Learn how Explainer Videos Help Acquire New Customers?
Lately, B2B SaaS Marketers have become obsessed with explainer videos because available statistics consistently proves that video is the most effective way to talk about their company and the product or the service. And they can do it in just a few minutes.
However, to create truly effective explainer videos, you need to have more than just technical knowledge and a bunch of software tools. You need to understand the target audience of the video and create content that speaks to that audience.
Last but not least, you need a way to bring it all together and set the narrative flow with a script that can transform your idea into an actionable roadmap for video creation.
A script is the foundation of a video, and writing a great script is not without its pains. It can be a time-consuming, difficult process.
But make no mistake; a great script is utterly crucial for the success of your B2B SaaS explainer video.
Explainer videos are great, but even the very best of them can only get you so far. If you want viewers to really understand your message, you need to go the extra mile and learn to create your video based on a sound script.
To make your video achieve its goals, your script needs to be crisp and convey information quickly and clearly.
But how does a script help your video?
A good script:
First and foremost, think about the audience you are trying to reach when you write the script. Understanding your customers is crucial to creating an engaging and informative video.
Software products tend to be complex and hard to describe to people.
The challenge is to make complex things (an app or a computer operating system) understandable to everyone. A good way of doing this is looking at the problem from multiple perspectives to come up with a content strategy.
In the world of B2B SaaS, a product story is a cue to viewers to act. It is a sales pitch that convinces people to buy your software.
This is what happens at most demos: The company pitches their product and asks the audience to ask questions. Unfortunately, most people are bored stiff by the dry explanations. They nod their head in the hope that someone else will ask questions.
In the end, everybody disperses with no one—not the company nor the potential customers—leaving without really understanding what the software does.
Remember, the questions you answer in your SaaS product story should ultimately satisfy customers in order to demonstrate value to them and persuade them to take action.
Start by understanding your customer’s pain points, pitch your product as a solution, and try to answer the following questions:
A. Demo videos
The most common type of B2B video is a demo video, which helps customers get a better understanding of a product.
Your product explainer video should highlight:
An example of a product demo video created by Content Beta for Kore.ai:
B. Explainer videos
An explainer video provides a detailed explanation of a product and is used to educate potential customers.
Generally longer than a demo video and often accompanied by text, graphics, and a voiceover, it is designed to have a more educational or instructional focus and helps you get your business off the ground and get more customers.
Your explainer video should send out a clear message. Make the video short enough to be interesting and engaging but long enough to provide essential information.
An example of an explainer video created by Content Beta for Careflo:
C. Infomercial-style videos
These videos are similar to explainer videos in that they are generally longer than a demo video and that provide a detailed explanation of your product.
Furthermore, infomercial-style videos are helpful for people who are not looking for a demo video, but rather a detailed explanation of your product.
They are helpful for users who are not familiar with your product but want to know more about it and the benefits it provides.
Infomercial-style videos also use text, graphics, and a voiceover. They are usually very effective at selling the product because they rely on the amount of information they provide and the emotions they evoke to make viewers feel they need to buy the product.
However, infomercial-style videos are sometimes seen as manipulative, as they are nothing more than a lengthy product advertisement.
An example of an infomercial:
Facts are important. All of us depend on facts in our everyday lives. They are the foundation of every single product we use. Despite this common knowledge, some B2B SaaS companies choose to not give a complete picture of their product.
Marketing a SaaS product is a tricky business. Therefore, if your marketing pitch does not tell customers about product updates, how to get timely customer support, or prospective customers are not convinced why they should buy from you, it only means you are either being economical with facts or your marketing strategy is all wrong.
Should you write your script from a customer or user perspective? There is no clear consensus, however, no matter which perspective you choose, you should aim to answer your customers’ questions in a clear, concise way.
“Presenting facts translates into building trust.”
Writing a fact-based script for your B2B SaaS products helps you overcome the following challenges:
When writing about a SaaS product, your script needs to address basic questions related to the brand, products, customers, pricing, and customer service.
