A good explainer does the job your sales team does on every first call, except it does it the same way every time and works while they sleep. If you want to see the different formats, our guide to the types of explainer videos covers them. This post is about what they do for your business.
Most business videos talk only to the brain: features, specs, logic. That's one of four places people make decisions. In our storytelling playbook, we plan every explainer around all four:
Reach two of these at once and the message gets much stronger. That's the thread running through all ten benefits and samples below.
Most viewers decide in the first few seconds whether a video is worth their time. An explainer that opens with a question, a puzzle or a problem they recognize earns those seconds. One that opens with a logo and a company history doesn't.
People search for answers, not vendors. An explainer that answers a real question ("what is location intelligence?", "how does endpoint security work?") can rank on YouTube and in Google's video results, and it keeps visitors on your page longer. Pair it with a transcript and a well-written page and it works for search around the clock. For more inspiration, see our best animated explainer videos.
People share what makes them laugh, nod or look smart in front of their network. A dry product walkthrough rarely gets forwarded on LinkedIn. A short explainer with a strong opinion or a memorable line does, and every share is reach you didn't pay for. More shareable ideas in our best animated ads.
Buyers don't have time to decode your product. Animation can turn an abstract process into something they see and understand in seconds, usually through one good analogy. It's why explainers are standard for SaaS, security, healthcare and industrial tech. See more examples in our guide to types of explainer videos.
B2B buyers are still people, with worries, deadlines and a lot riding on their decisions. When an explainer makes them feel something, they remember it. The best ones mix emotions: tension or worry before the relief, the way a good dessert balances sweet with something sharper. See more in our customer testimonial video examples.
Visuals travel better than paragraphs. An animated explainer can be re-voiced or subtitled for a global workforce without reshooting, and strong visuals still land with the sound off. That makes explainers useful well beyond marketing: onboarding, policy and training. We cover sound-off design in silent explainer videos.
Two companies can sell the same thing. The one people remember is the one with a voice. An explainer gives your brand a tone, a character and a style that a feature list never will. For more, see our best brand awareness videos.
Nobody enjoys being pitched. The explainers that convert best focus on the viewer's goal and show only enough product to make them want more. In our storytelling playbook we call this winning the gut: one clear example beats a long list of benefits. For more, see our non-salesy animated commercials.
One explainer rarely does everything. Short spots build awareness, detailed explainers support evaluation, and demos help close. Planned together, they move a buyer from 'never heard of you' to 'let's talk.' See how Epicor and Aiven built funnel-wide video libraries.
An explainer on a landing page answers the questions that stop people from signing up, in the order they'd ask them. When it ends with one clear next step, more visitors take it. The biggest lift comes from explainers that name a specific problem and a specific result.
None of these benefits come from animation alone. They come from the script. These are the rules we use on every explainer, taken from our storytelling playbook:
When comparing studios, look at how they write, not just how they animate. Ask to see scripts, and check whether their samples lead with the viewer's problem or the client's features. Learn more about our explainer video production services, or read what goes into explainer video pricing.
Anshu is a writer at Broadcast2World with a deep love for animated storytelling. With a background in Journalism and Mass Communication, she understands all the ins and outs of video production and marketing. Having authored hundreds of articles on video marketing, she’s always exploring fresh ideas and insights to help brands level up their marketing game. When she’s not geeking out over animation and marketing, you’ll find her immersed in a non-fiction book, always eager to learn something new.
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