How to Write an Engaging Explainer Video Script, Guide

Explainer video is one of the most popular tool for companies to launch and promote their new products where it matters most. In many cases, explainer videos are featured on a dedicated landing page on a company’s website where visitors can find more details about a product.

The reason why explainer video works is because it combines the best of both visually appealing graphics and well-written voice-over. It’s not news that we rely very much on our visual sensor to absorb information.

In fact, if you hear something, three days later you will only remember around 10% of that information. Add a picture to it, and you’ll remember 65% of it – what happens if you add a video?

What’s an Explainer Video Script?

An explainer video script is the blueprint that designers use to create visual assets in the video. In other words, it’s the foundation upon which an explainer video is developed. That is why you need to understand how your next explainer video should be constructed.

Breadnbeyond, an explainer video company, created an infographic containing best practices and tips about writing an explainer video script. Let’s get to know a little more about by breaking it down.

The Script Structure of an Explainer Video

There are several major elements that should be present in your explainer video script. Here are some of them:

Opener

An explainer video script need a strong opener that piques viewers’ interest right away. The average person gets distracted from something within 8 seconds, and in extreme cases 2.8 second is enough.

Problem Statement

After successfully hooking viewers’ attention, you need to address the issue that you can solve for them. In the case of product explainer videos, you should also mention how and why your product is better than the existing competitors.

Call to Action (CTA)

Place a strong CTA after going through many details about your products and why your viewers should choose it over the competitors. Make sure that your call to action has clickable buttons (using annotation) and where they could contact you (email/phone number).

This is a detailed checklist of what you should have within the 3 main structures mentioned above.

Optimizing an Explainer Video Script

When it comes to an explainer video, there’s one thing that you should keep in mind: the longer an explainer video is, the less attention it gets.

You probably think, “Okay, make a short video script then”. But with a short video, you can’t include all of the interesting features from your product. So, what’s the best practice for an explainer video in this regard?

The sweet spot for an explainer video is between 60-120 seconds with a 57% audience retention rate. With that duration, there is enough time to highlight every interesting features from your product, but not too long that viewers get bored watching it.

Expert’s Tips to Explainer Video Scripts

Step 1. Talk to your viewers

Explainer video is a tool to deliver a message about your product to your viewers. If you write everything with a business-formal tone, it’ll be more of an announcement and less of a message. Conversational tone for an explainer video is amazing.

You basically simulate a conversation happening between your brand and your viewers through a video (that is, if you can nail the copywriting in the script).

Step 2. Avoid being too serious

Explainer video is a marketing tool, and your viewers are aware that you’re trying to sell something. Try to include one or two punchlines to distract them, or at least entertain them from the marketing pitch that you’ve included in the script.

Humor isn’t a necessity in an explainer video script. There are plenty who don’t use humor and succeed anyway. However, it is a viable solution to overcome the negative stigma of ‘corporate’ videos.

Step 3. Imagine your words being visualized

When it comes to explainer video script, big words don’t make you sound smart. It makes the designers’ job more difficult and gives headache to the viewers.

Avoid using complicated words that your audience will not get on top of their head – and use phrases that can be visualized easily. For example, instead of using “a lot of documents to sign”, try using “a big stack of paperworks to sign”.

Closing Thoughts

There isn’t a fixed rule on how to write an explainer video script. When you hire a studio to create an explainer video for you, be sure to stay involved – especially in the script writing process, because you’re the expert in your industry, not them.

You have better understanding about who your target buyers are, how they think, and what may interest or dismay them.