Explainer Video Types: 5 Styles to Boost your Online Business

Have you ever wondered what the video on a company’s product page or homepage is called?

Well, if you haven’t figured it out yet, then let me tell you what it is. 

These are what we call the Explainer Videos! 🙂

They serve a primary purpose: to get people to understand what your product offering is!

Explainer videos are mostly placed on a homepage or a landing page because they clearly explain the company’s offering during the visitor's first session and shorten their decision-making process.  

And today, we’ll be looking at:

• What is an explainer video?
• Types of explainer video

So, basically, we’ll cover almost everything there is to know about explainer videos. 

Just try to keep up! 😉

What is an Explainer Video?

Let’s start with the basics.

Explainer videos are concise marketing videos. It helps in understanding a company’s product, service, or even a business idea more clearly. 

These videos are more commonly used for boosting adoption and sales. As a result, many companies have started using explainer videos to promote their products and services on the internet. 

One of the earliest explainer videos on the internet was by Dropbox

After this video went live, Drop had a crazy good growth trajectory and reached 10 Million users in a matter of months.

This news shook the entire marketing world. The number of founders and marketers who wanted to make an explainer video skyrocketed. Even to this day, the demand for explainer videos has been growing non-stop.

Now that we have a good grip on what an explainer video is, let's move on to getting to know some of the top 5 explainer video types.

Types of Explainer Video

Like I said, when it comes to explainer videos, there are various types. People usually choose a type of explainer video to convey their ideas in a suitable and efficient way. 

This is important because choosing the right type can either hold or lose people’s attention. 

Let us now have a peek at the top 5 most used explainer video types!

1. Animated Explainer Videos

No matter how old you are, animations have the ability to bring a smile to your face. 

One of the best and most popular choices for raising awareness for a service or a product is through animated explainer videos. 

This video type connects with the user at a deeper level because of two reasons

• One is because the moment we are exposed to a new animated video, our brain automatically connects with the enriching experience the person has had with cartoons.
• Two is because it's unique. Even at a time when you are exposed to so many different types of content on an everyday basis, it's not often that you get exposed to animated videos.

When you combine these points with an explainer video’s uncanny ability to break down complex concepts into fun bites of easy-to-understand information, the animated explainer video turns into a really powerful communication tool.

In addition, with an explainer video animation, you can easily edit and moderate the videos at any time. It allows space for more creativity which keeps the video engaging and informative.

Here’s an example from Animaker’s own archives. We used this video to generate some traction for the closed beta version of our app in 2015.

2. Live-Action Explainer Videos

Live-Action explainer videos can be created by using recorded videos or by using videos and images from stock asset sites.

Creating the video using recorded videos and creating it with Stock assets has its own advantages.

• Creating an explainer video using recorded videos creates an emotional bond between the manufacturer and the consumers. While this is more emotionally impactful, it requires some experience and it will take a while for you to get comfortable with being in front of the camera.

Here is an example of a live-action explainer video where the CEO of Animaker talks about his product. 

• Creating an explainer video with stock assets is pretty straightforward. You find stock assets you like and then stitch them together, the way you want. Although they may not have the same emotional impact as recorded videos, you can edit and replace assets at any stage of the video development process. This is a major advantage.

Here’s an example of an explainer video created to serve an event invite. We created this when we were in the process of generating hype for the launch of Animaker 2.0

3. Stop Motion Explainer Video

Stop motion is otherwise known as stop-frame. This is an animation technique that generates more engaging videos.

These videos can be pretty challenging as it requires a lot of physical work. Stop Motion explainer video is basically captured frame by frame. 

That is, you click a picture of an object, then you move it slightly for up to 2cms and click another picture. And it goes on. 

When you stitch these pictures together and turn them into a video, it creates the illusion of movement. Basically, you need twelve frames(minimum) to create one second of stop motion animation.

4. Screen Recording Explainer Videos

In a screen-recording explainer video, the screen of your PC’s or any other mobile device is recorded along with a voice over. 

This type of videos give you a strong scope to demonstrate your software in action to your viewers. It appears as if you’re explaining to a friend directly. 

To correctly execute this kind of explainer video, one needs to have good narration skills and good demo skills.

Using this type of explainer video requires less cost and is also easy to produce compared to other explainer videos. 

While a lot of companies have begun to use the screencast explainer video to promote their products, you can make it stand out by combining it with other types of explainer videos.

Here’s an example of a screen recorded explainer video that explains our users how to create an explainer video on Animaker

5. Whiteboard Explainer Videos

Do you enjoy scribbling on a whiteboard? If yes, then sure you are going to love this! 🙂

Whiteboard explainer videos can be understood just by their name. In this type of explainer video, the animation is hand-drawn and also erased on a whiteboard. 

Basically, you explain the concept by drawing or writing on the whiteboard.

In addition, a whiteboard video is one of the most affordable explainer videos. Its ability to be easy on the pocket is something that makes people prefer it often. 

Using this kind of video makes the audience feel like they are back in school(triggering a sense of nostalgia) as everything is being drawn and explained on a whiteboard. It also helps simplify complex ideas into simple bites of information.

Here’s an whiteboard explainer video, we at Animaker inc created while launching the explainer video feature on Animaker

The list that we have shown to you contains just the basic types of explainer videos that any business owner or a person the marketing team has to be aware of.

If you have a requirement for an explainer video and if you want to create professional looking explainer videos by yourself, we recommend you to check our the explainer video maker by Animaker Inc. 

In addition to having a super friendly user interface, Animaker also comes preloaded with 1000s of professional templates. These templates are so well built that even a kid can make professional quality videos by loading them in their project.

So go on, have a try and let us know how it worked for you in the comments section below.