10 Great Examples of 30 Second Explainer Videos

30 second explainer videos are a great way to quickly grab attention and explain your business or product in a short amount of time. They can help boost your B2B brand’s sales and marketing power.

Let’s look at some statistics about their efficacy as a modern marketing tool with a proven track record in lead generation, improved conversion rate, and ROI.

According to a HubSpot study, 54% of consumers want brands and businesses to create more video content.

In this guide, we will find out what is an explainer video and look at 10 examples of explainer video examples, specifically, 30 second explainer videos created by reputed explainer video services. Our criteria for selection are their effectiveness and view count.

Note: To ensure we are not missing any great videos, we have included videos of up to 50 seconds runtime in the list.

The purpose of the curated list is to inspire you into making some great videos of your own. Another reason is that we would like to recognize and appreciate the good work done by our peers in the industry:

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10 Great examples of 30-Second (give or take a few seconds) explainer videos

1. Slack

The Slack messaging app is an efficient and simple way for teams to communicate. You can manage all of your conversations in one place and easily search for specific conversations or files. The app allows you to set up custom alerts so you never miss a message.

Views: 289K

Duration: 15 seconds

Year: 2020

This 30-second explainer video is called ‘Choose a better way to work’. The video has it all: Colorful graphics, an operatic background score, and a strong message. The call to action simply urges viewers to ‘Get Started’.

The visual assets use the same colors as Slack’s logo. This is a good example of improving brand recall. Coca Cola and Google are two brands that have used this strategy successfully.

2. Pipe

Pipe allows founders to scale without taking on restrictive debt or sacrificing ownership interest. Rather than relying on who you know for access to capital, it allows your business to access non-dilutive capital.

Views: From Vimeo

Duration: 24 seconds

Year: 2021

This 30-second explainer video is created by Content Beta, a reputed animated explainer video company that specializes in SaaS explainer videos. It is a unique video in the sense that it uses upbeat background music and screencast to explain how Pipe’s platform works.

This style is great for introducing complex UI without the users getting distracted by the commentary that explains every step of the procedure. This video is as ‘visual’ as one can possibly get. It also cuts down on costs as no voice over artists need to be hired:

3. Google

The company needs no introduction, so we will stick to talking about their explainer video for Google WiFi, named ‘How Google Wifi keeps your Wi-Fi fast’.

We have come to expect quality in whatever they do from the Search Engine behemoth. This video is no exception.

Views: 328K

Duration: 48 seconds

Year: 2017

This 30-second explainer video uses simple animation to talk about how Google uses ‘Congestion Sensing technology’ to ensure that your web browsing experience is top-notch regardless of whether your neighbors are on a downloading spree.

If you pay close attention, you can see that concepts like ‘congestion’ and ‘downloading’ are depicted using graphical shapes. This is a good example of using two elements--aural and visual--to maximize the overall impact of your message:

4. Paypal

PayPal is a financial technology company that allows users to send and receive money online using their credit cards, bank accounts, or PayPal balance. The company also offers other financial services, such as peer-to-peer payments, merchant services, and money transfers.

Views: 37K

Duration: 30 seconds

Year: 2014

This 30-second explainer video captures the attention of viewers with its ability to communicate complex information concisely and easily. The video is part of PayPal’s “People Rule” campaign and explains how their services work.

The tagline ‘the more of you want, and less of what you don’t’ at the end of the video sums up the utility value of their people-centric services:

5. Nectar

The Nectar employee recognition is an all-in-one platform designed for the modern workforce. A simple employee recognition platform that recognizes work, builds community, promotes core values, and rewards employees.

Views: From Vimeo

Duration: 38 Seconds

Year: 2020

This 30-second explainer video created by Explainer Video Hero does not include voiceover or background music. It is plain and simple narration that breaks down and explains each feature of the application such as rewards, challenges, automating rewards, and analytics.

