Animated Explainer Videos: 10 Things You Should Know About Making an Animated Explainer Video

We have an article today from explainer video company, Breadnbeyond. They’re going to give us some insight into animated explainer videos and why your video company should get good at making them.

Start-ups struggle with allocating their budgets the right way. Believe it or not, there are many ways budget spending can spell doom for a young company. That was the case, at least, until around 2008/2009, when new companies started using animated videos to introduce their products and brands to the world.

These kinds of animated videos later became known as explainer videos because, well, they are explanatory. Explainer videos fulfill what start-ups are looking for: brand awareness and customer onboarding.

Here’s an infographic made by Breadnbeyond:

In a nutshell, this is how an explainer video works (and you should be explaining this to prospective video clients as what you can do for their video marketing):

• The video starts with a problem that your target customers have.
• Then you show several existing solutions (preferably from your competitors) and their buts — why they don’t work well.
• You then show your own solution and why it works better than the other solutions you mentioned.
• Call viewers to perform an action, e.g., sign up for a free trial or call your sales team.
• Profit.

Quite simple, right? It worked like a charm for DropBox and Dollar Shave Club in their early days.

However, there are thousands — if not millions — of start-up explainer videos right now. Likewise, there are many new explainer video production companies popping up everywhere.

Choosing the right explainer video production company for your new company can be really confusing. Between the $100 services you can find on Fiverr and $35,000+ price tag for a one-minute animated video, you have quite a range to explore.

To help you solve that problem, Breadnbeyond created an infographic about animated explainer videos, packed with all the information you need to begin your first explainer video project. It guides you through choosing the right company and how the production process goes. Take a look.

To make your search easier, we’ve rounded up 10 things you should know about creating your first explainer video. (And it won’t hurt to read this even if you’ve already made one.)

1. Spend Some Time Deciding Who To Hire

Choosing an explainer video company is not about the price. It’s very similar to choosing which clothes to wear. The style and design of an explainer video company evolves over time. Explainer video companies sell a creative tool to represent a brand — and most explainer video companies worth their salt has their own signature styles.

Because artists’ styles are rarely interchangeable, picking the right company to create your explainer video is important.

2. Price Does Matter, But Only A Little

The price you pay for an explainer video does matter, but higher prices won’t guarantee your satisfaction with the outcome. This is strongly related to the point above about a company’s signature style.

   

Think of it this way: If you want to produce a movie for children, you would do well to work with Pixar instead of Lucas Films.

It matters little if you paid a premium for a production company, but it can’t make what your target viewers want to see.

3. When Do You Want To Use A Larger Production Company?

Larger production companies can afford to hire more illustrators and animators, who have their own preferences when creating visual art. That means more styles are available for the company to offer, and for you to choose from.

A single explainer video company can provide as many as 14 different animation styles.

4. Prepare To Answer Many Questions About Your Company

Explainer video companies are made of most graphic designers and artists. They have little to no idea how things are going within your industry and who your target viewers are.

You need to provide reliable information that they can use for basing the explainer video on. To make sure things go smoothly with your first explainer video project, make sure you have a solid understanding of the essential things about your company, such as:

• what it offers.
• what makes it better than competitors.
• who the buyers are.

5. Your Involvement Is Crucial

Creating an explainer video is not one of those things that you can sit idly by and wait for the result. Well, you can actually do that because you paid them to do the hard work for you, but your involvement in giving feedback and exchanging thoughts can make a big improvement.

6. Time Is Critical

An explainer video project can take up to 150 work hours to finish, but even so the timeframe is really tight.

   

Being punctual and not slacking off helps a lot with the deadline. Most explainer video companies provide a 24-hour window for a reply to feedback.

7. Use Explainer Video Production Companies That Provide A Complete Package

If you’ve seen an explainer video somewhere on the internet, you know that most of them have background music and voiceovers. If you think you have to hire voice actors on your own — you don’t.

Explainer video companies charge for a package that includes:

• Script writing.
• Illustration.
• Animation.
• Voice overs.
• Background music.

So you don’t have to spend extra money hiring voice actors and sourcing music that you can use legally.

8. You Can Provide An Initial Script As A Guideline

Nobody knows a company better than the people inside it. Providing an initial script is always helpful. It will really help the explainer video production team decide which direction they should go with the script and get there more effectively.

9. Experience Is A Factor In How Much They Charge

The more experience they have, the higher their prices will be. The experience here isn’t strictly about the number of videos they have made. It also refers to who they have worked with and the success of their videos.

10. The Explainer Video Production Company’s Location Also Influences Pricing

The physical location of a company is very likely to influence the prices they charge. Companies based in developing countries often offer competitive prices, but keep their product quality up to standards.

On the other hand, companies that are located in high minimum-wage countries like the United States, Australia or the United Kingdom will cost more, but this doesn’t guarantee they produce better videos.

That said, you should at least take a look at some of those companies if you don’t mind not being able to meet them face-to-face (assuming you’re not working with someone in the same country).

Animated Explainer Videos — Before You Close This Page

Hiring a person or a company to make an animated explainer video for you is fairly easy. However, there are things that, if you put them to use, can make your experience much better.

First, spend at least a few days looking for explainer video companies that are able to deliver what you expect. You can do this by looking through their portfolios. Consider working with them only if you can find 3-5 videos that you like in their previous work.

Second, your involvement in the creative development process can make a significant improvement in the end result and, to that extent, your own benefit. So, make sure to make a wise time and budget investment.

   

If you feel like asking more questions about the process and potential problems of creating an animated explainer video, leave a comment down below!

Andre Oentoro is the creative genius and founder of Breadnbeyond and co-founder of MilkWhale, he worked with companies from more than 28 countries around the world to produce awesome explainer videos and kick-ass infographics that enhance their clients’ Internet visibility and marketing power.