Lockdowns and isolation have brought houseplants to a new level of importance for many of us. They’re something to focus our time and energy on, and let’s be honest they’ve been something to talk to. Mine have helped me practice Spanish! But for all this love and care, sometimes the leaves start to drop and it isn’t clear what’s wrong.

Video has occupied a similar role during lockdown, continuing to increase in popularity for marketers and viewers alike. 93% of marketers said video is an important part of their strategy. But like house plants, sometimes our videos just aren’t thriving like we hoped they would and we have to do our best CSI impression to investigate the cause. There are several reasons your explainer video might not be flourishing or driving engagement like you expected it to.

Before you start

We are firm believers in the adage ‘prevention is better than cure’ and just like you can’t be surprised that your banana plant has died when you haven’t watered it for six months, you can’t be surprised that you have explainer video problems if you don’t consider these points before you begin production. Read this post for a longer list of explainer video mistakes and tips, but the three points below are among the most important to consider.

Marketing goals

Before anything else, it’s essential to be clear about why you are making your video. Which goals will it help you achieve? How will it fit into bigger marketing campaigns and sit alongside other marketing materials? Who are you trying to reach?

A professional script

If that plant it is going to bloom, it needs some good soil and for your explainer video that means a strong script. A script allows you set your story in stone and ensure it says everything it needs to. This is just the beginning for your script though; the length of your script sets your explainer video length and acts as the springboard for the visuals and creative ideas that will bring your story to life.

The whiteboard formula

If your explainer video is animated, consider these the nutrients your story needs to achieve the supercharging qualities that animated explainer videos make possible.

• The first part of this formula is storytelling. People have been doing this throughout history and this is what makes your message engaging for audiences.

• The second part is the hand. This has been a feature of whiteboard videos since the beginning and as well as being iconic, directs and focuses the attention of your audience on what is important in each scene.

• The final part is the white background. It helps create a learning mindset in viewers through its call-back to school days and helps you make the information, illustrations and text as clear and easy to understand as possible.

Tone

The way something makes us feel has a huge impact on how we relate to it. There’s a reason orchids are more popular than Venus Flytraps. When it comes to your video, tone plays an important part in the way an audience feels as they watch and if your video isn’t getting the reaction you expected - this explainer video issue could be why.

The tone is usually established in the scripting stage. Like the trusty spork, tone plays two important roles. Firstly, it reflects the essence of you and your brand - making your explainer video feel familiar and recognisable to audiences. This allows you to fill your explainer video with your values and places it smoothly within your brand. A problem here can affect the way experienced audiences respond.

The second way tone plays a role in your explainer video is in relation to the content of your video. The way you approach a subject is important; are you being too serious? Or not serious enough? Does your voiceover create the right feel? There are a lot of possibilities and having those clear goals in mind can really help to keep you on the right track. When your content and tone don’t line up, the impact of your message and your storytelling can miss the mark.

Does your explainer video feel rushed or unoriginal?

Whether you spell it thyme or time, it can be a crucial ingredient and when it’s missing, an explainer video lacks that certain something. The same is true when it comes to originality. Audiences don’t want instant coffee, they want the house blend, and they can tell.

Not spending enough time on an explainer video can have an impact at almost every level. From the quality of storytelling to the animation or voiceover - when we rush things, they never reach that same level of quality that we hit when we put some real care and attention into a project. Beyond the damage this can do to a film’s feel, a rushed video can have a tough time when it comes to storytelling and engaging audiences. Poor engagement then has an impact on how viewers respond to your message and call to action.

Explainer videos allow for a lot of creativity and personality. This creativity doesn’t need to be on a grand scale, it can be in the little touches that show how much you understand your audience and can add charm. This originality goes a long way with viewers and means you tell your story in the perfect way to connect with viewers and make you message heard. The other benefit of being original is standing out from the crowd - and the online world, whether it’s social media or YouTube, has got very crowded. More than 500 hours of content are uploaded to YouTube every minute. A lack of originality can be bad for the way your message is communicated and the effect the way audiences are engaged by it.

