Create Engaging Explainer Videos for Startups

In the competitive digital landscape, startups need to employ effective marketing strategies to gain traction. Among the diverse range of tools available, explainer videos (a short clip that describes a product or service in a simple, engaging way) have emerged as a potent asset, enhancing brand awareness, enriching the startup's social media presence, and boosting SEO rankings.

So let’s review how to create an explainer video for Startups to help potential customers understand what a company offers and why it's valuable.

What Makes For A Good Explainer Video?

Creating a good explainer video requires careful planning, execution, and keen attention to your target audience's preferences and needs. The process usually involves the following steps:

1. Identifying the target audience: The first step is to understand your potential customers and their needs. It's crucial to create content that resonates with them.
2. Script writing: The script is the backbone of your explainer video. It must succinctly and engagingly convey your key messages.
3. Storyboarding: This step involves visualizing your script scene by scene. A good storyboard helps you plan the video production process effectively.
4. Design and Animation: Depending on your preference, you can create an animated explainer video, a live-action video, or a whiteboard animation. Each type of explainer video has its unique appeal and advantages.
5. Voiceover and Music: An engaging voiceover can enhance your explainer video's effectiveness, while suitable background music can set the right mood.
6. Final editing and production: After you've gathered all the elements, it's time to piece them together. You may consider hiring a professional video production company or using video maker software to complete this step.

Are There Different Types of Explainer Videos?

Explainer videos come in various styles, including:

1. Animated explainer videos: These can be 2D or 3D animations and are great for abstract or complex concepts.
2. Whiteboard explainer videos: These involve drawings being created on a whiteboard. They're simple, engaging, and cost-effective.
3. Live-action explainer videos: These involve real people and are great for personable and relatable storytelling.
4. Screencast videos: These are digital recordings of a computer screen and are often used for software product demonstrations.

What Are the Benefits of Making an Explainer Video?

Explainer videos offer several benefits:

1. Brand Awareness: They help startups build brand awareness by explaining their products or services engagingly and memorably.
2. Improved SEO Rankings: Videos are favored by search engines, and having a high-quality video on your landing page or homepage can significantly boost your SEO rankings.
3. Boost Conversion Rates: Explainer videos can effectively convince potential customers about the value of your product or service, thereby increasing conversion rates.
4. Enhanced Social Media Presence: Explainer videos make for great social media content, thus improving your startup's visibility online.

Can I Make an Explainer Video for Free?

There are several free tools online that can help you create an explainer video. With features such as video templates, pre-set animations, and DIY editing options, these tools provide an easy and budget-friendly alternative to professional video production services. However, do note that a free tool may not offer the same level of customization or high-quality video production as premium software or a professional explainer video company.

Time Involved in Making an Explainer Video

The time required to produce an explainer video depends on its complexity, length, and the quality of resources used. On average, a professional video production company may take between 4 to 6 weeks to produce a high-quality explainer video, including scripting, storyboarding, animation, and post-production processes.

Top 8 Software Options for Making an Explainer Video

There are several software and apps available to create explainer videos. Here are the top eight, each with its unique features:

1. Vyond: Known for its extensive library of customizable characters and scenes.
2. Powtoon: Great for whiteboard animations and offers a user-friendly interface.
3. Biteable: Offers a variety of video templates suitable for social media and promo videos.
4. Animaker: Known for its advanced functionality, including 2D and 3D animation options.
5. VideoScribe: Specializes in whiteboard animations with a comprehensive set of tools.
6. Adobe After Effects: Perfect for professional video editing, but requires some technical expertise.
7. Moovly: Offers a balance between complexity and ease of use, great for businesses of all sizes.
8. Renderforest: Provides an online branding tool for creating videos, logos, and websites.

Storyboards and Explainer Videos

Storyboarding involves sketching the main scenes of your video, corresponding to the script. It gives a visual representation of the video sequence and aids in planning the video production process. Storyboarding also helps ensure your story is cohesive, and engaging, and communicates your key messages effectively. You can use digital tools or draw manually, depending on your comfort level.

What is the Best Software to Make an Explainer Video?

Determining the best software to make an explainer video largely depends on your specific needs, budget, technical expertise, and the style of video you're aiming to produce.

However, if we consider ease of use, functionality, customization, and user ratings, Vyond often comes out on top for animated explainer videos. Its intuitive interface, rich animation capabilities, and extensive library of customizable characters, props, and scenes make it a popular choice. Additionally, it offers flexibility in terms of creating various types of explainer videos, including 2D animation, whiteboard, and more.

For whiteboard animations, VideoScribe is often considered the best in the market due to its user-friendly interface, extensive image library, and superior whiteboard animation capabilities.

If you're looking for more professional and detailed animations, and you have technical expertise in video editing, Adobe After Effects is a fantastic tool. It's part of the Adobe Suite and is used by many professional video production companies.

Animation Software Options for Making Explainer Videos

Some top-notch animation software to consider for making explainer videos include:

1. Vyond: An intuitive platform with extensive animation capabilities.
2. Adobe After Effects: A professional-grade tool known for its comprehensive features and high-quality outputs.
3. Animaker: A user-friendly tool that provides a variety of animation styles, including 2D and 3D.
4. Toon Boom Harmony: This is a professional 2D animation software used by many leading animation studios.
5. Blender: A free, open-source 3D animation tool with features rivaling top-paid alternatives.

Are There Advantages of Using a Video to Explain Your Product?

The advantages of using a video to explain your product are numerous:

1. Visual Appeal: Humans are visual creatures, and a well-produced video can capture attention more effectively than text or images.
2. Clarity: Videos can succinctly demonstrate how a product works, its features, and its benefits, making it easier for potential customers to understand its value.
3. Engagement: Videos are interactive and can keep viewers engaged for longer periods. They can also easily convey emotions, making your brand more relatable.
4. Shareability: Videos are highly shareable, making them excellent tools for spreading the word about your product on social media and other platforms.
5. SEO Benefits: Videos can boost your website's SEO rankings, as search engines tend to favor content that engages users effectively.
6. Increased Conversion Rates: Studies show that having a video on your landing page can significantly increase conversion rates.

Overall, videos can give your product a dynamic presence in the market, make complex ideas easier to understand, and drive more engagement from potential customers. Therefore, an explainer video is a versatile marketing tool that every startup should consider.

Whether you're creating a simple whiteboard explainer video or a complex 3D animation, remember to keep your target audience in mind and strive to deliver high-quality, engaging video content.