Why Isn’t My Explainer Video Working?

A couple of weeks ago we talked about how a bad explainer video could actually hurt you and cost you more in the long run. Sometimes you just want to get something out quick with little investment. But now you have this explainer video and it’s not doing the numbers you hoped. So you’re probably asking yourself, “Why isn’t my explainer video working?” Well remember, you’ll get what you pay for. So this week, we’re going to dive a little deeper into all the problems you could be having with your explainer video and why going with a company like Digital Brew could help.

Shorter is Better

So you’ve made your explainer video and it tells people everything they could want to know about your company: 

– Here’s how long you’ve been around. 

– Here are all the problems they could be facing. 

– Here’s all the services you offer. 

– Here’s all the packages you offer for those services. 

– Here’s how awesome your customer service is. 

– Here’s all the ways they could reach out to you. 

But it’s not getting conversions. Now you’re probably saying, “But I’ve told them everything they could want to know. Why isn’t my explainer video working?”

Did you notice how exhausting that last paragraph was to read? It was just as exhausting to write. And if it was a video, it would be exhausting to watch, especially with a busy schedule. The people you’re trying to get your video in front of are probably slammed. Your explainer video is meant to be a conversation starter, not replace the conversation. So shorter is always better. 60-90 seconds is the real sweet spot for explainer videos. Even if you don’t get to talk about everything your business does, a shorter, punchier video will always do better.

Your Explainer Video is Unfocused

Looking back at the last topic, your video might be talking about all these amazing things your company does. We’re not saying everything you do and offer isn’t helpful for people. If they weren’t, you wouldn’t be doing it. So you’ve told them everything you do but you’re still asking, “Why isn’t my explainer video working?” Building off of our length conversation, you want to make sure your video has a clear vision.

We’ll help you nail down part of this during your creative brief, but it’s important to focus on your biggest money makers. Maybe you have three services that are traditionally your most profitable. Well for one video, let’s focus on those three. Or maybe you’re trying to push a new service or a service that isn’t getting the attention you’d hope. Well that’s the perfect time to create an explainer video. We’ve had many clients come to use saying that a service wasn’t getting pushed as much because they had a hard time explaining exactly what it was. That’s where we come in! And of course, that’s a discussion we can always have when gathering information for your script.

How Will You Actually Help?

Sometimes when talking about all the things you could do for customers, you forget the “how.” You want to show them how much better their life will be after using their service. With you, they’ll go from this sad scene to this happy scene! Great. But how will you accomplish this? Maybe you’re telling people that you’ll have the fastest shipping. Well how can you actually make that happen? Everyone is most likely using the same shipping services. How can yours be so much faster? So it’s important to tell customers in your video that you’ve got locations all over the country so you’ll always ship from the most local warehouse (something more concise than that but you see the point).

What’s Your Story?

One of the great things about explainer videos is that you’re not just telling potential customers about the things you do, you’re taking them on a journey. You’re connecting with your audience. Well, if it’s done right, you are. Which could be another answer to your question of “Why isn’t my explainer video working?” Do you have the right script for your video? We’re not saying it has to be some kind of epic story that will emotionally move your audience. But it should still be a story that customers can relate to and see their problems being fixed.

At its most basic, it’ll probably look something like, “Here’s some common problems in Industry X. We know they’re annoying. Here are some great ways we can help you with those.” That’s way more compelling to a person than simply listing what your company does. There’s a reason there’s a cliche infomercial of “Has this ever happened to you?” It’s because you want your audience to say, “Yes! That happens to me all the time. Help me!”

Brewing Better Videos

We hope we’ve helped give you some answers around the question of “Why isn’t my explainer video working?” We didn’t even get into the quality of animation, which could be a real turn off if done poorly. That’s why it’s so important to do your research and find a studio that can produce quality explainer videos. If you want to check out some of our work, you can always take a look at our portfolio. If you ever want to get more information about how we can help with a new explainer (or even revamp an existing one that needs some help) you can always reach out to us here.

Let’s Brew This!