I’ve been creating explainer videos for a little over 3 years now. In those past couple of years, I’ve had my hand in over 85 videos for companies of all different shapes and sizes. And while that might not be all that long, or that many videos compared to some folks, I’d like to think I’ve learned a few valuable lessons along the way.
So for those of you looking to create an explainer video for your business, here are 6 lessons I’ve learned. I hope these insights help you avoid the mistakes I’ve made in the past, and create an engaging video with lasting value.
1. Keep it Short
An elevator pitch is meant to be a short, speedy way to tell someone about your business…preferably in the amount of time it takes to ride an elevator. If you already have an elevator pitch, crafting a concise explainer video should be easy. Try to keep your video to 90-seconds or less. In most cases you should be able to keep it to 60-seconds, or even 30 if your business is relatively simple.
The shorter your video runs, the more likely you’re going to engage viewers from start to finish. If you spend too long describing the problem your customers have, wait too long to introduce your product or service, or waste too much time describing features, you’re going to lose people’s attention and defeat the purpose of having a video.
If you’re in charge of writing a script, keep in mind that 150 words equals around a minute of spoken word. While you may be able to read faster than that, you want to make sure the video has adequate breathing room to ensure viewers can keep up with the content you’re presenting.
1. Impressive visual power
You’ve probably noticed that marketers are making use of visuals more and more, to communicate their messages and ideas to their target audiences. And this is not by chance: it’s just that we are all visual learners. This means that we learn, understand, assimilate and remember information more easily through drawings, diagrams, charts, designs and any other visual resource. So, with this in mind, just picture in your mind how powerful video content can be and even more so if we mixed in designs and graphics in motion! Motion graphics fits perfectly with this “visual learning” logic and helps you reach your audience through compelling and persuasive content.
2. Stunning designs in motion
Keep in mind that motion graphics is not only about designs. Animation plays a key role too! Basically, motion graphics gets the most out of animation techniques to make the elements really come alive. One of the best things about this style is that it gives you the chance to convey any complex business idea by using graphic elements in movement. Result? You will make your target audience understand (and also remember) what your product is about, in just a couple of seconds. Amazing!
3. Mix with other styles
Motion graphics can also be merged with other explainer video styles to maximize its effectiveness. Let me be clear on this: imagine that besides resorting to the motion graphics technique, you also need to add an extra “human/personal” touch to your video. In this case, you will then need to add some cute characters that give your video that emotional approach you’re looking for. And that’s when you can mix motion graphics and character animation together! But, of course, you can mix it with other techniques too. We’ll talk about this in the next paragraphs.
Why Should I Use Motion Graphics?
Now you have a lot of information in mind. But maybe you still don’t know if motion graphics is the right choice for your next marketing video. Check out this list that summarizes the different situations or contexts in which you can resort to a motion graphics video.
Use a motion graphics video when…
Your company has a more serious or professional profile.
When your company sells a product or service that has a more professional profile and you want to enhance that identity through video marketing, then choose a motion graphics video.
You want to provide your video with an elegant style.
Remember that motion graphics is one of the most formal and sophisticated explainer video styles out there. It can help you bring that extra seriousness you’re looking for (and that other marketing videos may lack).
You want to pass out complex ideas without losing the visual appeal.
Motion graphics is a great choice if you need to pass out stats, numbers, facts and hard data that could be harder to assimilate if you didn’t use graphics in motion.
You want to synthesize concepts through an educational approach.
It’s said that an image is worth a thousand words. Then imagine the power of images in motion! Motion graphics have a huge synthesis power and make use of attractive visuals to get to an educational approach, without losing its “charm”.
You have a B2B company, or a B2C company that deals with “hard data”.
If you have a software, IT or financial company, for instance, motion graphics is a great choice for you: it lets you communicate hard data in a very direct and understandable way, without losing engagement.
