In our last blog, we talked about the reasons an animation explainer video is a great way to explain, in a concise, engaging, and effective way, how you can help your clients.

The next question is: what are the “must-have” elements of an effective and engaging animation explainer video? That is what we will answer in today’s Video Lion.

Before we identify these elements, let’s make one thing clear: Before you even start to create your explainer video, you must have a precise goal. It may be to motivate potential clients to contact you, or for existing clients to be exposed to a new service, or you may want to educate your audience about a problem you are helping to solve. Whatever it is, think it through and always keep it in mind. Now, to the “must-have” elements:

A GOOD STORY

You may have a service or product that is a bit complex to explain but, in one way or another, it all boils down to human beings using that service or product and the results they get. So, a good explainer video will always feature a story that focuses on the human transformation experience rather than on technical facts. And since we’re using animation, let your imagination run free, as long as it makes the story more interesting. Refrain from your instinct of shoving as many features as you can into the story. Focus on the prize: making potential clients curious so they will contact you.

Last but not least: if creative writing is not what you do for a living, do yourself a favor and don’t try to save money by going with one of these companies that asks you to give them your script and they will create a video. The results are usually not impressive, to say the least.

SHORT DURATION

A good explainer is short, usually not longer than two minutes. People’s attention span is really short. Start boring them, and they are gone. If you can’t say it in two minutes or less, redo your script. A good method to help calculate duration: 1 minute of video is approximately 150 words

START STRONG, FINISH STRONG

The first 5 seconds of a video are critical, so don’t waste too much time setting things up. Jump right into the action. Be interesting both visually and text-wise. If people don’t get curious enough in the first 5 seconds, chances are they will stop watching. Finish strong by having a clear call-to-action – that means, tell the viewer what to do next and how.

BE UNIQUE

You want your video to stand out. Chose a visual design that is customized for you and your business, not a template-based video that looks like thousands of others. Make sure to ask your video provider if the art is original, made especially for you. This may cost a bit more, but it is worth every penny.

Keep these four points in mind when deciding to do an animated explainer video for your business, and you’ll definitely create a great tool to help increase sales and conversion.

Please email me at info@leibproductions.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for topics you would like us to write about.

See you at the next Video Lion!

Neco Turkienicz