This is a good example of giving the maximum information in a short amount of time. The addition of music or narration would have been counterproductive as viewers would have felt rushed.

6. Unroll.me

This iOS app is the answer to users with overflowing inboxes (which has become a norm rather than an exception). The app allows users to unsubscribe with just a click.

Views: 245K

Duration: 30 seconds on Vimeo

Year: 2016

This 30 second explainer video features a host of frustrated users who find out how it is like to unsubscribe from a service without having to jump through hoops. The relief on their faces is worth watching as they try out the app in real-time and are pleasantly surprised by the results.

This is a good example of what we keep emphasizing on--the power of human touch. Watching real people freely express themselves about their problems has the power to connect with other people. This video manages to convey both pain and joy in half a minute.

7. Asana

Asana is a work management platform that helps teams manage their work and get things done. It is a simple, yet powerful tool that enables teams to collaborate and get the job done more efficiently. It has a variety of features that make it a valuable tool for teams of all sizes.

Views: 169K

Duration: 46 seconds

Year: 2018

This 30 second explainer video is simple, from the video title ‘What is Asana?’ to the use of uncomplicated graphics, straightforward narration, and of course, its duration. A good example of how simplicity is often the most effective way:

Although the graphics are impressive, it is the voiceover that makes this video stand out. From starting the video by greeting viewers with “Welcome to asana; nice to meet you” to emphasizing on the power of teamwork, the narration helps the video create positive vibes for the viewers.

8. Splunk

This California-based company produces software that searches, monitors, and analyzes machine-generated data. It indexes and correlates information to make it searchable and generate alerts, reports, and visualizations.

Views: 792K

Duration: 16 seconds

Year: 2021

This 30 second explainer video is 16 seconds long. We think that the video works in spite of relying on simple graphics.

It's true that this guide is about 30-second videos, but we wanted to demonstrate that a well-made video isn't just about the length, but also about its effectiveness.

This video is also a good example of how an explainer video should stick to its core task of explaining how a product or service works in the shortest possible time. This approach can help prospective customers to decide whether the product or service is a good fit for them.

9. Grammarly

Grammarly can help you improve your writing. It spots errors in your grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and it can also suggest better ways to phrase your ideas.

Everyone who is associated with content has come to rely on this simple online tool to make their copy error-free and engaging.

Views: 99 million

Duration: 44 seconds

Year: 2018

This 30 second explainer video is often used by Grammarly as a YouTube ad. It features a student who is in a despondent state because she has to submit her term paper.

The video tracks every step of her journey as she gains confidence as the app points out her mistakes and provides solutions. The video ends with the student getting an A+ for her troubles. Makes the viewers want to emulate and benefit from the app.

10. Monday.com

Using this tool, teams can stay organized and on track by creating custom workflows, tracking progress on projects, and collaborating with team members in real-time. Aside from being flexible and scalable, it is suitable for both small and large companies.

Views: 41 million

Duration: 32 seconds

Year: 2019

This 30 second explainer video starts by declaring that it is an ad for the project management

app Monday.com. It continues with this casual tone of voice to explain the features and benefits of using the product.

This half-minute video makes the most of its half-minute run time with a combination of basic graphics and a matter-of-fact narration.

Wrapping up the article

Before we wrap up, let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of 30 second explainer videos:

Pros: They are impactful and attention-grabbing, they can help explain complex concepts quickly, and they can be used in a variety of ways (e.g. on social media, your website, etc.)

Cons: They may not be suitable for longer or more detailed explanations or certain types of businesses or products. They can be expensive to produce at times.

Explainer videos are here to stay. If your B2B brand does not know how to make an explainer video, you can hire a reputable  external animated explainer video production service like Content Beta and Explainer Video Hero.

They can also create explainer video animation, animation explainer video, 3d animated explainer video, and customer education videos at reasonable rates.

Your B2B brand should definitely use them to take advantage of the myriad benefits they offer.