IN THE STUDIO

Virtually all businesses, regardless of size, are beginning to better understand the many benefits of including a variety of video content in their marketing strategies. While it is a good idea to experiment with multiple types of videos such as live streaming on Facebook, professional video content for your website, and basic tutorials for product-based businesses, it is important to get one of the most basic kinds of video out of the way first: the explainer video. The explainer video is an opportunity to give your target audience a fundamental understanding of what your business is and what it can do for them. But how can you be sure that you are creating a captivating explainer video? Let's take a look at four key things that every explainer video should include.

1. A Story: An explainer video without an engaging story will merely bore your audience and have them nodding off in no time. While the whole point of your explainer video is obviously to explain to viewers what your business is about — its history, products and services, and any other pertinent information you want to include — the video must also be entertaining. Additionally, the story of your video should be about the customer, their needs, and how the product or service you are offering is able to fulfill those needs. When you make the video about the customer, it becomes more interesting to them. You want the viewer to be so stirred up with a sense of urgency after watching the video that they will take actionable steps to contact you and have their needs met with your product or service.
2. A Logo: So many businesses forget to include their logo in explainer videos! You want to include your logo in the video so viewers have something to remember you by. Consider placing the logo somewhere at the beginning or end of the video similarly to the way news videos include their logos. Including your logo in the video is an opportunity to get the right amount of branding infused into the content and thus strengthen your overall brand identity over time.
3. Contact Information: The whole purpose of explainer videos is to answer as many questions as possible that people may have for your business. However, the reality is that not every single question that every single person has can be answered in one video. So if after watching the video, a viewer still has an unanswered question, include some customer support information at the end so that viewer has the opportunity to take action and get in touch with you. Make sure the place you list and drive traffic to, is regularly checked and answered and can support the amount of traffic you anticipate.
4. A Summary: At the start of the video, you should introduce yourself and highlight the main talking points before going through anything else. Fewer things are more irritating to a person watching video content than being five minutes into the video and still not understanding what it is about. Most people who watch explainer videos greatly appreciate having an executive summary at the beginning so that it is easier for them to follow along and so that they won't feel like their time is being wasted.

Here's an explainer video we recently created for Starling Infusion Center.  Take a look:

Looking for more advice on ways to create the perfect explainer video for your business? Need video content creation? Don't hesitate to contact us. Our talented team is committed to helping businesses grow with professional video and photography that will strengthen their brands.