How to Create Effective Educational Explainer Videos

According to a study by Forrester Research, a 1-minute video is worth 1.8 million words. Educational explainer videos in particular are incredibly useful tools and as a B2B brand, you can use them to meet your KPIs, improve your customer service, and make your brand a trusted and respected name cost effectively.

Well, you can do all of that and more at a fraction of the cost you are paying your ad agency. How? With a little help from explainer videos – educational explainer videos to be precise.

A compelling reason for you to go for educational explainer videos is these statistics. According to a Techsmith study, 83% of respondents said that they prefer video to text or audio to access information or instructional content.

Now that we have your attention, let’s look at our 3-part blog post:

• Part I: How to create effective educational explainer videos
• Part II: Why are explainer videos effective and how to get one done
• Part III: How to use educational explainer videos for customer education

Part I: How To Create Effective Educational Explainer Videos

This section explores what explainer videos are, and what makes them effective training and educational tools.

1. What are educational explainer videos?

An educational explainer video is a short (2-3 minutes in length) video that uses a combination of visuals, sound, and text to explain its key points.

As technology continues to evolve, so does the number of ways you can create educational material. Educational videos are becoming a popular tool in the eLearning and customer education space.

• Educational Explainer videos offer an engaging way to teach customers and students. They break down complex topics into simple and useful information.
• They are a great tool for quick, on-demand access to educational materials. And they can be incorporated into your eLearning or customer education program.

Here is an explainer video example from Jivochat that educates viewers on why website visitors leave without making a purchase and how to correct it.

2. What are the different types of educational explainer videos?

Educational explainer videos can be customer education or student education (e-Learning) type. There are mainly 8 Types:

Watch this animated explainer video example from OAG Aviation Worldwide that talks about how processing data spread across multiple silos and how the product can help access high-quality aviation data.

3. What elements should be included to make a good educational explainer video?

A good educational explainer video should be short, attention-grabbing, informative, visually appealing, and easy to understand. Additionally, it should include the following points:

Watch this customer education explainer video example from Project Management Institute (PMI).

4. How to create an effective educational explainer video?

In this section, we’ll look at the various components of educational explainer videos. In Part II, we discuss how you can outsource your work to an external agency and the costs involved. We also provide you with an excellent resource to learn more about  explainer videos agencies and software tools.

a. Understand what works

To educate, inform, and entertain viewers, educational explainer videos must be engaging and entertaining and should:

• Help your B2B brand engage viewers with your narrative and understand your product or service.
• Use simple, everyday language along with attractive visuals and graphics to illustrate ideas and concepts.
• Use exciting elements like music, animated characters, and interactive elements to capture and hold the viewers’ attention from start to finish.

Watch this example from Ibexa, created by Explainer Video Hero, that uses various visual elements like motion graphics to explain the concept behind their B2B digital experience platform.

b. Write a concise script

Writing the script for the customer education explainer video is a creative process that requires careful planning. To create an engaging video script:

• Use descriptive, evocative, and accurate language for the video to flow smoothly.
• Make sure the characters are compelling and relatable to the viewers.
• Draw upon larger themes to add depth to the story and articulate your ideas clearly.
• Present each part with creativity and life that can keep viewers entertained.
• Keep your voice true while being authentic.

Next, let’s try our hands at writing a short script for an imaginary CRM software:

c. Create an interesting narrative

A compelling representation of your product’s value or services as per the audience’s needs can create maximum impact. Follow these steps when you create the storyboard:

• Use a step-by-step approach to give your viewers detailed information about every aspect of the product or service.
• Keep the audience engaged with compelling animations and smooth transitions.
• End with a concise summary of its main features so the audience understands the product's benefits.
• Hold it all together with an attention-grabbing hook.

d. Use attractive visuals

When creating an explainer video for customer education, it is essential to select visuals that are both evocative and attractive. Choose visuals that:

• Strike a fine balance between the brand’s core identity and storytelling.
• Do not overwhelm the audience with too many elements. Instead use eye-pleasing colors and simple shapes.

Watch this well-produced explainer video example from Poka, a connected Worker Platform for Manufacturing.

e. Add human touch

Creating and recording your voiceover for a customer education explainer video can be a daunting task. To ensure that you create a powerful voice-over:

• Gather equipment – a microphone and audio recording software.
• Build an atmosphere and evoke emotions with descriptive words.
• Make sure you understand the script before recording it.
• Get someone to review the voiceover before you publish it.
• Hire a voiceover artist who can do justice to your script.

Here is a live-action explainer video created by Explainer Video Hero for Book Like A Boss, a booking site builder. The voiceover does a great job of adding that much-needed human element, making the narrative more engaging.

f. Add music, sound effects, and animation

Adding sound effects and music to a customer education explainer video can create an engaging and memorable experience for users. Here are some pointers:

• Highlight crucial moments or transitions with music with a strong beat.
• Use sound effects to emphasize certain actions or points.
• Use animation to clarify concepts and keep the viewer’s interest level high.
• Select the music, sound effects, and animation keeping in mind the overall message of the video and what type of impact each element will create.

