Storytelling: Why it’s Essential For Your Explainer Video

storytelling through animated explainer videos

A Prevailing Misconception About Video Communication
There is this misconception that has been prevailing, that your marketing message/idea would automatically sell just because it has been presented in a video format. There is no denying that video is a powerful medium of communication. But, unfortunately, it isn’t new anymore. People across the world have been watching and sharing videos for quite sometime now.

Therefore, if you really want your video to work for your business, you got to make sure that it plays an influential role in shaping the way your customers see your business entity. You got to tell a story.

Why Storytelling Works For Marketing Videos
Storytelling works because you are targeting people. And most people are naturally attracted towards watching good stories. A good story could be told through any of the existing video formats be it animation, or ‘real’ video format. When you are telling a story, you are taking your viewers on a journey. And if your video story begins on an interesting note, your viewers look forward to watching it till the end (provided it is not way too long for them). Thus, storytelling through a video lets you:

  • Create and maintain viewer’s interest throughout the video
  • Gives you an opportunity to establish an emotional connect with them
  • Prompts them to explore more about your offering

Storytelling Through Animated Explainer Videos
If you think about it, animation, in essence, is nothing but a visual storytelling technique that, in the first place, was introduced for the purpose of creating entertaining movies. It has happened only recently that firms have started using animated explainer videos for marketing communication purposes. This is so, because information has become complex and animation is one rare video communication technique, through which anything that could possibly be imagined, could be simply explained by weaving it into an audio-visual story! This gives an endless scope for presenting any marketing message or product explanation in an ease-to-understand and recallable manner.

Another reason why storytelling goes well with animated explainer videos, is that it lets you characterize your brand or your customer into human or human-like characters, around which a story could be build by simulating typical problems your customers go through and then showing how your offering could assist them in overcoming those problems.

When you talk about your offering through a story, you’ve got a greater scope of telling your audience, what value, it’d provide to customers and why they should care about it. Not just that, a story helps you add an emotional touch to your message, thus enhancing it appeal. People are more likely to completely listen and absorb your idea, if it is presented through a story rather than presented as plain simple facts, figures or statements. Thus explainer videos give you an opportunity to create influential stories your customers may want to listen to and perhaps be persuaded by, to learn more about your offering.

A Word of Caution
Traditionally, stories had been told mostly for the purposes of sharing one’s experience or inspiring the readers or listeners. The underlying purpose had been to entertain the audience. But for an explainer video, storytelling technique has more to do than just entertaining. It got to entertain and educate the audience.The underlying purposes of having an explainer video include a.) simplifying communication and creating a product understanding through video b.) telling why it matters and how it could solve a problem.

Though animation, as a format, remains the same, but the purpose(s) that an explainer video aims to fulfill, is completely different than just entertaining the audience. Therefore, when an idea is being weaved into a story, it should be ensured that the story alone, doesn’t overpower the core message your explainer video is supposed to give out. An explainer video should be a mix of creative and strategic communication elements.

Related Post: Explainer Video Script- There is More to it Than Just Words

To Sum Up
When you decide to use an explainer video for communicating about your offering, make sure that it doesn’t plainly explain who you are and what you do. (It would otherwise be as good as a powerpoint presentation!) You got to ensure that it tells a story about why your business matters. The video should educate and entertain the viewers at the same time, rather than solving only either of these two purposes.