The recipe for great explainer videos.
1. Get to the heart of your message.
This is the most important thing in the whole process. Whether it’s a product, service, business, or charity, it’s crucial to be absolutely clear about why it’s special. People are increasingly well informed and good at spotting fake messages. On the plus side, they’re also good at spotting genuine, valuable messages, acting on them and sharing them, so you don’t need a huge budget to make a big impact.
2. Tell your story.
Stories are far more powerful, persuasive and memorable than facts and features. Tell your story in the most engaging, concise way possible. One of Pixar’s rules of storytelling is: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free. Create a compelling story that captures why your message is meaningful, and people will want to follow you regardless of smaller details.
3. Clarify ideas by visualising them.
Our brains are wired to extract meaning from images at light speed. But it has to be simple and human. For example, Celaton had tried using graphs to illustrate their automation software - it looked good, but wasn’t engaging. We visualised their software as a super-hero robot, sucking up inboxes and helping out staff. CEO Andrew Anderson kindly said “The video immediately transformed biz dev and boosted growth. Everyone now gets the message perfectly.”
4. Communicate through visual style.
One of the most common mistakes with explainer videos is thinking that it’s ok to use low quality visuals because people will get the message. The visual quality conveys a strong message in itself, which can completely undermine the intended one - or elevate it. It’s also crucial to choose the right visual style, that speaks to your particular audience. We work in a wide range of visual styles, tailored to each client.
5. Be perfectionists.
Small details make a big difference. A bit more expression on characters faces, or a more genuine tone of voiceover can make a good video great. We really enjoy our work, so going the extra mile to perfect each video comes naturally. We get satisfaction when we feel that a video is the very best of its kind and will make a big impact.