Does your video resonate with your audience?

If the seeds of your message are going spread and grow, then connecting and resonating with your audience is essential. We touched on it above, but it deserves its own section because if your film doesn’t connect then it might fall far short of your expectations. The reason this is so essential is that when a viewer connects with your video, they engage with you message and calls to action more deeply. They are more likely to remember and share your video.

Storytelling and the connection it creates, is at the heart of why explainer videos work so well. There are several things you can do to help your video resonate with audiences.

References

References in your visuals or voiceover that mean something to your viewers are a great way of making your message memorable and meaningful. They can be scenes or settings, or connect at pop culture or emotive levels. These references provide the perfect framework to explain your ideas and key points.

Style

Style is an important factor to consider. Choosing a style your audience enjoys will help increase the chances that your explainer video makes a positive impact, while a style that puts your audience off is a sure way to make engagement with your video or its content harder.

Characters

Characters are an important part of building connection, by creating characters that your audience can relate to, you give your video a much greater ability to connect with and engage viewers.

If your audience doesn’t feel invested or connected with your video and the story it is telling, then the impact of your explainer video could be less than you expected. If your video isn’t having the effect you imagined, how much is it talking to and connecting with your audience?

Is it in the right place?

Is a rose still beautiful if no one can see it? Is an explainer video still effective if it’s not reaching its audience? Answers on a postcard, but location is everything. A good video in a bad location won’t have the impact you hoped for despite all the time, care and attention you’ve put into it. When an explainer video isn’t working, location is often the reason. The right location comes with a few considerations.

• What was this video designed to do?

• Is your video in the right format?

• Where is the best place for your video to achieve your goals?

• Where do your audience spend their time?

• What are the best times to post on any given social media channel?

This formula is unique for all of us and fine tuning where an explainer video is shown can change its performance dramatically. While some videos are longer form and add to the resources of a bigger project, some are better for use on social media where they can spread an idea far and wide. If you video is aimed at social media, are you encouraging engagement and discussion through your copy and comments?

Others have the important job of introducing you, your brand and your ethos from the comfort of your homepage. If you are using your video on your homepage or a landing page, there is room even here to change location if you think its performance could be better.

We’d also always recommend YouTube, it’s not the answer to all your problems, but it is the world’s second most popular search engine. Video has the power to deliver your message across networks and devices, giving you plenty of scope for experimenting and getting your positioning just right. This is a common explainer video problem and if your video isn’t working, this is the first thing to check.

How’s the quality of your video?

We’ve all seen the plants for sale in shops that are looking worse for wear and although they’re half price, a lot of people will still go for the shiny, healthy-looking plants. This brings us on to our final point in this post - quality. Building on our earlier point about taking time and being original, they’re not enough on their own. Every part of your video needs to feel like it’s high quality, shiny and healthy not half price. From the script to the voiceover and any illustrations, animation or acting, each aspect needs to have a high level of quality to make sure your message connects and stays with people, inspiring them to follow your call to action.

Poor quality zoom calls show how difficult it can be to follow an idea when it’s being delivered through bad visuals or audio, while poor storytelling can make an idea confusing rather an engaging. Factors like these can damage the impact of your message and the ability of your video to engage audiences - two of the major strengths of a good explainer video. Working with agencies or studios is a great way to avoid this, or to fix it, and get your story out there with the best of them.

We hope this list has helped and has helped you find the explainer video issue that was holding your video back. Visual storytelling is our passion, and we made our name creating the RSA Animates series. Since then, we’ve turned the messages and stories of companies like Coca Cola, Deloitte, eBay and the BBC into engaging explainer whiteboard videos. We combine professional scripts with bespoke visual thinking, storytelling, animation and professional voiceovers to make each explainer video unique and tailored to the story it’s telling and the audience it’s aimed at.

We’d love to hear about the idea, message or story you want to share and how we can help - contact us today!