The Types of Explainer Videos That Exist in 2023

Capturing and retaining the attention of your target audience is more challenging than ever before. Traditional textual content often fails to make a lasting impression. This is where explainer videos come in. With their visual appeal, storytelling capabilities, and ability to simplify intricate concepts, explainer videos have become a go-to medium for businesses seeking to engage their audience and deliver their message succinctly.

At MezzoLab, we create high-quality explainer videos catering to your specific requirements. Our team of experts is well-versed in the different types of explainer videos, ensuring that your message is delivered with impact. Let's explore the types of explainer videos in more detail.

What Are Explainer Videos?

Explainer videos are short videos that clearly and concisely explain or present something related to a business. They are a popular form of video marketing and are often used to convey information about a specific aspect of a company. They are also used to tell a brand's story.

These videos can serve various purposes, such as introducing a new service or product, highlighting a product's key features and benefits, simplifying complex concepts, showing how to use a particular product, explaining services or services, or showcasing the timeline and evolution of a brand.

Explainer videos come in different styles, and the preferred style changes over time. Currently, a popular trend is to use illustrated humans in vibrant color combinations, animated in a way that visually tells a story. In the past, animated whiteboard explainer videos were trendy, and a growing trend now involves combining live-action footage with motion graphics.

Motion graphics explainer videos involving animated graphics and visual elements are considered timeless and expected to remain a staple in explainer videos. However, these motion graphics explainer videos' color schemes and design styles may evolve as brands experiment with original and unconventional approaches to create visually compelling explainer videos.

Why are explainer videos important?

Explainer videos are essential for several reasons. Here are some key points to highlight their significance:

1. Simplify complex information: Explainer videos condense complex ideas, concepts, or processes into easily understandable and digestible content. Using visuals, animations, and concise narration simplifies information and makes it more accessible to viewers.
2. Increase engagement: Videos have a higher engagement rate than text-based content. Explainer videos capture viewer attention. It keeps them engaged throughout the video, increasing their likelihood of understanding and retaining the message.
3. Enhance brand awareness: Explainer videos are an effective tool for brand awareness. They provide an opportunity to showcase your brand's personality, values, and unique selling points creatively and memorably. Your brand will become more recognizable if you create an explainer video that leaves an impression on viewers.
4. Boost conversions: Studies have shown that including explainer videos on product or service landing pages can significantly increase conversion rates. A product or service or product is more likely to sell if the reader knows how it works and how it benefits them.
5. Improve SEO and website traffic: Embedding explainer videos on your website can positively impact your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Videos often rank higher in search results. Engaging video content on your website can attract more visitors and increase their time, improving overall SEO performance.

Explainer videos deliver your brand's message, simplify complex information, and engage your target audience. Using them lets you stand out from your competitors, increase brand awareness, and boost conversions.

Types of explainer videos

2D Character Animation Video:

2D character animation is widely used in explainer videos. Many startups prefer 2d animated explainer videos because of their versatility and cost-effectiveness. This style revolves around using animated characters to depict relatable interactions between the target audience, their pain points, and the benefits offered by a particular product or service. By humanizing the narrative through characters, 2D Character Animation enhances the viewer's ability to connect with the story and empathize with the depicted scenarios.

Example: An e-learning platform could employ 2D Character Animation in an explainer video to showcase a student's journey. The above screencast explainer video examples may feature a friendly animated character navigating different learning modules. It highlights a great example of how the platform provides engaging and interactive educational content.

Whiteboard Animation Videos

Early in the 2010s, whiteboard animation videos became popular due to their low production costs. The cost of producing 2D and character animation videos has now become comparable to whiteboard animation video thanks to the advancement of After Effects plugins and technological innovations.

It is vital to note that creating any video, regardless of the style, still requires significant time invested in understanding the brand and product. This includes crafting a script, recording a voiceover, and covering other consistent expenses.

In today's context, whiteboard videos may not be worth it for several reasons. Firstly, they need more customization options to align with your brand's unique style, which can result in a generic and outdated appearance. Moreover, whiteboard videos have become comparable to high-quality 2D animated videos, making the later a more favorable choice.

2D Animation With 3D Elements

2D Animation With 3D Elements combines the two techniques to leverage both advantages. In this style, most video is created using 2D animation, while certain vital elements or objects are rendered in 3D. This provides a more dynamic and immersive experience. This approach allows for a more detailed and realistic representation of specific components without requiring the entire video to be in 3D.

Example: A company producing high-end automobiles might utilize 2D Animation With 3D Elements in an explainer video. Most of the other images in the video could be animated in 2D, showcasing the brand's features and benefits. However, for critical moments of live-action explainer video where it's essential to highlight the intricate details of the car's engine or interior, those specific elements would be rendered in 3D. It would allow viewers to explore them from various angles.

