How To Make Your Own Explainer Video: Top Tips

Explainer videos are short clips that teach viewers something new about a product or niche. These posts are favorites for businesses and creators, since explainers make it easy to highlight personal brands.

In this article, we'll explain how to create explainer videos that grab your audience’s attention.

What’s an Explainer Video?

Explainer videos are often used in marketing to showcase a product, service, or idea. They use clear visuals and simple narration to make concepts easier to understand. 

People may use this term to refer to how-to videos, but the content styles are different. Tutorials explain how to complete a task step-by-step, while explainers are more of a quick, high-level overview of a topic.

Typically, explainer videos tell a story through the eyes of a protagonist. Sometimes, that protagonist is you, the viewer. Other times, the video follows a fictional character on a short journey. 

Explainers tend to open by establishing the main character’s problem — maybe they’re struggling to organize digital files or find a new hiking trail. Then, most of the video shares how a particular product or service can solve that issue. 

Even though explainers are most commonly used by businesses, content creators can add the following video ideas to their content strategy: 

• Selling personal products — If you make and sell goods online, creating an explainer video is a great way to introduce yourself to new viewers. 
• Partnering with bigger companies — Brands may hire you to produce or star in their explainer videos.
• Making educational content — Explainers don’t necessarily need to sell something. So, you can adapt this format to share information with viewers, such as history lessons or cooking techniques.‍
• Storytelling — Since explainers follow a narrative, they work well for personal storytime videos.

Why Are Explainer Videos Important?

Explainer videos offer unique advantages to content creators, including the following.

Boosting Retention and Growth

Simplifying complex ideas makes them more accessible to your audience, keeping their attention focused. A clear message encourages them to return to your platforms for more content, knowing they’ll find valuable, easy-to-digest information. This makes your channel a valuable source of truth within your niche.

Improving Conversion Rates

Explainer video marketing is a solid strategy for increasing conversion rates, as this format clearly explains a problem and how your product can solve it. 

For instance, these posts can show how your app can help content creators edit videos 10x faster than traditional methods. Or, maybe the problem is viewers don’t have merch to show off to their friends, and your explainer video shows how getting a new T-shirt solves that issue.

Building Trust and Communicating Value

Explainer videos deliver clear explanations that help your audience understand your personal brand. This builds trust and creates a stronger connection with your viewers. For example, if you’re an expert in beauty products, an explainer video could share the benefits of your favorite skincare products, showing transparency and authenticity.

Types of Explainer Videos

Content creators can effectively communicate their message with several types of explainer videos, including the following:

• Animated explainer videos — This popular format uses drawings to turn abstract ideas into simple stories. Posts can be entirely animated or just use a few graphics to add emphasis to your footage.
• Live-action — In this style, you’ll use real people, products, or environments to show viewers how your service or product works. 
• Motion graphics — These videos blend animation with text, graphics, and illustrations to explain complex ideas. If you’re trying to explain a concept with a lot of data, this may be a good option to keep viewers interested.

What Makes Good Explainer Videos: Best Practices

To produce compelling explainer videos, you need key elements to ensure your message is clear and engaging.

Clear and Concise Scripts

Scripts should be direct and easy to follow, ensuring viewers understand the key message without unnecessary filler. Usually, explainer videos are between 60 and 90 seconds long, so your script should be short enough to reflect that.

Well-structured scripts introduce the topic, explore a challenge the audience is experiencing, and cover how to solve the issue. Writing these drafts can take time, but you can use Captions to generate scripts automatically.

Strong Calls-to-Action (CTA)

A call to action is a message telling viewers what action you want them to take after watching your video. This is important if you want to direct your audience to like your post or purchase a product. A CTA should be clear, persuasive, and well-timed for maximum impact.

Professional Voiceovers

A high-quality voiceover should be clear and match your brand's tone. Professional-sounding voiceovers boost credibility and ensure your message comes across clearly, without distractions. Generate an AI voiceover with Captions to create a tone and pace that matches your style.

Appropriate Music and Sound Effects

Background music and sound effects can significantly enhance the mood and pacing of your video. Upbeat, cheery songs show audiences they don’t need to worry about their issue while using your product. Especially for marketing campaigns, choose royalty-free tracks to avoid copyright issues.

How To Create an Explainer Video in 5 Steps

Creating an explainer video involves five key stages:

1. Write a script — Craft a 60–90 second script that explains your topic thoroughly.
2. Plan your visuals — Create a storyboard to align with the script, organizing each scene to tell the story visually.
3. Produce the video — Make the video using animation, live-action footage, or a combination, ensuring your visuals and sound are high quality.
4. Add narration — Include a voiceover to narrate the script and guide the audience through the video.
5. Edit your footage — Finalize the post by adding background music, sound effects, and a strong CTA to prompt further engagement.

Tools like Captions simplify the editing process with AI features, allowing you to polish your explainer video easily.

Craft Engaging Content Faster With Captions

Explainer videos are powerful tools for content creators looking to boost engagement across social media platforms. They can simplify complex ideas, captivate your audience, and drive action — all while enhancing your brand's visibility.

Captions is a powerful video editing tool that simplifies the video creation process. With our app, you can quickly add text, generate subtitles, and create engaging visual elements tailored to your unique style and needs.

Using Captions to craft your explainer videos helps your content reach a broader audience and encourages them to take the next step. 

Explore Captions today and start creating.