A Brief History of Explainer Videos

What’s an awesome way for businesses to show their brand story in the most memorable way? Explainer videos! These films are short and come in a variety of animation styles, and have recently gained much favor and popularity when Common Craft created an explainer called ‘Twitter in Plain English’ in 2008 to teach people how to use Twitter, which was the newest social media platform then.

Common Craft’s engaging whiteboard animation featured easy-to-understand language and simple graphics, and gained viral status when people from all over the world watched it 10 million times. People quickly learned how to use Twitter, which resulted in the social media platform gaining millions of new users. And thus, explainer videos were born! Companies big and small got on the video animation bandwagon and saw how placing a short, engaging video proved to be more effective than text or pictures in expanding brand presence.

Explainer videos are perfect solutions for companies such as Twitter, who could have a hard time explaining how to use their services to potential users. Videos also work very well when companies want to send a message to their target audience in the best way possible.

The Benefits of Using An Explainer Video

Businesses often have a hard time explaining what they do to their target audiences. A visitor who leaves a website without knowing what it is that the company does isn’t uncommon at all. Animated videos fill in the gaps of understanding between consumer and company by letting them see what they do in an easy-to-understand visual and audio package designed to entertain and educate. Videos also increase click through and retention rates, building a stronger brand visibility in the process.

80% of users recall a video ad they viewed in the past 30 days.

Online Publishers Association

Humans have long learned how to captivate their audiences with the use of interesting stories, especially when that narrative contains ideas and similar values that they believe in. A good video mixes in familiarity with new concepts to ease in the viewer; an explainer video shows why people should pay attention to a business.

Explainer Video vs. Branded Video

Isn’t an explainer video the same as a branded video if all it does is tell the viewer about the company? That’s a good question! We will try to explain the difference below:

While it is true that most companies are using videos and implementing branded clips to boost their marketing efforts, an explainer video is certainly much more than a branded video. Think of branded videos as online video commercials, case studies or tutorials designed to engage viewers with compelling content. Like most commercials, they aren’t animated.

An explainer video’s ultimate goal is different. It takes complex and wide-ranging ideas and breaks it down into simpler chunks of information via video. The viewer should leave with a better understanding of what a company does, or why its services or products are important. It should convey a message of why a certain company exists.

How Does An Explainer Video Work?

By using quality voice overs, sound effects, visuals and animation, an explainer video is a joy to watch and by understanding the way our brains absorb information, companies like WeLovePromotion.Biz can produce animated videos that increase memory retention.

Video is a very effective medium for ferrying information to our brains because both our visual and auditory senses are stimulated. This strategy allows informational data to enter our brain’s retentive long-term memory.

You can see this effect when you look at YouTube – A billion users visit YouTube each month, churning out more than 6 billion hours of video watched.
Why is that?
People simply love to watch videos, and most people prefer to watch a video than read long text.

59% of executives would rather watch video than read text.

Forbes

Businesses can harness the potential power of explainer videos and gain the right target audience, increasing revenue and brand recognition in the process!

You can learn more about how the animated explainer video process works here or by contacting us. If you want us to start just fill out the first stage questionnaire so we can learn about your service or business. You may also share your thoughts by leaving comments in the box provided below.