We think using a story to describe your product is the most important part of creating a script that will resonate with your audience.
That is why we are devoting a major part of the guide to the importance of storytelling.
“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in (my) heart forever.” – Native American Proverb
A. What are the benefits of a story-based script?
A product story-based script helps:
An example of a 3D animated explainer video:
B. Why does a story-based script work well for SaaS explainer video scripts?
A SaaS product description or feature list falls short of fully conveying the right message to the user groups. Many software products are described using words, but those words rarely help users understand the product.
Moreover, many SaaS companies tend to emphasize features and specs over customer stories.
Fortunately, they can use storytelling in the sales pitch to differentiate their business. As software grows more complex, companies’ need for compelling product stories grows as well.
“Your company’s product story is the most important factor that can win you more business.”
But, finding the right story for your product can be difficult. But there’s a way!
Storytelling is the art of giving a product a human element in a way that makes it relatable to an audience.
Basically, you ‘dumb down’ complex topics into simple stories, known as narratives to appeal to even the lowest common denominator.
An example of an explainer video created by Content Beta for HotelIQ:
C. How to incorporate a story into B2B SaaS explainer video scripts?
Stories are compelling and easier to understand than lists of features, but stories that describe software are often written by product developers or marketing people, not by users.
That could be a problem.
Just like every great story, your product story needs a hero, an obstacle, and an ending. How do you find your story? Find answers for the 5 W’s: What, When, Where, Why, and Who, and maybe also for How? as well.
“There are two ways to share knowledge. You can push information out. You can pull them in with a story.” – Unknown
“Why” and “How” questions are the most important to answer in your SaaS product story. The “Why” is about how you solve a problem, while the “How” answers how your product does this.
If you are trying to reach a B2B audience, you will have to take into account the following factors in your script:
Now that you have figured out the audience, type of video, questions to address, and the story, it is time to write the script.
Most viewers prefer the explanations to follow a linear path. Adopt this approach, which is safe but can be predictable.
To create an effective B2B SaaS great explainer video, your script should be divided into a beginning, middle, and end.
The first part should introduce the product or service, the middle could focus on the benefits, and the end could show the audience how the product or service will make their life easier.
For example, if you are making a video about accounting software, you could:
“Build on the outline. Write simply, precisely, and engagingly.”
A call-to-action (CTA) is one of the most important elements of a video—so important, in fact, your explainer video is incomplete without it.
What are CTAs? Simply put, a call-to-action is an action you’d like your audience to take after watching your video.
“Without a good CTA, your video isn’t likely to get the kind of engagement you’re looking for.”
Be sure to include a simple CTA in your script. They can be as obvious as “click here” or as subtle as “review our video” or “book a demo.”
Before we wrap up, we would like to tell you that you should create a storyboard to go with your script.
A storyboard is a great tool for figuring out which ideas you will want to use in your video and it helps you:
Finally, a script can come alive with a visual representation of your video. An engaging script and a detailed storyboard can get you a step closer to taking your B2B SaaS business to the next level.
A script for an explainer video defines the purpose of your video and answers the “What?” and “Why?” questions your audience will ask. Explainer videos are effective at highlighting the value of your product and explaining its features.
The script should simplify complex concepts for the consumers. In addition, they should show off the benefits of your software as well as quantifiable results. The script should ensure that the videos are short, concise, jargon-free, and straight to the point.
Always with a good call-to-action (CTA). It helps viewers take the action you want them to take. CTAs are important for all videos, whether they’re about social videos, explainer videos, or customer support videos. Use something simple like, ‘Call for a Demo’ or ‘Upgrade’
The accepted wisdom is that explainer videos under two minutes work well because they force companies to pack them with essential information. As far as viewers are concerned, they find shorter videos more engaging to watch. A well-paced, 1-minute video script needs to be between 130-140 words.
