Business owners and marketers always want to get insight especially before they invest. Along with that, they main goal is to get a constant flow of leads and customers for their business.
Explainer videos are the perfect tools and investments to achieve this goal. But how long should your explainer video be? For this article, I will give you a guide for the perfect explainer video length.
A simple to tip especially to those who are just beginning to discover what an explainer video is.
If this is your first time to invest for an explainer video, then you are on the right track. Explainer videos are moving animated drawings that increase brand awareness. Explainer videos briefly inform the viewer what to expect which helps them decide to go with your business.
So it’s a perfect tool to generate leads, lessen support inquiries and ultimately, boost conversion rates. That’s right, probably, the reason why you are looking for a guide such as this is because you originally want to increase conversions.
This is something all businesses need in order to thrive.
A Guide for The Perfect Explainer Video Length
The main problem in choosing the perfect explainer video length is our modern technology. Although it is something unorthodox, modern technology has drastically decreased the attention span of the average viewer.
Everybody is in a rush that it has become so difficult to grab their attention. Mainly because almost everyone in the world has a smartphone. At least everyone that wants to watch a video.
To turn this around, marketers and video makers found a solution. And that is to ultimately shorten down the videos to watchable lengths. Still, this has spurred the greatest question of how long should your explainer video be.
Let us try and answer this question.
In addition to the problem stated, another main challenge is the business budget or marketer’s budget. Marketers always want to fully utilize what they have paid for especially if it’s an advertisement.
So the common problem is that they want to include everything on the video, which results in a long video. Even if they don’t have the budget. This will eventually be a big problem, especially for the video production company.
Part of this guide will help you determine the perfect explainer video length as well as a budget-friendly video.
Start with the script.
The script is usually the very foundation of every video. In some cases, there is no voice over, they storyboard will take over. But the script will determine how long the video is.
If you really think about it, a 1-minute video will approximately only have 150 words more or less. So you have to think of a good script that can explain your brand in more or less 150 words.
It is perfectly doable but just to be sure, consult with a professional. Hence, the video production companies such as us.
Imagine if the voice artist will rush the video without even breathing or allowing time for some air. It orders for you to know how long will your video actually be, take your time with the script.
Brainstorm with your chosen company as well as you colleagues. Don’t rush your script and your voice artist because you will just blur the message. Your message should be clear and to rush the speech will be exactly the opposite.
Determine the purpose of the video.
Determining the purpose of your video will help you about how long should your explainer video. If your explainer video is only for your landing page, opt for a short video. Short videos capture attention quickly so that’s your motive to choose that.
Another good question to determine purpose is to know who your target audience is. If your target is professionals, then you can choose to create 2 min videos. This is because they really want to know everything about your brand.
If your audience is the casual side, then you really have to choose the short one. Mainly because of the short span issue. That’s a part of this explainer video length guide you shouldn’t forget.
Also, as a marketer, ask yourself where will you out the video itself. Certain video hosting websites have requirements but not usually that restricting. But it is still best to know to get some idea for your video.
Also, your chosen channel will somewhat tell you who your audience is too. This will help you know the duration of your video as well. To boost visitor engagement, it is absolutely imperative for you to determine the purpose of your video.
So that you will know what to put in the script. As a result, you have a very good start and foundation already.
Don’t focus on creating only one video.
The concept of an explainer video is to briefly explain your brand while attracting all the relevant people, thus, converting them too. And the problem is you really can’t briefly explain everything, right?
The solution to that is to create multiple videos.
Creating multiple videos will allow you to explain different aspects of your business while still being on the compact side. So instead of having the problem of forcing everything into one video, you can create different ones.
As an example to this, create one video for your landing page. A follow up to that is you can create a video on a specific part of your website too. To highlight and give emphasis to products that you think will really sell to the customers.
You can even create different informative videos to the people who are discovering. This will prevent boredom, instead, visitors can watch videos that only target what they really want.
This will really help you in determining the perfect explainer video length. Because it can help with script writing in a sense that you will be able to understand what aspect to give focus to. Therefore, the videos can be shorter and more compact.
Pros and Cons
So instead of giving you only one option, first, I will give you the different pros and cons for the most popular length of explainer videos. For this list, the most prominent lengths are as shown.
3 categories that act as representation to have a better understanding.
Less than 1 minute
This length of explainer videos is the most budget friendly. That’s why most marketers and business owners mostly target this range. In addition, the most significant feature of a 1-minute video is to capture the attention of our short attention span viewers.
So if you don’t want to bore someone and your brand is easy enough to explain, this is the best choice for you. Foremost goal is to make your potential leads stay anyways, and this is the perfect tool to help you.
Another way to make use of this length is sharing on social media as well as mobile phones. In social media, they don’t want videos that are long because it simply bores them. Especially if it’s about a product or if they know it’s simply a sales pitch.
On a mobile phone, the marketer or promoter can simply share in on social media too, on email, or even just simply pass it on via Bluetooth. The main point is 30-second informative videos are bearable to watch.
1-2 minutes
This is probably the goldilocks zone for the perfect explainer video length. However, it also depends on the scope of your brand. Marketers use this avail this length mostly if they have something to discuss in-depth.
The usual reason is that a feature or product must be highlighted because of its uniqueness and originality. So it actually depends on the complexity and scope of your brand but this is something that professionals want as well.
The best thing about this is that people can watch this comfortably without being bored too. The only difference is that this is more expensive, of course, because of the duration of the video.
But in addition to that, marketers can comfortably explain their product due to the ample amount of time.
Longer than 2 minutes
These durations of videos are great too because you will surely have enough time to explain everything in your brand. The main challenge here is you must have a stunning first impression for your viewers to stay.
This refers to first 5-10 seconds of your video. For an idea, you can start with a question that will get the viewer interested and hooked to the video. Another con about this is that this will really take its toll on the precious budget.
Since most video production companies will charge by the second and the number of words, this will surely make it more expensive.
As long as you have a clear picture in mind of what you want to portray, then, by all means, you must avail the longer videos. The best part about this is that you can explain different aspects, prevent unnecessary inquiring leads.
This type of video will surely reflect how professional you are. So you must take note that you can’t make any grammatical errors and visual glitches. Actually, this goes for any length of video you want to create.
The Bottom Line
The perfect explainer video length falls under three categories. Based on what’s really popular, the perfect explainer video length is just under two mins. This will give you enough to capture the attention, explain while preventing boredom and incorporate a compelling call to action to take the next step.
Ultimately, it still depends on what you want to portray on the video. Never rush the script, the voice artist, and the video because that will blur your message to a point where it’s understandable. Avoid these mistakes and your video will result as well-organized and watchable.