Explainer videos now form part of the arsenal in any business’ communications repertoire, especially in the new digital age.
Wordstream informs 96 percent of users that they will pass through an explainer video about a product or service. Wyzowl has informed that 84 percent of them said they would purchase the product or service after being shown a video of the brand.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to create a high-converting explainer video from scratch.
Understanding The Power Of Explainer Videos
Before creating an explainer video, it is essential to understand why it is so powerful. Short and engaging explainer videos can be anywhere from 60 to 180 seconds long, and they can simplify the most complex ideas, products, or services into easy-to-digest content.
Wordstream also claims that people remember video content as 95% of a message, while textual content is only remembered at 10%. That’s quite an immense difference in terms of remembering information, and for those businesses, explainers stand as mighty marketing power across all sizes of enterprises.
Pre-Production Stage: Laying Down the Framework
Developing Your Goals and Niche Audience
An explainer video would be made by defining clear objectives and knowing whom your target audience is. Whether it is an animated explainer video agency or doing it in-house, foundational work needs to be done here. Decide on the action you want the viewer to take after viewing your video: subscribe to a service, buy a product, or learn about your brand.
Start by developing rich viewer personas, including demographic information, pain points, and preferences. Such information drives every subsequent decision in making your video-from script tone to visual style. After all, only the videos appealing to a specific audience’s needs and concerns can become super successful explorers.
Script Writing
A good script is the lifeblood of an explainer video. Your script should always follow a clear structure containing the following:
The Hook: Hook the attention of your viewers right at the beginning of your explainer video. Present to them the problem that your product or service solves. Research says that you only have around 8 seconds to hook your viewer’s interest before losing their attention.
The Problem: Describe the pain points of your target audience. Use real-life scenarios and emotional triggers to connect with them.
The Solution: Introduce your product or service as the solution to the previously established problem. Highlight the benefits rather than features and how your offering improves the viewer’s life.
How-It-Works: Be able to clearly and concisely explain how your solution works. Unless you know the technical jargon your audience is most familiar with, stay away from using it.
The Call-to-Action: Close by telling the viewer what they must do next, a final call-to-action that gives them the sense of resolution that comes with taking that first step.
When writing your script, shoot for about 150 words per minute of video. This will give you a comfortable pace that lets viewers absorb the information yet stay engaged. Professional explainer video services often recommend keeping the total length under two minutes, after which engagement drops significantly.
Visual Strategy Development
Storyboarding and Style Development
After your script, the second critical step that you’ll make towards your campaign is visualizing the process through storyboarding. Now, in this step, is where you’re going to actually decide which kind of visual treatment best speaks to your brand and really hits with your targeted audience. Whichever explainer video you happen to hire – a full-production house or small-scale explainer video company – it ought to communicate well, considering your brand’s overall presentation.
These descriptions of each scene should demonstrate each of the following:
- camera movements and transitions
- what characters are doing and where they are
- where text will go
- visual metaphors to represent concepts
- notes about pacing and timing
Popular choices among animation styles include:
2D Animation: The most popular choice for most explainer videos, 2D balance is perfect between cost-friendliness and visual appeal. It can represent almost any concrete or abstract concept.
Motion Graphics: Great for data visualization and technical explanation. It’s really suitable for B2B businesses and complicated products.
Character Animation: Great for evoking emotions and storytelling, which is ideal for a B2C target.
Whiteboard Animation: More budget-friendly and perfect for educational content.
Production: Getting Your Idea on Paper
Visual Asset Creation
Whether you are using a professional animated explainer video service or an explainer video creator tool, this is the step of producing the visual assets. That is to say, this encompasses the following:
Character Design: If your video is character-based, it should reflect the needs of your audience while being consistent with the brand.
Background Design: Environments that support the narrative without distracting from the key message.
Icon and Element Design: Consistent visual elements help explain concepts and keep visual interest.
Color palette implementation: Using a brand color scheme with deliberate intent and color psychology enhances your message.
Animation Production
This is where the magic of your story really starts coming to life. Typically, professional explainer video production houses go through these steps for animation:
Rough nimation: Basic movement and timing for all elements.
Fine Animation: Describe movement and use secondary animation for a more fluid process.
Effects Animation: Introducing special effects, transitions, and dynamics to add more depth to the viewer experience.
A good explainer video balances exciting graphics with clear communication of a message.
Audio Production and Integration
Voice-Over Recording
The voice-over will give you the tone and get your message across. So here’s what you should think of when choosing a voice-over artist:
- Voice character that will match the personality of your brand
- Clear pronouncing and natural delivery
- Appropriate pace and energy level
- Recording quality
Furthermore, 66% of marketers claim that voice-overs make their videos more effective than those without.
Music and Sound Design
Sound design refers to the arrangement of all sound elements used in production.
Background Music: The background music is chosen to supplement the message rather than overwhelm it.
