Another of our posts on effective marketing using video, this post will discuss how software explainer videos can quickly and clearly communicate the benefits of your desktop program or mobile app to potential customers.
What is an Explainer Video?
An explainer video is a short – usually 1-3 minute – animation that introduces your product/service using visual communication tools such as animation, motion graphics, infographics and even hand gestures, talking heads or other live footage. It’s a very effective way of getting across the core features of your software in a simplified way that even non-technical customers should be able to understand. It should be your first point of call if your product is very difficult to explain such as if it involves a large number of complex, such as a SaaS (cloud) product or server software. Let’s take a look at an example.
“What is Dropbox?” – Evenflow, Inc. (Dropbox)
Dropbox is a file synchronisation service targeting everyone from non-technical users right up to industry powerhouses that base their entire team infrastructure around the use of synchronised folders. Dropbox is an innovative solution to a very old problem and it is very successful due to its simplicity. All brand communications reflect this, and so Dropbox have wisely chosen to address the core concepts of the software in a way that anybody can understand with the help from animated illustrations.
Good on-site placement
This video was featured on Dropbox’s introductory tour, which is also a good example of where to place video effectively on your site. We see lots of videos buried deep in a site architecture that few people are going to find – but if you incorporate an explainer into a software tour or landing page it’s much more likely to get watched, and maybe even shared.
Simplified metaphors and visual communication
The video stands at just over two minutes long but holds the attention of the viewer with simple metaphors, like losing your car keys. It uses simple illustrations, motion graphics and hand gestures to tell the story of how Dropbox solves the problem of file access across multiple devices.
Maximised audience
Clearly this video is aimed at a non-technical audience, and so while it might appear patronising to technophiles, it is just about entertaining enough to explain exactly what Dropbox does with the least possible information. Given the choice of reading a list of features or watching a video, most people will opt to click a video and within just two minutes have a solid idea of what the product does – hardly an inefficient time-frame – and as a reward they get to watch something more fun than a bullet point list and certainly something more likely to stick in the mind.
Other video styles for software companies
Software companies should also take a look at product demo videos and software video tutorials as other great ways to get the best out of video.
We hope this example has helped clarify what an explainer video is and how it is useful, but every business is different and if you are wondering how video could work for you feel free to get in touch with us. Subscribe to our RSS and follow us on Twitter for more on Video Marketing, Video SEO and latest developments in the online video space.