Step-by-Step Guide: How to Create High-Impact Explainer Videos That Drive Result

Explainer videos use clear narratives, visuals, and often animations to break down complex information into easily digestible, memorable pieces. This makes them one of the most effective ways to communicate complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand and remember.

An explainer video can help you capture your target audience's attention, clarify your product, and drive conversions. In fact, 97% of businesses say that their explainer videos have helped users understand their business better, while 81% say that their explainer videos have helped them increase sales.

These successes are only possible with high-quality, compelling explainer videos. This guide will explain how to create such videos and drive results.

Let’s start the discussion with the types of explainer videos and the features of a successful explainer video.

Types of Explainer Videos

There are different types of explainer videos, so you need to choose the right one for your needs. Here are the most popular explainer videos, their advantages, and when to use them.

Animated Explainer Videos

Animated explainer videos use motion graphics or animations to tell a story. These explainer videos are perfect for explaining SaaS tools and services that do not have a physical form or deep diving into a product or service in 3D. Animations can explain abstract concepts in an easy-to-understand way or show the inner workings of a product in a way live video simply can’t.

Also Read: Exploring Animation: Choosing The Style for Your Brand

Advantages of animated explainer videos

• Animated videos can capture attention using colorful and dynamic visuals.
• Animations can represent abstract concepts, technical processes, or whimsical elements that would be difficult to explain using live action.

When to use an animated explainer video

• When explaining software, apps, or online services that may be difficult to visualize in the real world
• When aiming to help users visualize hypothetical scenarios or future products
• When highlighting the inner features of a product in 3D
• When aiming to create a fun, engaging video that holds viewers’ attention

Live-Action Explainer Videos

Live-action explainer videos use real people and physical environments to convey the message. They feature actors, employees, or customers demonstrating a product or service in real-world scenarios, generally with a voiceover explaining the benefits.

Advantages of live-action explainer videos

• Live action helps you demonstrate how a product or service is used in everyday situations.
• Live-action videos are more relatable, as viewers can identify with real-world situations.
• They build trust as viewers are more likely to connect emotionally with real faces and relatable scenarios.

When to use live-action videos

• When you want to humanize your brand or showcase real-life scenarios.
• When you want to build trust or connect emotionally.
• When you want to tell your brand story.

Whiteboard Animation Explainer Videos

Whiteboard animation videos mimic drawing illustrations on a whiteboard to explain concepts. A hand or pen usually writes and draws graphics on a white background as each part of the story unfolds (via voiceover narration), making it feel like the presenter is explaining the concept step-by-step.

Advantages of whiteboard animation explainer videos

• They break technical, detailed information into a visual narrative that’s easy to follow.
• Drawing the essential elements keeps viewers focused on the most important points.
• Whiteboard animations are cost-effective compared to other types of explainer videos.
• Whiteboard animations have a strong educational feel.

When to use whiteboard animation explainer videos

• When you need to educate or explain something in a step-by-step manner.
• When you have a limited budget but still want engaging and professional explainer videos.

UI (User-Interface) or UX (User-Experience) Explainer Videos

UI or UX explainer videos feature actual footage of a platform or program, just as a user would see it.  These videos walk viewers through the interface or highlight features of software, apps, or websites so they can see and understand how the digital product works.

Advantages of UI UX explainer videos

• UI videos are highly instructional.
• Screen highlights show a digital product's interface, helping viewers understand how a platform looks and works instead of imagining it.
• These videos can explain an interface in detail (great for demos and clients) or simply highlight flashy dashboards and special features (great for marketing).

When to use UI UX explainer videos

• When aiming to demonstrate how a software tool or app works.
• When highlighting a unique feature or interface
• When you need to walk users through the process of setting up an account or using specific features of a digital platform.

