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.