By Andre Oentoro
In this visual-centric world, internet users’ attention span is only getting shorter and shorter. They prefer quick content with enough interesting information that can solve their problem. In such cases, explainer videos came through the whole affair like a breath of fresh air to consumers in a world that’s flooded with content.
After years of being seen as an emerging tactic, explainer videos have firmly made it to the mainstream– especially for small business owners that want to boost their online visibility. With tons of benefits and affordable production costs, explainer videos have now become a staple type of content for more than 80% of businesses in all sizes.
As a small business owner, using an explainer video can make it easier for you to introduce your brand quickly. And show how it can benefit your customers in a matter of seconds. If done right, explainer videos can strengthen your online presence and boost your sales.
Now, the question is: how to create an explainer video that brings you those benefits? After all, we’re here to give you some of the actionable tips to use explainer videos in the best possible way.
1. Keep It Short and Sweet
Remember, the primary purpose of an explainer video is to break down a complex topic into easy-to-digest, snackable chunks. So it’s always supposed to be short, straightforward, and informative.
The more you say, the less your potential customer will remember. That’s why making your explainer video under two minutes (the ideal length is 90-seconds) is necessary. Instead of telling everything about your product, try to describe what your audience should know.
Pro tip: Try to put yourself into your target customers’ shoes. In this case, you’ll get a grasp on what information they would like to see and what wouldn’t.
2. Create an Attention-Grabbing, Powerful Intro
You must already know that your potential customers are fickle — they are always one click away from skipping ahead to the next thing. If you’re lucky enough to get an audience click on your video, your next challenge is to keep their attention with sharp, catchy opening lines.
In this case, addressing the problem your target customers are facing in the first few seconds is an excellent way to catch their attention. Once you get their attention, then it’s become much easier to make them watch the video all the way through.
Pro tip: Using personal pronouns like “you” and “your” is one of the best ways to engage your audience from the get-go. It makes it easier for the audience to resonate and relate to the intro of your video.
3. Make It Mobile-Friendly
Worldwide mobile internet users have reached 3.5 billion at the start of 2019. What’s more interesting is that 90% of consumers watch videos on their mobile devices. With these staggering numbers, optimizing your explainer video for mobile devices is a must.
If you haven’t optimized your explainer video for mobile, you leave the search for potential customers to chance. Many of your potential customers won’t bother to watch the video, let alone explore your band or any of your products.
Pro tip: Make sure you also include captions considering that some of your potential customers prefer to watch it without the sound while they’re on-the-go or currently in public places.
4. Focus on the Benefits
Remember, your customers are always tuned into WIIFM (what’s in it for me?). They long for brands or products that can make their life easier or much more comfortable. In this case, features are indeed important because your customers will use it to justify their purchase– but it’s not the reason they purchase. They purchase because of the benefits.
So, rather than spend all of your time in an explainer video discussing the features of your product, tell your customers how it will exactly benefit them.
Pro tip: Addressing the heart of your prospects’ pain on your explainer video script is one of the easiest ways to highlight your products’ benefit.
5. Host It on Social Media
With more than 3.4 billion active users worldwide, social media is undoubtedly an exciting place to host your explainer video. It gives you a vast opportunity to get more reach and views cost-effectively.
Also, since explainer videos are incredibly shareable, posting it on social media is the right move to spread the word about your brand. That’s how you seamlessly increase your small business’s exposure.
Pro tip: Knowing demographics on each social media is a wise way to reach your target customers. If you want to reach younger audiences, post your explainer video on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter. Thus, if you’re going to appeal to older audiences, there’s no better place than Facebook and LinkedIn.
Wrapping Up
Jumping into a video marketing campaign can be overwhelming and a bit daunting for a small business owner like you. In this case, an explainer video is one of the best types of video content you can start with to achieve your goals. It also allows you to craft messages that differentiate your small business to captivate more customers.
Just like any other, there are some essentials that you should pay attention to before you create and use an explainer video for your small business. Once you crack the code, you’ll become a part of the 76% of marketers that claim explainer videos contribute to increasing sales compared to any other form of content.
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay
