10 Reasons Explainer Videos Fail and Tips To Make a Successful One

08 Nov 10 Reasons Explainer Videos Fail and Tips To Make a Successful One

It’s a well known fact that digital video is becoming the preferred method for people to obtain information. Combine that with people’s affinity for visual learning, the amazing conversion success of some company’s videos, and it seems like a slam dunk to make your own explainer video!

So why are so many businesses’ explainer videos failing to impress?

10 Reasons Why Explainer Videos Fail

1. Poorly Written Script – Content is king. Your script, as a general rule, should not be overly technical. Explainer videos exist to take your company, products or services and make it easy for the audience to understand. It should also be grammatically correct and written with a conversational tone to make it easier to listen to.

2. Amateur Work – Quality matters. Just because you own a video camera (or that guy you’re paying only $1,000 to do filming for you) doesn’t make you a professional. Your brand is at stake with your video and if you don’t present your business in a professional manner, your brand image will suffer. Poor lighting, jerky camera movements, screen transitions reminiscent of the 80’s…avoid those. Amateur work makes your company seem like it’s not reputable.

3. You Didn’t Test It – Modifying a video can be costly, but in the end it should be worth it. You should test your explainer video on your intended audience, not your co-workers, friends or family. Any input on the content of the video should have been done. This stage is meant for some alone time with your potential customers.

4. Where’s the value? – As much as we love to toot our own horns, these videos are for customers to see the value of doing business with you. If your video just talks about how awesome you think you are, there’s a chance they could look for someone to show value for them.

5. No Visual Separation – Is your video minute after endless minute of just watching people talk? That may not be enough to capture attention let alone hold it. Though graphics and animation can be a costly addition to an explainer video, they’re invaluable for capturing and keeping attention. Visual interest is key.

6. Poor Voiceover Work – A lot of business professionals feel they should be the ones doing the voiceovers for their videos, but if your script sounds like it’s being read by Ben Stein (or worse) it may amuse, but not captivate.

7. Imitating Competitors – If your video looks just like Company X’s, something is wrong. Not only does it open the door to copyright violation litigation, it also reflects poorly on your business ethics. It’s like the difference between a Coach purse and Coach knockoff – people will know the difference and your video will look like the cheap knockoff.

8. Too Much Content – You may have an overwhelming desire to explain EVERYTHING in detail in your explainer video. That’s not the point of one. Product walkthroughs, demos, etc. have their place after the customer understands who you are and what you or your products do.

9. No Call to Action – So you’ve made an amazing explainer video now prompt your audience to do something! Should they call you? Email? Read more? Watch more videos?

10.Video Gets Buried – This may seem like a no-brainer, but if your explainer video is buried in the dark recesses of a webpage, it’s not going to convert anything. An explainer video is like a prize piece, display it proudly and sing praise of it to the heavens (or Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. etc.).

Tips for a Successful Explainer Video

Simplify Your Message – Not only will this help capture your audiences’ attention, it will eliminate barriers to purchase. Answer the 5 W’s and tell them to call you or encourage them to view demos, read other content, etc.

Stimulate The Senses – Audiences learn more from watching videos than reading text, by stimulating auditory and visual senses you’re encouraging engagement, and ultimately retention. Give them something neat to look at and add some music and sound effects where applicable.

Short and Sweet – Remember that point about attention-span? Keeping it short & simple will maximize information retention and engagement. Keep it interesting and they may even want to share it with their friends!

Strategy – You have an explainer video, now what? Spread the word! Make it visible on your website, email the link to your clients, Tweet it, Facebook it, YouTube it! Call-to-actions are a must to encourage people to share it.

Go All In – When you invest in quality work it signals to your client that you are serious about your business which then translates into quality products/service and implied customer satisfaction.

What do you think? What are you some of the best or worst explainer videos you’ve seen? Any other tips or advice you would add? Share it below with a comment!

Number 9 Creative offers video production services in the Minneapolis St.Paul area at a budget-friendly, competitive price! Contact us today for a quote on explainer videos, introduction videos, motion graphics, video content marketing and more!