A well crafted explainer video production can achieve so much, and it doesn’t need to cost you a sizeable chunk of your marketing budget. Ask most people if they would wish to read an instructional manual or an instructional video, and the majority would prefer a video. A quality explainer video will be more engaging and compelling to those who you are able to get to view it, and this will hopefully lead to you achieving your goals.

There are many other advantages to using explainer videos including:

• Deliver your information in short time period 
• Increase your trust and credibility
• Boost your conversions and sales
• Increased time/reduce bounce rate on your website
• Boost your SEO rankings
• Great for your social media campaigns
  

The key to a successful explainer video comes from good planning and execution, so before you even start getting creative, you need to know exactly what you want to get from your explainer video. 

You don’t want to be spending money without knowing what would be considered a good return on your investment. Ask yourself the following about your business objectives:

Who are your target audience?

Will it appeal to them? 

Do you need different videos for different target audiences?

How will it reach your target audience? 

What do you want your potential customers to do after viewing your video?

What is your marketing strategy?

What are your overall goals?

You may think that a typical explainer video will appear on your home page, and while that is true as it will showcase what your company does to a new visitor, there are other occasions and placements where an explainer video can work to your advantage.

Some of the key places where an explainer video can be beneficial include: 

Home page - typically an animated video placed in a prominent position explaining your company, products and services. 

Landing pages - target those pages where you get most traffic and people typically arrive on your website at that point. Tailor any video to match the purpose of the landing pages.

In emails - your emails can be more effective by including a video and can lead to improved open rates, click through rates and conversions, whether that be a sign up, sale or something else.

On your blog -  video can help break up lengthy content and be more appealing to potential customers and allow you to get your message across in a clear concise way.

Social media - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine are just some of the platforms out there to put your explainer videos and boost your profile and enjoy instant shareability.

The cost of your explainer video production will depend on so many variables. What is the purpose of your explainer video? How long do you want your video to be? How complex does your video need to be? When do you need it delivered by?

If your explainer video is intended for your home page, then we would suggest a video of around a minute long, but in other pages (perhaps explaining a product in greater detail) you can use longer videos since the customer is already in a position whereby they want to know more about the product or service being offered.

Generally the shorter the video, the more likelihood of a potential customer making it through the entirety of it, after all what is the point of making a lengthy video if people don’t bother to view it?  You want a video that gives enough time to get your message across without being overwhelmed. At Squideo, we work to a ratio of 80 words per 30 second of script, so bear that in mind when you come to consider a video commentary for your explainer video.

Costs will often be on a flat rate (with an agreed charge per set number of seconds of video). Also, how quickly you require your video can have a major bearing on costs, especially if you need a very quick turnaround for your video project.