your customer base.
We always say that under five minutes is ideal, but under two is even better.
Yes, you can.
Online video generators and editors like Pictory give you access to everything from AI voiceovers to royalty-free music and stock footage.
All of which eases how much budget needs to go into making your perfect explainer video.
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