You’ve probably seen them popping up all over Facebook and YouTube, or on the homepages of websites you’ve visited – but those short, pithy little animated/live-action/whiteboard videos explaining a company’s products, services or philosophy are designed to do more than just entertain. Explainer videos are arguably one of the most powerful means of conveying exactly what you do, quickly and succinctly, in a way that a potential customer can understand… and they can deliver some pretty dramatic results.
Companies have reported conversion rates increasing by as much as 144% after including an explainer video on their website. They work particularly well for start-ups, and for companies looking to build a stronger brand presence and awareness. Most famously, Twitter was the first to create an explainer video, resulting in millions of new users to the fledgling business… but these days they’re a must for any business providing services that could be hard to describe, or indeed any business that has an important message they want to be heard.
So what makes these forms of advertising so powerful? Well science tells us that when utilised correctly, video is the ideal medium for providing information, because it stimulates both our auditory and visual senses. Video emotionally engages your visitors, and showcases your brand, your business personality and your culture in just a couple of minutes, before the average attention span starts to flag. It’s also a highly relatable medium, keeping your visitor engaged and giving them an insight into your brand personality, your offering and your point of difference.
Explainer videos also highly shareable. If they resonate with your audience, they’re more likely to get shared on social media platforms, opening up the opportunity for your brand to go viral. And just as importantly for startups, they can help a journalist to figure out what problem you are trying to solve and make proper sense of it, giving you a better shot at some invaluable press attention!
It all sounds great, right? But the hard part is getting them right. You need to begin with a well-written script – and I suggest employing a professional writer like myself to do that for you, rather than attempting it yourself. I’ll work with you to complete a creative brief, which helps you to think about your business at a high level and define what really matters. From there, a script will be developed, and a good writer will usually keep it short, succinct, engaging and entertaining, focusing first on the problem your product or service addresses, your solution, how it works, the benefits (not just features) and a call to action.
Once you have your script, you have a variety of options to get it produced – from handing over tens of thousands of dollars to a large production house, to finding a freelance producer to put it all together for much less. Once the visuals, voiceover, music and editing have been done, you’ll also need to choose a video host, implement a marketing plan and integrate the video on your website and social media platforms.
And if all that sounds like a lot to handle… I’m able to take care of the entire process for you, using a team of freelancers who specialise in this area – and for a lot less than those big production houses charge!
If you’d like me to make you an Explainer video, let’s talk. Contact Zebra today and start the ball rolling. It could be the key to boosting your sales and skyrocketing your business.
