According to the latest statistics, more than 96% of people watch explainer videos to learn more about a product or service. What’s fascinating about this number is that it is 4% away from unanimity. This indicates just how powerful an explainer video is, more so for companies with complex product offerings like tech solutions.
This is why many brands today choose to invest a substantial part of their marketing budget into animated explainer video production. Given its proven effectiveness and consumers’ natural inclination towards engaging videos that simplify concepts for them, it only makes sense.
However, thanks to social media, video consumption is at its peak today, necessitating brands such as yours to compete in a saturated pool of content. For this, it is important to distinguish yourself with compelling and captivating narratives – a job best done by a professional video production company.
In addition, it is crucial to put a great deal of thought and attention into the production aspects, lest you fall into the line of mediocre videos.
To help you in your journey, here are 7 common mistakes to avoid when creating animated explainer videos for your product.
Neglecting the value of a good script
The challenge with a complex product offering is that you have a niche audience to target. Moreover, as is the case with all types of marketing videos, a one-size-fits-all approach does not work. For these reasons, it is crucial to study the behavioral patterns of your target audience and craft a script that is finely tailored to their resonation aspects.
This means you need to focus on attracting the attention of a specific group of prospects who might have a genuine interest in your product, generate interesting scripts with characters that look and behave like your audience, and use the kind of language they would use for narration or voiceovers. Suffice it to say that you need a solid and well-written script that is based on the interests, challenges, and behavioral attributes of your target audience. You inevitably need the help of an experienced video production company to ace the prep work required for animated explainer videos. A low-value script with no creativity and an undue sales pitch simply would not work.
Incorporating complex jargon
The whole point of animated explainer video production is to simplify complex concepts; break them down into digestible bits and make it easy for viewers to understand. Hence, incorporating technical jargon largely deceives the purpose. Use plain language that anyone can understand as much as possible and refrain from incorporating complex acronyms or industry colloquiums that may require more explanation. One of the best ways to create an easy-to-comprehend explainer video is to consider the sentiments of a first-time viewer; would the message of your video register in the mind of a person coming across your brand and your industry for the first time?
Putting yourself in the shoes of a first-timer is crucial when drafting scripts and dialogues for an animated video, which unfortunately many brands fail to see.
Making it too long
In the age of dwindling attention spans and the possibility of drowning in an ocean of average-level content, it would be detrimental to create long explainer videos. Especially if you have crafted a compelling hook to grab attention, it would be an overstay of your welcome to drag the video on for the next 20 minutes. In 2024, it is safe to assume that your audience does not have the time or the interest to sit through a 10-minute-long video. Hence, make your message crisp and concise, deliver it right away without beating too much around the bushes, and craft the content creatively to incorporate crucial points within a 5-minute time frame. Partner with a qualified video production company to nail content delivery for short and impactful explainer videos.
Focusing on product features over user benefits
While it is a no-brainer for brands to focus on what the viewer stands to gain over what their product has when creating videos, oftentimes it is an overlooked equation. Remember that people are only interested in knowing how their problems or challenges can be solved; hence craft the narrative of your video around how your product can do so. As opposed to talking about the best features, frame the same features from the viewpoint of the issue it solves, and focus on how it makes the viewer’s personal or work life easier. This will help you emotionally appeal to them. Seal the deal with an appropriate CTA that will induce action as well, without being too pushy. There are many tried-and-tested animated explainer video production strategies you can leverage to craft an ideal narrative.
Not providing value
The most appealing quality of an explainer video is its value; it helps a viewer understand a complex subject and allows them to find a solution to a problem they face. Many brands fail to realize this and incorporate uninspired scripts with sales pitches into their explainers. Once again, this tends to deceive the purpose.
Consider the journey of an average buyer when crafting content for your brand’s products. It is only after gaining a thorough understanding of what the product does and developing a solid level of trust for your brand that a prospect will buy from you. Hence, it is important to provide value in your explainer videos and help them tackle challenges before pitching your product to them. For this, you can even consider creating a series of explainers for common challenges. Plug your product in only where it seems appropriate and avoid over-selling to establish trust and industry expertise.
Making distribution an afterthought
Most brands that join the bandwagon of animated explainer videos, make the mistake of creating their content first and then deciding on the dissemination strategy. The problem with this method is that it limits or restricts the video from doing its best on the channels it is shared on. As mentioned earlier, a one-size-fits-all approach does not work when it comes to video marketing, which is why an explainer video you create must be thoughtfully crafted to suit every channel you intend to use for distribution. Each platform has its unique set of requirements and user types and every video you create must be tailored to these attributes to deliver the message for maximum impact. Hence, it is important to craft your distribution strategy early on during your animated explainer video production process. This allows you to put sufficient thought into customizing the video and tuning the message in a way that will help you extract the best results.
Not giving importance to creativity
Creativity should be at the heart of your animated explainer video production process. While it can be challenging to craft compelling content that not only explains how your product works, but also entertains, and does so within a 90-second time frame, it is inevitable if you wish to stand out. In attempts to keep the video short, many brands often seek uninspired scripts or video formats and generate mediocre content. However, once again, this deceives the purpose while also draining out your marketing budget for a piece of content that doesn’t bring results. It is crucial to take time and brainstorm new, unique, and effective ways to craft your narrative when creating explainers. Partnering with an experienced video production company will help you in this regard.
Wrapping up
An animated explainer video is undoubtedly one of the best formats of video content to leverage if you have a complex product offering. Done right, it can skyrocket your lead generation rate and engagement levels, and drive more prospects to conversion. Given the prevailing challenges faced by brands in animated explainer video production, it is important to steer clear of a few common mistakes. Keep the above-mentioned pointers in mind and team up with an experienced video production for the best results.
To supercharge your animated explainer video opportunity, contact K3 today – let’s craft your winning video strategy.
