Guide

Types of Explainer Videos That Will Work in Your Business

In the current competitive environment, businesses are competing for attention. The increased availability of the internet makes it extremely easy for people to reach their audience in a matter of minutes. It is hard for any business to grow without putting eyeballs on its products and services. After all, if people do not see you, how would they know you exist?

When it comes to gaining visibility, digital marketing is one factor that alone can create an audience for you. And when it comes to advertisements, no other content format does a better job than an explainer video. According to a consumer survey conducted by Tubular Labs, a staggering 96% of consumers claimed to have watched videos before deciding whether they would buy a particular product or not.

Not just that, a decent 71% of the surveyed people claimed that a brand video was able to positively influence their opinion about the brand or its products/services. Video marketing in real estate, manufacturing, and other such fields has been proven to be one of the best ways to provide lead generation. 

These are not trivial figures for any business. These numbers reveal the potential of video. Explainer videos, in particular, function as an effective tool for businesses to inform and educate the audience about their products and services. Thus, brands are dedicating more and more resources every year to creating compelling explainer videos for their audiences.

However, not every brand is well-equipped to tackle all aspects of video content creation. At least businesses that are just getting started with video should consider getting an Explainer video agency on board. Getting help from highly skilled and experienced professionals could help a brand navigate the what, how, and when of video content creation and publishing.

If you are a business owner who wants to milk the immense potential of video, you will find the below rundown helpful. Following are the most popular types of brand explainer videos that you experiment with. But first, let’s find out what an explainer video does for you exactly.

What is the Purpose of Making Explainer Videos?

The purpose of explainer videos is to simplify complex products and sophisticated services. Explainer videos essentially highlight a brand’s utility in the viewers’ lives by laying out what a product or service can do. A viewer gets a clear idea about how a particular product or service can make their lives easier by watching an explainer video. 

Maybe your product or service is solving a specific problem of the viewer, saving time, or offering comfort. Whatever you do as a brand you can communicate it via explainer videos. The more engaging you can make your explainer videos, the more audiences you can convert into your customers.

Types of Explainer Videos

Depending upon how much time, effort, and resources you are willing to spend, there is a wide variety of explainer videos that you can create. Here are some of the most common explainer videos that brands across the globe are using.

Hardly anyone will argue with the fact that 2D character animation is one of the most optimal types of explainer videos. 

2D character animation videos are pretty inexpensive as you can make these using animation software like Doratoon. You can also hire an expert animator if you want. Basically, in these videos, characters, objects, and backgrounds appear in a 2-dimensional environment. These videos have a cartoon-like appearance, which is optimum for simplified storytelling.

This video format is perfect for breaking down a complex concept, making it easy to grasp for the viewer. With these videos, you can establish a recallable connection between your brand and the audience. 2D character animation can aptly make your brand messaging memorable for the viewer. 

3D animation videos are more like the costlier, more time-consuming upgrade to 2D animated videos. Videos with 3D animation might look cool, but these are often not worth your precious time or hard-earned money. The reasons are pretty simple:

• You can explain your product or service or narrate your brand story without the over-the-top effects. 
• It takes too much time to make even the slightest changes in 3D animation videos. Not worth the trouble.
• These videos are really cost-exhaustive. 

If done well, a 2D motion graphics video may appear akin to an animation video, at least at a cursory glance. But unlike animation, motion graphic videos manipulate custom-designed, curated, or stock images to explain a concept. 

A well-made 2D motion graphics video combines custom-designed images such as brand logos with other stock or curated images to convey factual information and ideas. 

The 2D motion graphics format is very suitable for product /software/service demonstration videos or to clarify complex topics through graphics (like those related to finance or technology). You need to hire the services of illustrators and animators to create visual graphics videos.

Many small businesses have insufficient resources to hire an expert animator. Neither do they have the required skills in-house to make well-rounded and polished animation videos. For those businesses, investing in live-action videos makes much more sense.

Live-action video format involves filming real people, doing some specific activities. The product or service is explained thoroughly in these videos as viewers see people using the product or service. The biggest perk of using live-action videos is that these come across as very relatable. You can make videos for your brand easily using a good editing application.

However, you must keep one thing in mind. Videos that are shot poorly or not edited well can stand out like a sore thumb. Hence, you should dedicate enough time, effort, and resources to making sure that the production value of the video is up to the mark. Even if you spend some amount on getting quality actors and editors, you still be able to make live-action videos on a much smaller budget compared to other types of explainer videos. 

Conclusion

Well-made explainer videos do wonders for businesses, from boosting sales to increasing brand awareness. But remember that not all types of explainer videos may suit your brand identity. With the development in technology, there’s no doubt that we can expect a lot from the future of explainer videos. Apart from the popular formats discussed above, there are many other kinds of explainer videos that you can experiment with till you get the one that aligns with your brand voice. Just ensure that equal attention gets paid to the narrative structure of the video, its visual presentation, and its background elements such as sound.

Posted by

Anastasia Brown

Business and Finance Expert