3D Animation

Computer animation productions and 3D and 2D animated explainer videos are expensive. To provide some perspective, a 2D motion graphics animated video of a certain length typically requires two illustrators and two animators. However, a 3D animation video of the same duration requires ultra-powerful computers to handle a large amount of data.

Additionally, rendering all the elements in a 3D animated explainer video takes significant time, for which staff must be compensated. Example: a 60-second 2D motion graphics explainer video can be rendered (combining all the animated elements into one video file) within 15-50 minutes on a standard PC. Conversely, a 3D animated explainer video may take hours or even days.

This time consumption may be fine if it's a one-time task, but it's essential to consider that any minor alteration would require re-rendering the entire video. Since storytelling or demonstrating an app does not necessarily demand elaborate visual effects, even prominent companies like Google or Microsoft prefer 2D animation for their explainer video or videos.

Product Demo Explainer Videos:

Product demo explainer videos are a popular form of visual communication that showcases the features and benefits of a product or service. These videos educate potential customers, generate interest, and drive conversions. They often use live-action footage, screen recordings, and animations to demonstrate how the product works effectively.

Example: Let's consider a smartphone manufacturer introducing their latest flagship model. They create a product demo explainer video highlighting many resources of the phone's essential features, such as a high-resolution display, advanced camera system, and innovative user interface. The good explainer video demonstrates how these features enhance the user experience and meet tech-savvy consumers' needs.

Case Study Explainer Videos:

Case study explainer videos present real-life examples of how a product or service successfully solves a problem or addresses a specific challenge. These live-action explainer videos typically focus on a particular customer or client and delve into the details of their experience, highlighting the benefits and outcomes of using the product or service.

Example: A software company specializing in project management tools creates a case study explainer video showcasing how their software helped a construction company streamline its operations and improve efficiency. The video includes interviews with key stakeholders, visuals of the software in action, and quantifiable results, such as increased productivity and cost savings.

Live-Action With Track Elements

Incorporating motion graphics into live-action videos can add flair and visual appeal. 2D motion graphics are often used to enhance various aspects of live-action videos. For example, you might have a trail following a person, text bubbles above a mobile phone, or statistics popping off a chart. These elements make critical moments more impactful and engaging. This style is suitable for brand videos and presentations.

For instance, consider a live-action video showcasing the latest mobile phone. As the presenter demonstrates the phone's features, animated text bubbles appear above the screen, drawing static images and highlighting essential functions or specifications. This combination of live-action and motion graphics videos creates a visually dynamic and informative video that captures the audience's attention.

Stop Motion

Stop motion animation is a visually captivating style that captures individual frames of a model or object, typically made of clay or other materials. It involves then manipulating or moving it before catching the next frame. A series of edges are repeated many times to create a sense of movement.

Stop-motion animation has artistic charm and can be used to create eye-catching explainer videos. However, it requires specialized equipment and a dedicated studio, making it a costly option. Despite the challenges, stop-motion animation can be highly effective in grabbing viewers' attention and conveying information in a visually appealing way.

Example: Let's say a company wants a 2d, animated video explainer to showcase the process of creating their handcrafted products. They can use stop-motion animation to demonstrate each step, capturing intricate details and craftsmanship. This results in an engaging and visually stunning explainer video.

Testimonial Explainer Videos:

Testimonial explainer videos feature individuals or customers sharing their positive experiences and opinions about a product, service, or brand. These videos aim to build trust, credibility, and social proof by showcasing real people who have benefited from or enjoyed a particular offering. Testimonial explainer videos typically include personal stories, testimonials, and endorsements that highlight the product's or service's value and effectiveness.

Example: A fitness app company creates a testimonial explainer video featuring diverse users sharing their success stories. The video highlights how the app helped them achieve their fitness goals: weight loss, increased strength, or improved overall well-being. Genuine testimonials and visible transformations provide social proof and encourage potential customers to try the app.

Kinetic Typography Animation

Kinetic typography animation refers to the art of animating text in a visually engaging and dynamic manner. This style brings words and phrases to life through movement, timing, and creative typography. While kinetic typography can be visually appealing and grab attention, it is sometimes suitable for longer durations. Viewers may lose interest in reading animated text for 60 or 90 seconds, which can become overwhelming or tiresome.

Kinetic typography is the process of animating text dynamically and visually. This style is self-explanatory, focusing on the movement and animation of textual elements to convey information or messages. While kinetic typography animation can be visually striking, it is essential to consider viewers' attention span when using this style. Lengthy animated texts can be overwhelming and may only engage the audience for part of the video duration. However, cleverly designed characters integrated with text can enhance this style.

