Just because something is easy to consume doesn't mean it’s easy to make. A clear example of this is making explainer videos.
There’s an art to distilling things into small, accessible chunks. But here’s the thing, you can learn it. And you should, because as these stats demonstrate, it’s important:
- 90% of customers report that product videos help them make purchasing decisions.
- According to YouTube, mobile video consumption grows by 100% every year.
- 64% of customers are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video about it
- 87% of online marketers currently use video content in their digital marketing strategies.
So in this article, we’ve outlined some top tips to take your next explainer video copy to the next level!
1. Know Your Audience
Like any project in any business, a good starting place is to understand your target audience.
In the case of explainer copy, knowing your audience can determine the premise, the content, and the tone.
For example, knowing their desires will help solidify your brief; knowing their knowledge base will determine the complexity of the terms you use.
Knowing this crucial information will help you along every step of the way. So to learn more about this fascinating topic, check out this article on 10 ways to understand your target audience.
2. Building a Premise
The key to a solid explainer video is a clear and simple premise. If you don’t have this in place before you start writing, you’re going to have issues with length and engagement later on. The most popular is the classic problem-solution method. It goes like this.
- You introduce a problem your audience has - in its simplest form.
- You then explain how your product or service is a solution to that problem.
But to really make your premise shine, you need to describe your audience’s problem more accurately than they can themselves.
One trick is to introduce a narrative element to your story. Or, in other words, make it relevant to your audience. You can do this with emotion, by making it relevant to their experiences, or even better, both!
3. Grab Attention From the Start
The best writing grabs the reader's attention from the start. So don’t be afraid to take a risk. Here are some classic hooks you can try for yourself:
- Revealing Personal Information
- Mirroring the Reader's Pain
- Asking the Reader a Question
- Shock the Reader
- Intrigue the Reader
- Lead with a Bold Claim
- Be Empathetic and Honest
- Invite the Reader In
N.B. Again, this is where understanding your target audience can come in handy!
4. Short and Sweet
We can be colorful about the power of brevity, but why bother when facts do it for you:
- 58% of viewers watch a business-related video all the way through if it’s less than 60 seconds. Only 24% will finish a video longer than 20 minutes.
- Facebook recommends that small businesses keep videos to around 15 seconds as much as possible. They shared that 47% of the value in a video is delivered in the first 3 seconds.
So, in short, kill your darlings; get to the point; cut the fluff etc. etc.
5. Show, Don’t Tell: Visually Speaking
Old adage writers love is, show me, don’t tell me. Or, as Chekhov put it, “Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass”.
This is crucial with explainer videos as our brains process videos 60,000 times faster than text. So let your animation do your explaining for you. It will pay dividends regarding engagement and retention with your audience.
6. Anticipate Viewer's Questions:
It’s good practice for writers to put themselves in their viewers' shoes. Because it’s more than likely that they won’t be as knowledgeable as you about the product you’re trying to sell them.
So anticipate any questions the viewer might have when watching your video. It will avoid them leaving confused, solidify their initial desire, and lead to more conversions.
7. Use Emotion
Now, as we said earlier, using emotion is good. You only have to look at the research to see that using emotion as a communication tool leads to higher engagement, retention, and decision-making.
So when you’re writing your explainer video copy, don’t be afraid to appeal to your target audience's emotions. There are rewards in it for you!
8. Make it simple
You’re not writing a thesis here, folks. You’re writing short and sweet content that shouldn’t demand effort from viewers. So make it simple. To that end, we have two reference points you should follow:
- Write like a 5-Year-Old is watching it: research shows that people are less likely to believe statements if they’re written in overly complicated language.
- Avoid overt sales talk: sales talk will put your viewer on edge. Remember, you’re just providing a solution to a problem. The sale should always be the subtext.
9. Test, test, test
And finally, after all your hard work, you need to test it out. Because here’s the thing, there is a difference between writing that is meant to be read and writing that is meant to be spoken. So make sure your copy has a friendly rhythm to it.
Wrapping up
We forgot something, didn’t we? Yes, every good bit of copy needs a strong CTA (Call to Action)!
Animated Explainer videos have rumbled in rage in the past decade due to their affordability and ascertained efficacy in growing a business be it of any kind.
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