explanatory videoFifteen years ago, on April 23, 2005, the first video, only 18 seconds long, was uploaded to YouTube. Two years later, the first explanatory videos were published, and today a billion explanatory videos are watched worldwide every day on YouTube alone. No wonder that videos are by now responsible for around 80% of global data traffic.

Marketing departments contribute in a big way to this trend: in 2020, videos came in first place for content in corporate content marketing, ahead of blogs, e-books, and infographics. The fact is that 92% of those responsible for marketing consider videos an important part of their marketing strategy.

An explanatory video is a film clip that explains a defined topic emotionally and efficiently with the help of a story and encourages the viewer to act. It combines information and entertainment, addressing both hemispheres of the brain in a very targeted manner. The combination of multisensory information with entertaining stories has been scientifically proven to lead to more attention, faster processing, better understanding, more persuasiveness, more fun, better capacity for remembering, and a greater willingness to share. What more do you want as a marketing manager?

Explanatory videos can be used in a variety of ways

You can present your company as a whole and show which products you have to offer. Explanatory videos are used along the customer journey in marketing, sales, and service to convey complex issues to interested parties, customers, and sales partners. In the area of HR, they are used to attract applicants and develop employees. And finally, internal and external communication also benefits from this modern tool to keep employees, shareholders and the public informed.

There is a variety of styles to choose from

It seems as if people are already over the whiteboard and cut-out styles, since 2D animations are more popular today - although some people think the cartoon style is a bit too childish. Well, then maybe the motion graphics style could be the right choice, because it is very modern and can also be updated and used internationally. Screencasts and live action styles are also widely used. Anyway, the choice of style depends on many factors, in particular the aim and content of the explanatory video, the target group addressed, and the available budget.

Requirements and creation

Creating a good explanatory video is an art and requires a lot of craft. First, you define your requirements in a briefing, then you put the team together and decide whether you want to produce the video yourself or hire a service provider. In the further course, the content will be researched and structured. Now the concept of the storyline follows, again an important milestone, because it defines the structure and appearance of the later video in detail. This is followed by the actual production: making the design and the voice-over, and underlaying the video with music and sound effects in the end.

Use on all channels

There are a number of options for using your explanatory video and it is recommended to use the full range: show your explanatory video on your own website to attract more visitors, who stay that way longer on your site and are more likely to buy there. On landing pages, explanatory videos can significantly increase the conversion rates. In email marketing, the use of explanatory videos can increase the opening and click rates, as well as reducing the number of unsubscribes. You will find the largest audience for your explanatory video with two billion users per month on YouTube, but you must work hard not to get lost in the crowd. The social networks also offer interesting opportunities in B2C and B2B marketing, especially if you are willing to advertise the videos there. Explanatory videos can be used successfully not only online but also offline, for example at trade fairs, in your salesrooms, and in personal customer discussions.

In a nutshell, making use of explanatory videos for marketing purposes is highly recommended since a picture says more than 1000 words and a video says more than 1000 pictures.

By Daniela La Marca