Example: Suppose a company wants to create an explainer video for its latest mobile application. They can use kinetic typography animation to showcase the features and benefits of the app. This is done with animated text dynamically appearing on the screen, highlighting its functionality and user-friendly interface.

Screencast explainer video

Explainer videos are highly effective when showcasing software applications or demonstrating their functionality. This trendy type of video involves recording the screen directly from the browser or using screencasting software. It is raw footage combined with visual enhancements to highlight essential elements of the whiteboard video.

For instance, you can use techniques like zooming, scaling, emphasizing specific areas, or a more significant mouse pointer to draw attention. Additionally, your screencast explainer videos can be integrated with live footage, showing a person using their phone or browsing the internet. For example, a screencast video can showcase the step-by-step process of using a productivity app, demonstrating its features and benefits.

Infographic

Infographic videos are beneficial when presenting a large amount of data or statistics in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand format. These videos employ various infographics, such as charts, graphs, diagrams, and illustrations, to simplify complex information and make it more accessible to viewers.

For instance, imagine you're creating an explainer video for a research report with numerous statistical findings. Instead of overwhelming your audience with raw data, you can use an infographic or whiteboard explainer video to present the key insights visually and engagingly. By transforming the numbers and figures into colorful charts, animated graphs, or dynamic diagrams, you can effectively convey the main points of the research. This will help viewers grasp information easier.

Explainer Videos With Stock Footage‍

Explainer videos are becoming increasingly popular using stock footage. Instead of investing in custom video production, companies can select from a wide range of stock footage clips at around $70. This approach eliminates hiring an entire cast and crew to film in various locations such as the Sahara, the Amazon, or Dubai. By effectively incorporating these live-action video clips, businesses can achieve their desired outcomes at a fraction of the cost.

Example: Let's consider a company that offers adventure travel packages. Instead of organizing an expensive shoot in the Amazon rainforest, they can select high-quality stock footage of lush jungles, wildlife, and exciting activities, creating an engaging and visually appealing explainer video for real customers.

Isometric

While technically still 2D, isometric explainer videos employ techniques that give them a 3D appearance. Imagine the cubes you used to doodle during school days when boredom struck. Isometric videos work similarly, using 2D lines arranged with shading and a carefully chosen color palette to create an illusion of depth.

Example: Suppose a software company wants to showcase its project management tool. They can opt for an isometric explainer video that visually represents the software's features, such as tasks, timelines, and collaboration, with a three-dimensional look. The new explainer video can engage viewers and provide a clear understanding of the product's functionality by employing isometric graphics.

Animation With Popular Images

‍ This explainer video style utilizes familiar imagery or memes to engage the audience. It can be employed for various purposes and is sometimes preferred by studios to save costs on design creation. However, using designs from different sources can result in a video with inconsistent styles, which may appear of low quality. A cohesive visual style is crucial for a compelling explainer video.

Example: Suppose a video promoting a tech conference uses popular images of famous tech personalities, such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates, to highlight the event's significance and attract attention from technology enthusiasts. By incorporating these recognizable figures, the video connects with the target audience and generates intrigue.

Cutout Animation

Cutout animation is straightforward yet captivating. It involves characters and objects hand-cut from paper or other materials, which are then animated to create movement. This low-tech approach allows the viewer to focus on the message without distraction.

Example: Imagine a video promoting an environmental conservation campaign. Using cutout animation, the video depicts various endangered animals, trees, and natural landscapes crafted from paper. This conveys the importance of preserving our natural world. Simple cutout animation enhances the message's emotional impact, drawing attention to environmental issues' urgency.

Traditional Animation / Frame by Frame

Traditional animation, also known as frame-by-frame animation, has been around for decades and is commonly associated with classic Disney movies. This style involves hand-drawing each video frame, with slight movement adjustments between frames. Typically, 15 to 30 frames per second create seamless and visually appealing animation. While this style of minimal animation is striking, it is also time-consuming and expensive to produce.

Example: Think of Walt Disney's masterpiece, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," where each frame was meticulously hand-drawn to bring the characters and story to life.

Outline

Explainer videos have gained popularity, particularly among startups. It features a minimalist design with simple black lines forming the visuals, often against a white background. This style is admired because of its simplicity and ability to convey a message clearly without distractions. Startups often choose this style to present their ideas clearly and concisely.

Example: Imagine a startup introducing a new mobile application. The screen would showcase a clean and minimalistic design in an outline explainer video. This would be done through concise text and simple illustrations. The whiteboard animation explainer video also delivers the brand logo's core message without overwhelming the viewer with unnecessary details or distractions.

