Why You Need An Explainer Video (3 Compelling Reasons)

Why You Need An Explainer Video (3 Compelling Reasons)

Explainer videos are short, concise videos designed to explain an idea or system using animation. Through artwork, any concept can be presented in an engaging way and then easily understood. Political processes, scientific methodology, innovative business models, and everything in between can be brought to life through a well-made explainer video.

Hundreds of thousands of companies have commissioned them over the last decade to help deliver messages in an appealing way. Have you put marketing dollars toward an explainer video? If not, you should. Here are three reasons why.

Video is King

There are business owners out there who think the one effective thing they’re supposed to do to engage with their audience is upload a written blog to their site every so often. This is certainly better than doing nothing. But the fact is that video is THE most consumed type of content. Did you know YouTube gets more visitors in a day than Facebook? Today, video is king. It’s what people prefer. And if all you’re doing is creating written content and nothing else, you’re not doing what’s most effective.

When potential customers are visiting your site for the first time, there needs to be a quick video on your landing page explaining precisely what you want them to know. A 2015 Google poll showed that over half of internet users feel more comfortable with websites that have instructional video content. This is because video content helps to legitimize your company, in addition to effectively delivering your message. By the way, the same study showed that the probability of someone buying on online product goes way up if they watch a video about it first.

Nothing is More Effective

Explainer videos are fantastic at catching attention quickly and retaining it. A Forbes study last year concluding that 4 seconds is all you have to engage someone before they click away. This is why well over half of all sharing on social media is video. Why do explainer videos catch attention so well? Because animation is less predictable and more appealing than live footage which makes it more intriguing from the get-go.

Animated explainer videos also have an incredible charm about them. Using visual thinking and metaphors, topics come to life effortlessly in a fun and engaging way. People love them. Plain and simple.

ROI

But the real reason why you need an explainer video is because of the tremendous ROI. Companies who don’t employ video marketing grow more than 50% slower than those that do. A recent study from Adobe polled a large number of marketing professionals. Over half of them said that video has the best ROI compared to any other type of content they roll out.

Why You Need An Explainer Video – Conclusion

There’s no reason why an explainer video wouldn’t help what you’re trying to accomplish. Especially if what you’re doing involves complicated process or new ideas. If that describes you, contact us and let’s talk.

We’ll Leave You With This

In the early days of Dropbox, their first huge boost came from an explainer video. Within a year of posting it, their revenue increased by over $50 million. Their user count increased by over 10 million. All directly traced to their decision to create and publish an animated explainer video. Sit on that for a while.

We Don’t Read Minds!

When talking with a Project Manager or other Creative here at Ydraw, it is important to help us understand exactly what your company wants.

Otherwise, how can we blow your mind with incredibly awesome and mystical videos?

One of our favorite things is getting to work with heaps of companies with unique brands and differing requests. Unfortunately, working with a wide range of opinions can make it difficult for our team to pinpoint your companies wishes.

It’s true…we are made of stardust and wishes and magical things, but let me tell you a secret…we can’t actually read minds.

I know, weird right?

For years, we have been diligently looking for a mind-reading crystal ball and unfortunately haven’t found one yet. But…we haven’t given up hope just yet, so we will let you know when that happens!

Until then…

It’s important that we continue to ask lots of questions and paramount that you and your team clearly communicate your wishes.

If you don’t know what you want, and we don’t know what you want, we’re just shooting in the dark. And although our accuracy is near perfect… we aren’t quite there yet.

Listen, we do this all day every day, so trust us when we say we don’t get our feelings hurt. We love working with diverse companies and that is why we have made our process collaborative and flexible.

So be raw, be truthful and communicate clearly.

By the way…

We are POSITIVE that if we did have a crystal ball, it would tell us that YOU ARE FULL OF MAGIC!!

Confessions from a Project Manager

Here at Ydraw, we work with amazing people every day, from all over the world, to create awesome videos.

Our completely custom videos are perfect for companies, because we can create EXACTLY what they need. From the scripting, to the choice of art style, to your voiceover selection, to our custom music composer, everything is tailored to our customer’s needs.

Since each video is entirely unique, it requires both parties to be equally invested and provide timely feedback. COLLABORATION IS KEY! This can be both a blessing and a curse.

One of the biggest challenges we run into when creating videos is understanding each parties’ roles in the project. We rely on the client to provide the information needed for us to understand their product or service, and in return, ask our clients to trust us when it comes to creating the best content for them.

Sometimes clients will focus in on one minor detail that has little or no impact on the overall messaging of the video, and can eventually lead to an experience or end product that isn’t so spectacular.

For instance, have you ever looked at a word so many times that you convince yourself it’s spelled wrong? The more your stare at it, the weirder it looks… even though it was right from the beginning. This can happen when creating content.

When creating videos, we notice this problem in the artwork phase. For example, a client will get so hung up on the color of “Mary’s shirt”, and before you know it, they’ve convinced themselves that their ENTIRE video is a failure, because absolutely NO ONE is going to understand or even watch the video, if her shirt is red, and NOT blue…

Sounds dramatic… but we see examples like this happen with our clients often.

We completely understand that these projects, these videos, are as important as your first born child! You have a lot of pressure to produce an amazing product, but it’s imperative to remember to step back and focus on the overall message of your video.

So if the color of Mary’s shirt isn’t the most important part to creating a successful video… then what is?

The message!

First, you want to establish your message. Keep it clear and concise! Second, ensure that your content helps to portray that message.

 Don’t know where to start? The good news is that Ydraw can do it all for you!

(and don’t worry.. if you want Mary’s shirt to be blue, we’ll make sure it’s the prettiest blue you’ve ever seen.)

Code #282 – Mr. Important

“Hello, my name is Mr. Important the CEO of Important Products… but the true important person is you!”

Uh wrong… Can you believe this guy?

He has officially lost us within the first line.

Code #282: If you want your audience to believe your product is important… focus on them and their needs, not on yourself.

This code is very important when creating successful content.

Don’t be Mr. Important.

How To Keep Your Audience Interested Through HUMOR!

What makes things funny? Our own sense of humor isn’t always funny to the guy sitting next to us. So, let’s look at a few simple principles used in Improv to make your video funny to all of your audience!

First and foremost, there is TRUTH in COMEDY! The funny comes from the experiences we have all had in our lives. Think about sitcoms, why do they work? They take something so simple, like everyday life and exploit it. The ups and downs of dating and heartbreak or fighting for that perfect job, only to find out that it isn’t so perfect. But where does the comedy come from?

The funny comes from the unexpected. The moments of truth. It comes from showing not telling. We have all been there…the time in the grocery store when two people are having a conversation in public and you can’t help but listen, even though you know the topic should have probably been left at home…yeah that stuff.

So let’s take a look at this funny scenario….

We see two shadowy figures digging holes in a graveyard. It’s dark, but we can see that there’s a body behind them. It appears that they are covering up a murder! The scene is quite grim and creepy… so how is this funny? The car lights flicker on and we get a better look of the situation… only to reveal…two clowns? Okay, now this is way more terrifying, but their must be more to the story… so as we get closer, we overhear…

Clown 1:“Look Stan, all I’m saying is I’m sorry she left you. You deserve better!”

Clown 2:“You know Joe I just don’t understand, I did everything I could to make her happy.”

Clown 1:“Hey, you know,  it’s okay if you want to cry. It’s just us brother.”

Clown 2: (in tears) “Life is just so unfair! But hey how’s the wife and kids?”

Clown 1: “They’re real good. Sally just started walking…”

The conversation continues as they are digging a shallow grave wearing their clown costumes. So, we know they are clowns, we know they are friends, and we know what happened…but they don’t have to tell us that they murdered this guy. We just know! If we focused on the body, or what happened the scene would drag on, the audience would get board with details and information that they don’t need.

This scenario leads us to the truth of comedy…Relatability!

Think about how you feel when you pop bubble wrap.  Did that put a smile on your face just thinking about it?  How about when you scoop peanut butter from a freshly open jar, yeah there’s that satisfaction face. See how easy it is to relate? All you have to do is capture a moment when someone has used your product in such a way that it brings a clear feeling to your audience.

Just remember that comedy is subjective, but so is being bored out of your seat.  By using these tried and true principles of Improv Comedy, you can help your audience laugh at the unexpected, learn about your great product/service and keep them interested and wanting more.

So, let’s get out there and take a fresh approach to comedy, and whatever you do, if you see two clowns walking your way…RUN!