The Rise of the Explainer Video: Why Video Marketing is So Effective.

The Rise of the Explainer Video: Why Video Marketing is So Effective.

There’s video. And then there’s explaining. Mix the two and you’ve got online marketing’s most lasting obsession: the explainer video. You’ve seen them – the Project Loon animation for Google, the 30-second Groupon spot, Basecamp’s startup explainer video, and the hilarious video Dollar Shave Club – these are all highly successful explainer videos that educate and entertain, but that also get people talking and boost sales.

Explainer videos are a phenomenon that packs a lot of ideas into a short span of time – generally 30 to 90 seconds. Often animated or featuring colorful infographics, this type of video content is designed to be punchy, witty, charming and funny. At the same time it can deliver a multitude of complex ideas about company values, explain how a product works, what a service is for, etc. A picture is worth a thousand words and all that.

Why do they work?

It’s stating the obvious that video content and the Internet have been having a long term relationship that shows no signs of getting stale.

Google, the world’s premiere search engine gives high priority to video content, which is 53 times more likely to get a site on the all-important first search results page than a text-based website. And according to a 2016 global trends analysis by technology conglomerate Cisco Systems, by 2020 video will make up 82{f48cdb843be78821f3e6bad1e0e37d22b133730599e0a9a60c52ba26b491813c} of all Internet traffic
Clearly, one thing we all know how to do is watch videos on the Internet.

Why market with video?

There is an overwhelming consensus among marketing experts that marketing with video is just more effective than any other medium. Here are a few of the more reasons why:

Shareability

Videos are the preferred content for sharing on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. YouTube processes about a hundred hours of video every minute. Milennials especially watch video content across devices. So an explainer video distribution plan can be instituted across devices and platforms as well.

Engagement

This quality of wanting to connect meaningfully is especially pronounced with younger people. A recent Think with Google report about online video trends says half of 18 to 34-year-old YouTube users would drop what they’re doing to watch a new video by their favorite creator.
And engagement is easy to analyze –you can track who watched, for how long and who shared the content with friends

Conversions

Explainer videos are not necessarily promotional – it’s much more important that they seduce the viewer with charm or wit. That can build trust and engagement. Which then may lead to sales (conversions). As long as you have a call to action somewhere in the video, there’s a chance to generate leads.

Cutting Edge

Exciting new technologies such as 360 video, which can display a product from all angles, often show up first in explainer videos. Younger viewers especially are extremely savvy about video aesthetics and production and will vigorously share and comment on video content that showcases original approaches.

How to add explainer videos to your marketing strategy

It’s never been easier to generate good looking video content that explains your company or service, or that drills down to explain how a product or concept works. You could hire a production company or agency like Best Explainer Video (100+ References), but likely all the talent needed is already in-house. Depending on your product, service or company, you might also consider crowd-sourcing video content from your constituency or consumer base, as Air Bnb did with their popular Vine campaign. That way you harness the power of peers and community, which is yet another way to build engagement and user loyalty.

While it’s not about text, successful explainer videos are all about the writing. If your concept and script are solid, tools and talent to produce a video are readily available. Whether you’re looking to boost brand recognition, turn viewers into buyers, or just illustrate how something works, explainer videos are a fun and effective tool.