Let’s play a quick game of word association. When we say “business presentation,” what is the first word that comes to your mind?

…

It’s probably something along the lines of:

“Zzz,”

or

“Boring!”

or

“Aaaaah! I’d rather stab pencils into my eyes than sit through a business presentation!”

All valid responses.

Business presentations aren’t exactly known for being compelling (or even tolerable). But, if your business does something a little bit complicated and it’s not so easy to explain, what other option do you have?

An animated explainer video, of course! (You knew we were gonna say that, right?)

These marketing investments have a huge ROI because not only do they provide viewers with the essence of what your business does, they also help with your SEO and they’re totally shareable, which helps with your social media. Best of all, they’re succinct. A minute or so after a viewer presses that play button, they know the gist of what your business does and they’re ready to contact you to find out more. It’s that easy.

But, how do you explain your complex business in only a minute or two?

Give ‘em the Basics

You’d be forgiven for thinking an explainer video might not be up to the task of telling people what your business does. Rather than a 30-page mission statement with reams of information, your video is going to start off as a script just a scant few paragraphs long. And, rather than complex images that are meant to awe the viewer, the visuals are kept simple and lend a complementary role.

It all seems so counterintuitive. How could a short video explain business concepts that people have had trouble putting into words for years?

It’s because they rely on science. Brain science to be exact. Your brain actually retains knowledge better when it is presented simply and presented in a way that stimulates both the audio and visual senses while connecting the new information with prior knowledge.

Explainer videos keep concepts simple, use simple yet striking visuals and audio to stimulate people’s senses, use storytelling to present the information in a way that is familiar to people and relate the new information to things viewers are already acquainted with.

Simple is Best

It may be tempting to use more complex imagery for your explainer video, but it can overload the viewer with unnecessary information, thus distracting them from your core message. Rather, you want the visuals to be engaging enough to keep viewers’ attention without being too distracting so they can retain the information.

Similarly, you want the audio narration to tell a simple story and only give enough information that viewers will get an understanding of what you’re offering without being bombarded with facts and figures.

Get to the Point

You know how it is these days. Something something attention span. You’ve got to get to your point quickly so you don’t lose people, but you also have to make your information clear so you don’t confuse people. Both bored and confused people will turn off your video, so you have to be quick, but clear when telling them what your business is about.

To help convey information quickly, explainer videos often use tactics like similes and metaphors — both audio and visual — to help viewers grasp the concept. For example, a messaging service that helps businesses network internally could be called “Instant Messenger for the office.” People are familiar enough with the term “Instant Messenger” that it immediately tells them what this product does without going into a lengthy explanation.

Visually, if your company offers an AI-powered research assistant, the animation could actually have a robot assisting someone with research tasks. The actual product is software and there is (unfortunately) no robot involved, but the visual helps people grasp the concept better.

By connecting new information with something viewers know and understand already, explainer videos cut down on the amount of time required to describe concepts and increase the likelihood of viewers retaining the information.

Use Both Audio and Visual

The goal of any marketing is to help people form a connection to a brand. Explainer videos do this by using narratives that viewers can relate to, either because they can easily follow the story and they get emotionally invested in the characters or they can see themselves in the same situation being conveyed in the video.

For example, if you sell a product that can help prevent bees from dying, you could either tell it from the perspective of a bee character who is worried about his colony dying (emotional connection) or you could tell it from the perspective of a human character who is similar to the people you envision as your customers who like to help bees (relatable character).  

Using both audio and visual to help people make this personal connection quickly and also helps them retain the information you want them to longer. It will also encourage them to reach out to your company later.

Know the Role

One of the things companies tend to get hung up on when it comes to explainer videos is that they don’t really give viewers any hard facts about the company. But that’s because facts and detailed information are not an explainer video’s forte. That’s where your sales team comes in.

An explainer video’s role is to give viewers the gist of the business and hook their interest so they reach out to your company to get more information and form a relationship with the business. They’re really just the first introductory stepping stone to getting people interested in your business.

Having an animated explainer video on your site is a sound investment that will pay dividends to you in the form of increased conversions and improved SEO. All it takes is one or two minutes of stimulating audio and visual storytelling to see your conversions jump. Click here to schedule an appointment with WizMotions to see how we can help you make the perfect business video.