Keep the Five Cs Close When You’re Producing an Explainer Video

Elevate your pitch with an explainer video

A simple checklist to produce impactful explainers that get the job done without breaking the bank.

By Patty Tomsky

o No one wants to spend a ton of money or time on a limited shelf-life piece of content.

o In any case, you need the videos to be professional-looking.

o You are delivering essentially a step-by-step directive to prospects - why they should order today.

Explainer Video Uh-Ohs:

These “Five Cs” will make your explainer video succeed:

Cost Effective

Concise

Compelling

Clean

Creative

1

2

3

4

5

- In-house skills to save money

- Use free, easy-to-access video programs

- 60 to 120 seconds in length total

- Spend money on original visuals

- Testing- Testing- Testing

- Pop culture references

- Animation- Don’t overdo it

Cost Effective

1Lisa Isbell at Hubspot says that

“Compiling an explainer video isn’t much more complicated than putting together a slide deck in a PowerPoint presentation.”

“You decide what to say and find some relevant graphics to jazz things up.”

The only differences this time are that you’ll be recording a voiceover from a written script instead of presenting it live.”

“[Y]ou’ll need to be concise and truly explain how something is done.

You can use your in-house skills to save money on voice talent in many cases. You can also use free and easy-to-access video programs for iPhone or Windows.

Concise

2Keep the length of the video to the 60-120

seconds’ if you can.

If you must, you can go as high as three minutes, but rarely more.

If you need more, a different content option will serve better—consider an interactive webinar or a podcast series for your most complicated ideas.

Compelling

3

If you can spend money on original visuals, please do.

There’s a saying in Hollywood when a large special effects budget is deemed

effective in the finished film: “They left the money on the screen.”

No one wants to yet again look at a stock photo of interested well-groomed business people leaning over a conference table.

No one.

Clean

4

Test it.

Do your research on your video and audio tech.

Test it again.

Run your script out loud in front of interested strangers (on staff, of course)

as you run through your visuals.

As a media trainer, I tell my senior executives: We will now be transformed to the Boy Scout motto on steroids:

We will be prepared. And then we will prepare again. And again.

Creative

5

Is it a fun pop culture reference in your script?

Make sure you have at least one cool thing happen during your explainer.

Do you want a cool (but not cutesy) theme to pull the video together?

Can you animate something on your screen (that makes sense)?

Too many bells and whistles are cheesy. But make sure you make a few moments to snap your audience out of their respective explainer-video-overload-comas.

It will make their day—and maybe, just maybe—make a sale.

For the rest, my friends, there are explainer videos.

“Some things in life are too complicated to explain in any

language.”

Haruki Murakami- Writer

And some parting wise words…

About Fusion Marketing Partners

We Do This:

Brand building/messaging

Website optimization

Content creation

Lead Generation

You Get This:

Much greater levels of awareness

Higher quantities of qualified leads

Ability to generate faster revenue

Lots more information at:

http://FusionMarketingPartners.com/

http://Greatb2BMarketing.com (blog)