Consider the last time you picked up your washing machine’s manual or read a textbook to understand the complexities of the Roman Empire. Chances are that the washing machine manual lays untouched in a drawer, and you sold your European history textbook as soon as you graduated.
While most of us realize the value of those mediums, they aren’t exactly nighttime reading material. We turn to them when we need them, and we expect quick answers, but often, those answers take some page-turning to find.
Enter explainer videos, which first gained prominence on YouTube as creators began sharing content explaining how to perform specific tasks, like changing your car’s oil or baking a fresh loaf of sourdough bread. Today, they’re everywhere, and businesses with intricate products and services can unquestionably benefit from them.
How Explainer Videos Work
At its core, an explainer video tells you how to do something or demonstrates how something works. You can create explainer videos for any product or service you offer and add tremendous value to your customers as a result.
For example, consider a Samsung Smart TV. Smart TVs serve many functions, and most come with preloaded streaming apps, like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. However, customers who haven’t owned a smart TV before may need help setting up their device and connecting it to the internet.
An explainer video that walks through the basic steps of connecting to the internet and configuring a Samsung TV’s settings would be tremendously helpful to a new customer. Samsung could, therefore, create multiple bite-size videos customized for each TV model, making the customer’s setup experience much easier than trying to derive things from a 30-page manual.
Explainer videos are also helpful for service-oriented organizations. An accounting service, for instance, could set up a series of explainer videos about the basics of bookkeeping, understanding cash flow, and reviewing financial results at the end of each accounting period, and owners who need assistance managing the financial aspects of their business would likely find the videos incredibly helpful.
Benefits of Explainer Videos
Creating explainer videos offers several more advantages to both organizations and their customers:
Create a Better Customer Experience
Companies with complex products often have dedicated, toll-free phone numbers to call and online customer service teams at the ready to help clients who run into problems with their products. However, maintaining an extensive customer service team is expensive, and it doesn’t always guarantee the quick results clients want.
Online explainer videos address common customer inquiries quickly and succinctly, reducing a client’s reliance on call centers. They can quickly sort through your list of explainer videos to find the ones that are relevant to their needs.
Showcase Your Products and Services
An explainer video is ideal for demonstrating a new, innovative product and detailing the benefits it can provide to an audience that may be otherwise unfamiliar with how it can add value to their lives.
For instance, perhaps you’re the inventor of a robot kitchen chef that can prepare healthy meals for you while you spend quality time with your family. You could use the explainer video to show the bot in action, making the world’s best spaghetti and fresh garlic bread without any human assistance.
Improve Brand Awareness
If you’re seeking to expand your target audience, explainer videos can be a significant asset to your organization. Maybe you’re opening a new office in Japan or introducing a product that fits a younger customer base. In either case, explainer videos can highlight the perks your products and services provide to your unique audience.
Customers who are able to see how your company can help them are more likely to make a purchase with you. You can share your explainer videos on your social media accounts and through video ads targeting your specific audience, and their interest in your company will grow as they see more of your content.
Use a Video Production Service for the Best Results
Unless you have a dedicated in-house team experienced in making videos, it’s best to outsource the task to a professional explainer video service, which will work directly with you to understand your objectives and how you envision using the final product, whether for advertising purposes or as part of your customer service materials.
As you build a library of explainer videos, keep your audience’s needs in mind. The most successful explainer videos add value to their customer base. With the right tools and an effective strategy, you’ll see benefits from your explainer videos.
