Online marketing is the way to go these days, and there are many tools at the online marketer’s disposal – including those short videos known as whiteboard explainer videos. These typically talk about a company’s product or service in 60 to 90 seconds – that’s less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee.
With so many people constantly on the go and chasing after time, it’s no wonder these information snippets are all the rage. After all, they’re short enough that you won’t lose interest, but long enough to give the right amount of information. They’re essentially the mini-skirts of marketing; long enough to cover the important bits, short enough to keep things interesting.
However, there will always be two kinds of videos: those that stand out from the crowd, and those that sink into the background and are forgotten entirely. Where your own business’s videos fall can mean the difference between failure and success. So how can you make sure you produce a great explainer video?
- The script. This is where it all begins. Without a script, even the best video production company can’t put together a decent video. You’re not trying to sound like an infomercial, though, so remember not to focus on your product’s or service’s features.
Instead, it’s your audience who should be the focal point of the script. You want to identify or enumerate a problem they likely would have, and then show them how your product can solve said problem.
- The benefits. As mentioned above, your audience won’t want to know how many colors your product comes in, or how convenient it is to carry around. While it’s true those traits may bear some weight, what you should showcase are the benefits. For instance, people will look more closely at how sturdy a phone case is, rather than the galaxy-inspired print it has.
- The jargon. Not everyone in your audience will use the same phrases or terms you do. Instead of including those fifty-dollar words in your script, stick to simple phrases that your audience are more likely to use. For example, a tablet marketed as having “enough storage for vacation videos” will attract more people than one being described as having “150GB of internet storage, and expandable up to 340GB via micro SD. ”
- The voiceover. You have your script, and your pick from among several local video production companies is ready with the video itself. No one wants to watch a video where there doesn’t seem to be much of anything going on. This is where the voiceover comes in. This disembodied voice will set the pace of the whole video – whether it’s fast or slow.
It should also be professionally done – so no voiceovers that sound like they were recorded on a low-budget device.
5. The call to action. You want your explainer videos to get people to buy your products or services. Your audience isn’t dumb, but every good whiteboard explainer video has a call to action. From “call this number now” to “check out this site for more info,” these will reinforce the importance of your viewers acting as soon as possible, before they miss out on a something that could have made their lives easier.