Features of High-Impact Explainer Videos

The best explainer videos have certain characteristics that make them stand out and resonate with your target audience. The key features that contribute to a high-impact explainer video are:

Clear and concise messaging

The goal of an explainer video is to communicate the value of a product or service in an easy-to-understand way. For this reason, one of the most important features of a high-impact explainer video is clear and concise messaging.

The video should focus on delivering a simple, clear message without overwhelming the audience with too much information or complexity. Viewers should immediately understand what you are offering them and how it solves their problem.

Engaging visuals and design

Humans process visuals faster than text. And engaging visuals can reinforce your message and keep viewers interested. For this reason, explainer videos should feature high-quality, eye-catching visuals.

Whether you’re creating an animation, live-action footage, or motion graphic, include eye-catching visuals to make the video visually interesting and easy to follow.

Strong storytelling

People are drawn to stories, especially those that evoke emotions. For this reason, some of the best explainer videos are those that tell a story that resonates emotionally with the target audience.

Storytelling can engage viewers emotionally and keep them interested throughout the video. So, instead of simply listing your product's features in a video, tell a compelling story about someone facing a particular problem and then introduce how your product helps.

When the problem addressed is one that people can relate to, your narration will resonate with them, making your message more memorable and more likely to drive action.

Compelling and professional voiceover

A well-executed voiceover clarifies information in the video and reinforces the message by complementing the visuals. For this reason, a well-crafted explainer video should feature a compelling and professional voiceover.

A well-paced narration of the on-screen visuals helps guide viewers. It explains things as the video plays, ensuring viewers understand and absorb the information. When adding voiceovers to explainer video content, ensure they are clear and match the tone and personality of your brand.

Well-chosen sound and music

Explainer videos should feature interesting background music because sound and music enhance the viewer experience.

Not only does a well-chosen piece of music make an explainer video more interesting and engaging, but it can become associated with the brand and make it more memorable. Think of how Coca-Cola’s “I’d like to teach the world to sing” or McDonald’s “Give me that filet-o-fish. Give me that fish” jingle stuck in people’s minds, anchoring the video’s message in viewers’ memory.

Strong branding

Great explainer videos not only explain your products or services but also make your brand more recognizable and memorable to your target audience. For this reason, impactful explainer videos should feature your brand elements, such as logos, colors, fonts, and schemes.

Strong branding in your explainer videos will ensure that your audience remembers your brand when they see the product you offer. Even if they don’t immediately purchase when they watch your video, your brand will be at the top of their minds.

Clear and compelling call-to-action (CTA)

An explainer video is only effective if it leads to action (such as signups/registrations, product/service purchases, or app downloads). For this reason, a great explainer video should feature a clear and compelling CTA.

The CTA should appear at the end of the video and direct viewers to the next steps. When the CTA is clear, it’s easy for viewers to know what to do after watching the video, and when it is compelling, it encourages them to take those next steps.

Steps to Creating High-Impact Explainer Videos That Drive Results

The steps to creating a high-impact explainer video are as follows:

Step 1: Define your goal and audience

Before producing a video, it's important to understand why you are creating the video and who it is for. Without a clear goal, the video could become a broad advertisement that fails to deliver a clear message. But a clear goal helps you stay focused on what the video wants to achieve.

Your goal guides the tone, content, and structure of the video. By defining your goal upfront, you can ensure that every element of the video aligns with your objective. For example, if your goal is to explain a complicated process, consider an educational video. If your goal is to generate sales, you may choose a persuasive tone.

After defining your goal, you should also define your audience so that the video speaks directly to those who need to see it. Identify your target audience and their preferences, pain points, and challenges. Knowing this will help you create video content that is relevant to them, making your video more likely to drive results.

Step 2: Craft a compelling script

The script is the foundation of all explainer videos, as it outlines the message the video will convey.

The script should start with a hook—an engaging introduction that describes the problem your product or service solves. Next, introduce your product or service as a solution to the problem described and briefly explain how it works. Then, conclude with a call to action, encouraging the viewer to take the next steps (signing up for a free demo or making a purchase).