Parallax With Images

‍Parallax with images is another commonly used style in explainer videos. This approach serves two primary purposes. Firstly, it creates an interesting visual effect that captures the audience's attention and adds a dynamic element to the video. Secondly, it is an ideal choice for companies wishing to animate real images from their archives. The video gains depth and movement by first applying the parallax effect to these static images, making it visually appealing and immersive.

For example, consider a perfect example of a company utilizing the parallax with images technique to showcase their historical journey, using real animated images from their archives. It would enable them to narrate their story while evoking nostalgia and authenticity in the audience.

Where to Use Explainer Videos

Maximize the potential of your explainer video by strategically creating videos and placing them in various avenues to captivate your audience. Here are some innovative methods to make the most of your investment:

• Homepage: Your website's homepage is a bustling hub of activity. Harness this traffic by prominently featuring your compelling explainer video. It's the perfect opportunity to educate and engage new visitors quickly.
• Email Campaigns: Boost interest and engagement by leveraging your explainer video in email marketing campaigns. Utilize the word "video" in the subject line and include a link to the video, as studies have shown that this approach increases user interest.
• Sales Meetings: Empower your sales team with mobile devices equipped with the explainer video. Initiate sales meetings by showcasing footage to establish a unified sales message. This will save valuable time and effort for the sales department.
• Landing Pages: Incorporate video content on landing pages to capture viewers' attention quickly, resulting in improved outcomes and higher conversion rates.
• Retargeting Ads: Use retargeting ads to display your explainer video to individuals who have visited your website but have not taken action. This strategy gently pushes you in the right direction, motivating potential customers to convert.
• Sales Outreach: Use your explainer video to warm up cold leads during sales outreach. Referencing the video in sales emails and including it in the subject line will increase engagement.
• Social Media: Regularly share your explainer video on various social media channels to enhance user engagement. On platforms that allow it, consider pinning the video to the top of your profile to maximize exposure.

By employing these strategies effectively, you can amplify the impact of your explainer video. You can use your marketing strategy to optimize its potential for reaching and engaging your target audience.

Which type of explainer video is suitable for my company?

The different types of explainer videos provided earlier offered insights into the options. However, determining the correct type different style of explainer video for your company depends on several crucial factors related to your business:

1. Brand Identity: Your choice of explainer video should align with your brand's personality. If your brand is known for being relaxed and playful, your explainer video should reflect that tone and style.
2. Marketing Objectives: Consider your marketing goals when selecting the type of explainer video. Are you aiming to raise awareness about your product, educate your audience about a complex concept, or increase conversions? Each goal may be better suited to a specific type of explainer video.
3. Target Audience: Targeting the right audience is essential. Its preferences, demographics, and characteristics will influence the type of explainer video that resonates with them most effectively. Tailor the video's style and messaging to engage and appeal to your specific audience.

While making your decision, remember to adhere to best practices for video production. Craft a compelling story, keep the content concise and engaging, and always keep your audience in mind throughout the process.

Conclusion:

Explainer videos are a versatile and powerful tool for businesses to communicate their messages effectively, engage their target audience, and drive desired actions. Whether you need to showcase a product, educate your audience, boost sales, onboard new customers or employees, or enhance your employer branding, the correct type of explainer video can help you achieve your goals.

At Mezzolab, we specialize in creating custom explainer videos that captivate and engage viewers, ensuring your message is visually appealing and compelling. With our expertise in video production and storytelling, we can help you create the perfect explainer video that aligns with your brand and resonates with your target audience.

FAQ's

Can a explainer video be customized to match my brand's style?

Mezzolab offers virtually all types of explainer videos tailored to your brand's style, tone, and messaging. Our talented animators and storytellers will collaborate closely with you to make a video that reflects your brand's essence.

How long does it take to make an explainer video?

The timeline for creating an explainer video varies depending on the size, length, and complexity of the explainer video types used. It can take 4 to 6 weeks, including scriptwriting, storyboarding, animation, and revisions. Rest assured, we strive to deliver high-quality videos within agreed-upon timelines.

Are explainer videos effective for all businesses?

Yes! Explainer videos are versatile and can benefit businesses of all sizes and industries. You can use explainer videos to communicate your unique value proposition to target audiences, whether you're a tech startup, e-commerce store, or professional service provider.

How much does it cost to create an explainer video?

The cost of creating an explainer video can vary depending on factors such as the video's length, the animation's complexity, and the level of customization. Mezzolab.com offers affordable and tailored pricing packages to meet your specific requirements and budget.

Can I use my script, or do you provide script writing services?

We offer comprehensive scriptwriting services and professional help to ensure your message is effectively communicated through video. However, if you already have a script, we can work with it and provide valuable feedback and suggestions to enhance its impact.