Watch this explainer video example from UberEats that combines all these elements into a neat package.

g. Edit, edit, and edit some more

Making a customer education explainer video takes a keen eye and a good understanding of how to tell the story. Follow these steps:

• Make sure the video isn't too short or too long.
• Review the language for accuracy, evocativeness, and clarity.
• Make sure your video's tone appeals to your target audience.
• If your video is long, break it down into smaller chunks.
• Ensure that the structure and timing of the video are consistent and flow well.
• Finally, add a call to action.

Watch this explainer video example from Leadfeeder, a B2B lead generation software, that uses a simple call to action.

Part II: Why Are Explainer Videos Effective and How To Get One Done

In this section, we’ll look at how educational explainer videos can help a variety of industries. We’ll also learn how to hire a top explainer video company if you don’t know how to make explainer videos.

1. Why should you create educational explainer videos?

Creating an effective customer educational explainer video is essential for B2B brands looking to inform, engage, and influence their customers.

An effective educational explainer video must be well-structured, visually appealing, and informative to ensure it resonates with viewers. Such an explainer video can:

• Capture the audience’s attention and introduce the topic using a good story.
• Give prospects clear, concise, and easy-to-follow information.
• Use effective visuals to help explain difficult concepts.
• Nudge your viewers into taking productive actions such as signing up for your service.
• Engage your audience emotionally and convince them to become long-term customers.
• Improve brand value through constant customer engagement and nurturing.

Watch this example of a live-action explainer video created by Explainer Video Hero for VWO, an A/B testing platform.

2. How important are educational explainer videos for B2B brands, Software companies, and eLearning industries?

Explainer videos are a powerful marketing and education tool for SaaS, Software, and eLearning industries. They can use them to:

• Bring a product or idea to life using compelling visuals, audio, and animation and make it easier for viewers to understand.
• Create trust, increase conversions, and drive engagement by showing the value of their product or service.
• Train employees/customers on how to use software/services.
• Convey your brand's message by combining information and entertainment.

Here is a How-to explainer video example from Restaurant Brands International Inc., a fast food holding company.

3. Why are educational explainer videos effective in engaging customers and students?

Explainer videos can engage customers and students because they provide a comprehensive overview of a topic in a simple, concise, and entertaining manner.

• They can capture the attention of viewers and explain complex ideas easily using animation, creative illustrations, and relatable characters.
• It's a great way to get people interested in a product or service.
• They use clear visuals and interesting storytelling to help students gain a better understanding of a topic.

Here is a resource on why videos make for excellent engagement tools:

4. Should you outsource your educational explainer videos to an external agency?

Let’s start by looking at the advantages of outsourcing:

By handing off explainer video production to a reliable external service provider, you can save time and resources — allowing you to focus on the core of your business.

A top animated explainer video company can provide:

• High-quality results that meet B2B standards.
• Creative solutions tailored to your unique needs.
• Flexibility to quickly respond to changes and feedback.
• Cost-effectiveness and scalability.

When you hire an external explainer video service for your B2B brand, you should pay attention to the following factors so that things go as per plan:

• Make sure you manage your time and resources well.
• See that timelines and schedules match.
• Be timely and creative in your input so that the work is of a high standard.

Read this article to learn more about the subject and if you should outsource your B2B brand’s work to an external animated explainer video company:

5. How much does an external explainer video service charge?

Animated explainer video production companies offer a wide range of explainer video types, including 3D animated explainer videos, 30 second explainer videos, explainer video animations, SaaS explainer videos, and animation explainer videos.

With its remote video production service, Explainer Video Hero (EVH) has created some of the best animated explainer videos for top B2B brands around the world.

Explainer video pricing policies vary between the companies. For example, EVH, a top animated explainer video company charges as follows:

You can refer to this resource to learn more about the list of top 10 animated explainer video agencies and the top 10 animated explainer video software suitable for all budgets and skill sets.

Part III: How To Use Educational Explainer Videos for Customer Education

Explainer videos help increase customer engagement and satisfaction. However, marketing your customer education explainer videos is important to reach and engage with a larger audience and improve customer experience and drive sales.

1. How to use your educational explainer videos?

Let’s look at how to use your educational explainer videos:

2. How to measure the success of your educational explainer videos?

A good marketing strategy should have educational explainer videos at its core. As one can’t always figure out whether your marketing success can be attributed to videos looking at the following metrics can help:

• Engagement: The number of total views can tell you how popular your videos are, and how often they are being watched.
• Conversion: How many customers watched it and how many of them acted after watching it? For example, how many of them purchased your product?
• Revenue: How much money did you make because of the video?
• Return customers: These are satisfied customers whom you can nurture to derive lifetime value (LTV).

Conclusion

We saw how educational explainer videos can transform a B2B brand’s marketing, onboarding, and customer service.

However, only an engaging, accurate, and high-quality educational explainer video can impress a B2B brand’s prospects and turn them into customers.

Finally, don’t let your lack of experience deny your B2B brand an opportunity to benefit from them. You can always get help from a top explainer video service to create engaging educational explainer videos for you.