Step 3: Storyboard your video

Once you have your script, the next step in creating a great explainer video is to storyboard your video. A storyboard is a visual representation of how your video will unfold scene by scene.

Storyboarding is simply sketching out how the message will be visually represented. It involves drawing rough sketches that show how each scene will look, after which you match the scenes with parts of your script.

Step 4: Choose the right video style and visuals

The next step is to choose the right type of explainer video for your needs. You may combine two or more video styles.

Consider your message and brand personality when selecting your video style. For example, whiteboard animation may be best to simplify complex ideas, and live-action videos may be best for building trust with your audience.

Choosing the right visuals for your explainer video is as important as the video style. Choose visuals that reinforce your message and ensure the viewer stays engaged and understands the message quickly. For example, consider using tick boxes to highlight steps in a process.

When choosing visuals for explainer videos, ensure consistency with your brand’s color scheme and overall design aesthetics. This will reinforce your brand identity and make the video instantly recognizable.

Step 5: Produce the video

Here is where you film, animate, or screen record, depending on your desired video style. If you’re working with a production team, they’ll take care of this step.

Also Read: Video Post-Production: 8 Hidden Benefits of Partnering with Professionals.

But if you’re creating the video in-house, the following points are important:

• Create high-quality footage: Use quality equipment to produce high-quality video content.
• Keep it short: Viewers have limited attention spans, so keep your video short and straight to the point. Aim for a video length of 1 - 2 minutes, as these short-form videos are best for engagement rates.
• Include voiceover: Offer a voiceover narration explaining what’s happening on screen. Choose a voice that matches your brand tone, and ensure the voiceover is clear and matches the script's pacing.
• Add music and sound effects. Use royalty-free music or work with a composer to create original music and sound effects for your video.

Step 7: Edit and fine-tune

After producing your video, the next step is to edit it to ensure everything flows smoothly.

Video editing is when you cut out unnecessary content, add text overlays to reinforce key points, add subtitles (since many viewers watch videos without sound), polish the transitions between scenes, and sync the audio with visuals.

Step 8: Optimize for distribution

Different platforms have unique characteristics that affect how videos perform. For this reason, after editing your video, you must optimize it before you share it with the world.

Things you may do here include:

• Craft captivating titles and descriptions for your video, and incorporate relevant keywords to improve search visibility.
• Customize your video for the social media platform you use (e.g., make square videos for Instagram and landscape videos for YouTube)
• Embed the videos on your website or blogs.

After optimizing your video for production, you may proceed to publish it.

Why Are Explainer Videos Important for E-commerce?

Explainer videos are important to e-commerce for the following reasons:

• Simplify complex products: When you offer some products that viewers struggle to understand at first glance, business explainer videos can clearly show how the product fulfills a need, making it easier for customers to understand the product.

• Improve organic traffic: Search engines prioritize video content for relevant queries, so placing optimized explainer videos on your e-commerce sites can help you rank in search engine results. More people searching Google will see your videos, driving traffic to your e-commerce site.

• Increase conversions and sales: Videos are more engaging than text, so they’re more likely to capture and hold your audience's attention and encourage them to complete a purchase. In fact, research shows that including an explainer video on your landing page can increase conversion by over 80%.

• Reduces returns: When customers watch explainer videos and clearly understand what a product looks like and how it works, they’ll be more confident in their purchase. This reduces post-purchase confusion and minimizes returns.

• Reduces customer inquiries: Customers can watch explainer videos and find answers independently, reducing customer-support inquiries.

• Build trust: You can use explainer videos to humanize your brand, showcase product quality, and demonstrate expertise. And this builds credibility and trust with your audience.

• Increase social media engagement and visibility. When an explainer video is interesting, viewers will share it, increasing your brand's reach and attracting more potential customers.