Sound Effects: Use very subtle sound effects in order to bring out the core message without losing the viewer’s attention.
Audio Mixing: This is perfect fine-tuning of voiceover, music, and even the sound effects.
Post-production: Smoothening and Refining
Final cut and fine-tuning
The post-production stage has the following aspects:
Optimize your timing: Ensure that visuals, voiceover, and sound design are perfectly coordinated.
Color Balance: Do the final last color correction of all those so everything falls perfectly within all your shots.
Motion Smoothing: Tighten the transitions and movements of all the animated effects to make them sound professional in your animations.
Quality Check: Ensure the final video is previewed a few times to ensure that there are no technical imperfections and inconsistencies in it
Versioning for Multiple Delivery Options
Delivery systems are different from one another in their unique technicalities and guidelines. For example, one would have to create multiple variations of the same explainer video, as it fits the specific delivery requirement:
Web-based Delivery: Best quality adjustment that caters to optimal web delivery compression.
Social Media: Each platform’s size and length-compliant versions.
Mobile Devices: Ensure your video is scannable on smaller screens.
Email Marketing: Compressed versions with good quality that will still be size-restricted.
Measuring Success and Making Improvements
Analytics and Performance Tracking
To ensure your explainer video is converting well, track the following key metrics:
- View-through rate
- Engagement time
- Click-through rate
- Conversion rate
- Social shares and interactions
According to a study, a well-designed explainer video on landing pages may increase conversion rates by up to 80%.
Ongoing Enhancement
Take the following decisions based on your performance report, you should do the following:
A/B Testing: Compare your versions to improve it
Feedback Gathering: Take viewers’ feedback and improve on them later
Updating Frequently: Change your video content with every latest change you are doing with your product or services.
Collaborate with Professional Service
The selection of the right explainer video company or animated explainer video agency is a very crucial decision, which can go a long way in impacting the success of your video. This guide will take you through the selection process and ensure you partner with the right professional service provider.
Portfolio Quality Assessment
Their portfolio should be the first point of analysis when evaluating potential partners. A proper portfolio review should include:
Visual style diversity: Try to get different forms of animation styles and techniques that reflect the variety of other works the agency puts forward. This will ensure that they can offer diversification in the types of services needed by different brands and industries.
Production quality: Look into technical capabilities, the smoothness at which the animation is performed, the quality of sounds involved and professionalism reflected in the final piece of work. Consider their use of character movements, transition, and visual effects.
Storytelling Ability: Assess how well they communicate complex messages through their videos. The best explainer video companies are good at taking complex ideas and turning them into clear, compelling stories.
Industry Experience and Expertise
Relevant industry experience is gold when it comes to creating explainer videos. Consider these factors:
Niche-Specific Knowledge: Look for agencies with experience in your industry or similar sectors. This expertise helps them understand your target audience, common pain points, and effective communication strategies.
Track Record: Find out about their success stories and case studies. Ask for specific metrics and results from previous projects in your industry.
Client Testimonials: Try to reach out to their past clients, if possible, in order to gain insight into the working process and their reliability.
Understanding the Communication Process
Good communication is what a successful video production project depends on. Evaluate
Project Management Approach: There must be a well-defined production pipeline with clear milestones and deliverables from the agency.
Feedback System: Have a structured feedback system with the option for revisions and adjustments during production.
Point of Contact: Find out who your primary contact is and how often you can expect updates.
Regular Check-ins: The agency should have an internal process for reviewing progress and checking in at the approval stage.
Pricing Structure and Service Packages
Know the cost. Budget and avoid nasty surprises:
Transparent Pricing: Look for an agency that clearly explains their charging.
Package Options: Look at the different service levels and what’s in each package level.
Add-on Fees: Any revisions, additional assets, or rush delivery fees?
Payment Terms: Make sure their payment schedule aligns with your business process.
Red Flags to Watch For
Be cautious of the following:
- Agencies quote prices significantly lower than industry standards
- Cannot give references from recent clients
- Revision policies are not well-defined
- Are unwilling to put a detailed contract in place
- Portfolio examples are scant
Conclusion
Creating a high-converting explainer video is always an elaborate process that requires extensive pre-production planning, creative ingenuity, and technical know-how. Thus, whether you are opting for explainer video services or using one of the animated explainer video makers available, this in-depth guide will most surely help you get your video across precisely.
Remember that the best explainer videos achieve the perfect balance of engaging storytelling, professional production quality, and clear messaging. By following these steps and with the right partners, you can create an explainer video that will not only capture attention but drive meaningful business results. As video content assumes the throne position in digital marketing, most businesses will definitely not have a choice but to invest in their own superior-quality explainer video to achieve competitiveness. With excellent planning, professional execution, and strategic distribution, your video could become one of the best marketing assets you hold today and drive engagement for years to come.
