Every business needs a clear answer to three questions: what do you offer, who is it for, and why should someone care? When that answer gets buried in a long feature list or a complicated service description, a potential customer has to do the explaining for themselves.
An explainer video gives you another way to answer those questions. It combines a focused story with visuals that show how your product or service fits into someone's life or working day.
That does not mean every business should commission a video immediately. It means that every business should examine how clearly it communicates its value. When customers repeatedly struggle with the same explanation, a well-planned video can be a useful part of the solution.
What is an explainer video?
An explainer video introduces a product, service, or idea through a clear sequence. It usually establishes a situation the audience recognises, explains the role of the business, and gives the viewer a relevant next step.
It can use animation, live action, screen recordings, or a combination of these. An animated explainer video is particularly useful when you need to show a process, illustrate an abstract idea, or connect actions that happen in different places.
The format should follow the explanation. A simple service introduction may need a few illustrated scenes. Software might benefit from accurate interface footage alongside diagrams and motion design.
1. Make your offer easier to understand
People inside a business share knowledge that a new customer does not have. Your team knows what each service name means, how the product works, and which details matter. A first-time visitor starts without that context.
Writing an explainer forces you to choose a starting point the audience can recognise. Instead of opening with internal terminology, you can show a familiar problem and explain what happens when your business helps.
For example, a hypothetical IT support company could follow an employee reporting an issue, receiving help, and returning to work. The viewer sees the service in context before being introduced to support plans and technical details.
2. Show the parts of your business that are difficult to photograph
Some businesses sell a visible product. Others provide expertise, coordination, software, or a process that takes place over time. A photograph may show the team, but it cannot always explain how their work fits together.
Animation can give these less visible ideas a useful shape. An approval can move between two people. A delivery can pass through a sequence of checkpoints. A software connection can become a clear flow between systems.
Keep the visual model honest. If a task requires a human review, show that step. If a result depends on information from the customer, include the hand-off. Clear communication should help people understand the service they will actually receive.
3. Give sales conversations a consistent introduction
Your website, sales team, and presentations may all explain the same offer in slightly different ways. An approved explainer can provide a shared starting point with the same main message, examples, and product facts.
A salesperson can send it before a meeting to establish context, or afterwards to recap a particular process. The conversation can then focus on the customer's questions and requirements.
The video should support the conversation. It will still need relevant written information, accurate answers, and people who can discuss the details that matter to each buyer.
4. Help customers understand what happens next
Useful business communication continues after someone becomes interested. Customers may need to know how to request a quote, prepare for a first appointment, or get started with a new service.
Consider a hypothetical custom furniture business. A short explanation could show the steps from the initial brief to design approval, production, and delivery. It gives a prospective customer a practical picture of the process and identifies where their input is needed.
This kind of video can also reveal gaps in your own messaging. If the team cannot agree on what happens after an enquiry, settle that process before turning it into a script.
5. Give your brand a recognisable way to communicate
The language, pace, illustration, and sound of an explainer can reflect the personality of a business. A technical service may benefit from precise diagrams and a measured tone. A more playful brand may use character animation and visual humour where they help the explanation.
Keep the audience's task at the centre of these choices. A memorable character can guide someone through a process, but an unfamiliar visual metaphor may need more explanation than the original idea.
Brand consistency also involves the practical details: readable typography, familiar colours, accurate product information, and a tone that matches the rest of your website.
6. Create a story you can adapt for different situations
A well-organised project can provide material for more than one placement. Individual scenes may work as a feature introduction, a sales presentation section, or a short social post, provided they still make sense on their own.
Plan these uses before production. A vertical version may need a different composition from a website video. A clip viewed without sound needs its message to remain understandable. A presentation may require a different ending or next step.
Agree on the required versions, source files, and usage rights with the people producing the video. Reusing material works best when those needs are included in the brief.
Where should a business use an explainer video?
Place the video where its explanation answers a real question. The same film does not need to appear on every page.
- Homepage: introduce the main offer when visitors need help understanding it.
- Service or product page: explain the specific process or capability described on that page.
- Sales follow-up: give context for the question being discussed.
- Onboarding page or welcome email: help customers prepare for a defined next step.
- Presentations and events: introduce an idea before discussing the details.
Keep the essential message available in the surrounding text. Plan captions, a transcript, descriptions of important visual information, and accessible player controls as appropriate. W3C's media guidance explains how to consider these needs from the start of a project.
Read W3C's guidance on accessible audio and video
Does adding an explainer video improve SEO?
A video can add useful information to a page, but uploading one does not automatically improve its ranking. Google has specific requirements for discovering videos and considering them for video search features, including the page, the embed, and a suitable thumbnail. Meeting those requirements does not guarantee video indexing.
Treat the explanation, page copy, and technical setup as parts of the same publishing task. Make the video useful for the visitor first, then check the relevant search requirements for how it is published.
Explore Google's video SEO best practices
When is an explainer video worth creating?
Look for a communication problem you can describe clearly. Repeated customer questions, confusion about the service process, or difficulty demonstrating an unfamiliar product are useful starting points.
If a clear headline, a better photograph, or a short written answer solves the problem, start there. Consider a video when showing a sequence, a relationship, or a change over time will add something useful.
Before committing to production, answer these questions:
- Who will watch, and what do they already know?
- What question should the video answer?
- Which real situation will make the explanation concrete?
- Where will the finished video appear?
- What should someone be able to understand or do afterwards?
Use our guide to writing an explainer video script
Common questions about explainer videos for business
Are explainer videos suitable for small businesses?
They can be, when the communication need and production scope are clear. A small business may benefit from one focused service explanation rather than a broad film covering everything it offers. Judge the project against its purpose and available budget.
How long should an explainer video be?
Use the time needed to answer the chosen question clearly. Read the script aloud and review the storyboard to find repetition, missing context, or scenes that belong in a separate video. There is no single duration that suits every business.
Will an explainer video guarantee more sales?
No. Results also depend on the offer, the audience, the website, and the next step. Define the video's job before publication and review relevant actions and customer feedback alongside viewing data.
Turn a repeated question into a clear story
An explainer project can start with a question your team answers every week. Bring that question, a description of your audience, and an example of the process or product you want to show.
At Anigem Studio, we can help shape those ideas into animation and motion design that fit your brand. Share the explanation your business needs, and we can discuss a suitable approach.
Explore our explainer video services
Talk to Anigem Studio about your project
← All studio notes