Also Read: 10 Proven Ways Marketing Videos Drive Growth

Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Creating Explainer Videos

Common pitfalls to avoid when creating explainer videos include:

• Lack of a clear goal: When you don’t have a clear goal, your explainer video may bring in unnecessary detail and end up not conveying a specific message. And the video will be ineffective. So, always start by defining your goal, which will guide everything else.

• Overloading your video with too much information: Avoid packing too much information into your video. That will overwhelm viewers. Instead, keep the video simple by focusing on the most essential details.

• Lacking a strong CTA: Without a CTA, your video will be informative but will not drive actions such as signing up, making a purchase, etc. So, always add a clear and compelling CTA to the end of your video that nudges viewers to take the next steps.

• Using poor-quality videos or audio: Explainer videos often give customers their first impression of your brand. Poor-quality visuals or audio can leave a bad first impression, seriously damaging your credibility.

• Using inconsistent visuals: Inconsistent visuals can make your video chaotic. And this can make viewers tune out before they reach the main points.

• Not creating for your audience: Even if an explainer video ticks every other box, it will be ineffective if it does not resonate with your target audience (by addressing their needs). Thus, to create an effective explainer video, start with determining the target audience and then tailor your video (including messaging, tone, and visuals) to their preferences and challenges.

Create impactful explainer videos with Levitate Media

You can elevate your brand with explainer videos because they can communicate complex ideas in simple ways. These videos can help you show how your product works, improve organic traffic, drive conversion and sales, reduce returns and customer inquiries, and build trust.

However, only well-crafted explainer videos can give you these benefits. You can create effective explainer videos by following the steps above.

The good news is that you don’t need to be a video marketing professional to create high-quality explainer videos that drive results. Levitate Media simplifies the process of creating high-quality explainer videos. Our team has been producing live and animated videos for businesses for over a decade. We produce videos for any purpose, including marketing, recruitment, training and development, and corporate events.

Ready to create impactful videos? Get in touch with Levitate Media today

FAQs

Where Should I Use Explainer Videos for Optimal Effectiveness?

You can use explainer videos across various channels, such as product pages, landing pages, social media platforms, marketing emails, support articles, and FAQs

What Is the Ideal Length for an Explainer Video?

To maintain viewer interest, the ideal length for an explainer video is between 60 - 90 seconds. Videos may run up to two minutes if you desire a more detailed explanation or your content is more complex. However, if you go over two minutes, your viewers may lose interest as the video rolls on.

Where should I share and promote my explainer video?

You can share explainer videos on your website (homepage, product pages, and landing pages), social media platforms, marketing emails, online communities and fora, and paid ad platforms (like Google Ads and Facebook Ads)

What is the cost of an explainer video?

An explainer video can cost between $500 and $100,000, depending on its complexity, production quality, length, company reputation, and additional services offered. DIY video production can cost as low as $500 to $2,500. Mid-range agencies can provide higher-quality videos for around $3,000 - $10,000, while high-end agencies can charge up to $100,000 or more for high-end videos.

Which Software Works Best for Editing Explainer Videos?

There are several great software tools for creating and editing explainer videos, and the best choice depends on your skills, budget, and video requirements. Canva, Animoto, and Powton are very useful for beginners. Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, and Vyond work well for intermediate users. Advanced users who want intricate video content can use Adobe After Effects and Ciema 4D.

What Aspect Ratio Is Best for Explainer Videos?

The ideal aspect ratio for an explainer video depends on the platform on which it will be published. The most common aspect ratio is 16:9 (widescreen), which is perfect for YouTube, Vimeo, and website embedding. A 1:1 (square) aspect ratio is best for Instagram, while a 9:16 (vertical) aspect ratio is best for TikTok and Snapchat.

Can Canva Be Used to Create Explainer Videos?

Yes, Canva can be used to create explainer videos, especially beginner-level, simple videos. It provides several templates for explainer videos and allows users to add text, images, animations, and voiceovers. However, it is limited for complex animations and advanced video production needs.