Which explainer video styles is appropriate for my business?

If you have an intention of promoting your business using videos, you must have been faced with these question many times. Which video style is appropriate for your business? This is a tricky question but only requires a simple answer. There has been extensive research done regarding video length. But Unlike the topic “video length” there is hardly any research available on what “explainer video styles” should be chosen for a particular business, and that is exactly what we want you all to find from this write up.

Explainer video styles

Regarding “styles” it is said that “what is NEW” is less important than “what is YOU.” So the most obvious choice of style comes from the existing branding of the business. We think the best explainer video style is the one which compliments your brand. The video style should harmonize the overall design, color, font and ‘look and feel’ of your brand. So that even if your video is displayed on other platforms other than your website it should be able to cajole people to patronize your brand. This is the single most important factor in deciding the style. You should know however that within the style guide there are many options to choose. Here are a few of them,although all the styles below can be and should be matched to the overall style guide of your brand, I will leave you with the following prospects to help you choose the video style for your business.

Explainer video styles: Color cartoon explainer video

If you have a story to tell then, the obvious choice is to take up a color cartoon explainer video. These explainer videos are like storytelling, where your customer is the lead/hero and your business is the teacher/guru/friend that helps the hero solve his problem and succeed in whatever he wants to achieve. Research has shown that explaining a business in the form of a story is the most effective form of explainer video for any business. Because this is what most of your audience sympathize with. In this style, it is easy to integrate the overall style guide of your brand. I reckon therefore that this is the perfect choice if your branding style guide is already in place. This video style can sit on any platform (other than your website) and yet remind the viewers of your brand.

The cartoon explainer video is the most demanded explainer video style. It majorly involves use of humour to get on the soft side of the audience. This explainer video style allows everyone to sympathize with your brand., It is often said that everything is possible in a cartoon, this is a viable reason why you will want to hire an explainer video maker to design an appropriate color cartoon explainer video for your business. Cartoon style explainer videos greatly help in humanizing your brand. If you are targeting a specific demographic then relevant character design can be created

Example: cartoon explainer video

Explainer video styles: Line Drawing Animation

If you wish to use the line drawing style to make an explainer video good news for you, almost everything mentioned above for color cartoon style also applies to this style. Except that, the line drawing explainer video costs less than the cartoon explainer video costs. But disadvantage is it doesn’t have enough scope to integrate the overall style guide of a brand. Here instead of full form cartoons we design stick figure animation or a black and white line drawing animation. The advantage is it suits any design, color or at least it sits well with almost all types of design palette. And also, if your business doesn’t yet have a brand design finalized than this style is the best option. Bottom line is if your company or brand is only just rising and you do not intend to spend too much of your budget on a video, the line drawing explainer video serves as a perfect startup explainer video. Also If your business caters for people from all demographics then a generic stick figure type cartoon is what you are looking to create.

Example: Line Drawing Animation

Explainer video styles: Whiteboard Animation Videos

The white board animation explainer video appears very professional. Whiteboard animation or video scribe is employed to explain a complicated concept or if the video duration is longer. The advantage this explainer video style brings to you is, it holds the attention of the audience while a real hand draws on screen in real time. If the video is much longer than the normal standard, 90 seconds, then this style is better to explain a concept very effectively. Again this style is a better option also if your business doesn’t yet have a brand design finalized as it sits well with almost all types of design palette.
Don’t get us wrong: cartoon videos can explain complex concepts too, but whiteboard videos, however, immediately incline the audience towards an explanation. It’s like being in a classroom in front of the blackboard while the teacher explains something. You know deep down that you’re in for a new lesson.

In whiteboard videos or the white board animation allows you to be also very direct in getting your points across to your customers or audience and this allows you to put complex information out there for your audience. You should employ this explainer video style if you are doing a ‘how to’ section mostly for IT and computer wares.

Example: Whiteboard animation

Kinetic Typography Or Motion Graphics

Kinetic Typography animation explainer video or motion graphics video is best suited if you want to present some facts, figures, and statistics. You should know this style is mostly used to explain by impact without voice over narration. If you do not want a cartoonish style to represent your brand, then this is more suitable.

The Motion graphics explainer video is very direct and so it can be said to be professional too. This explainer video style is ideal if you want a more serious look and feel.

Example: Kinetic Typography and motion graphics

Explainer video styles: Live Explainer Video

The live video explainer video is not like an alternative to the aforementioned types of explainer videos, it is more like a must have if YOU are the brand. If you are promoting yourself or teaching something then, of course, you have to be in front of the camera. But a real live person in front of the camera (also called talking head), can get really boring. You will want to add a little bit of animation in and around the person as this would make your video more engaging. You may use text animation or smaller object animation to highlight certain points.

Explainer video styles: Screencast Explainer Video

The screencast explainer video is a simple walkthrough video of your website which shows your customers “how to use your website”. These are used for educating your viewers. Using screen capture software your website is recorded while using it in real time. The same applies for mobile phone apps. The screen grab is then edited and engaging animation is added to highlight certain parts of the screen grab as per the voice. Animated screencast or dummy screen-grab can also be created as an alternative if your website is not ready yet or if you think the UI- design may change in future.

Example: Screencast Explainer Video

What we have understood from the above is that the explainer video style depends on the following.

1. Nature of the business/Event
2. Target audience
3. Budget

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