How To Write An Effective B2B Explainer Video Script: 5 Expert Tips
Video marketing investment, specifically for explainer videos, is climbing the charts as 84% of SaaS marketers recently surveyed by Customer Think said that they intend to increase their video marketing budget over the course of time.
In this, the demand for whiteboard animation videos has been known to grow steadily for the last four years in the SaaS industry due to the format’s ability to create eye-catching and engaging content that can break down concepts in an uncomplicated and easy to remember the way.
“Many SaaS companies boast of conversion rates increasing by as much as 144% after including an explainer video on their website.”
Here is a video to help you understand the 7 most popular SaaS Explainer Video styles
A classic whiteboard explainer video involves animation by hand drawing and erasing elements and characters on a whiteboard screen.
In recent times, whiteboard explainer videos have proven to be a cost-efficient and easy way for SaaS companies to grab the attention of the audience by creating an engaging storyline and using these videos to take them on the storytelling based journey of explaining the benefits of their sass to increase product signups and conversion rates.
| Steps | Things to cover | Tips | Software to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ace the video script |
1. Quick overview of your product 2. Introduce the problem 3. Answer the problem with your SaaS 4. Call to action 5. Broadcast your well-known clients |
1. Keep it brief 2. First 30 seconds- key message and value proposition 3. Speak in 2nd person 4. Keep the language simple 5. Add humor if possible |
- Final Draft - Celtx - Writer Duet - Trelby - Google Docs |
| Record the voiceovers |
1. Take time to study the script 2. Clarity is essential- pronounce every word correctly 3. Understand what language and accent would work |
1. Hire an artist 2. For self recording, rent out a soundproof studio 3. Don’t compromise on sound quality 4. Keep copies of the recordings |
(Hire on) - Voices - Craigslist - Fiverr |
| Storyboarding and illustrations |
1. Draw rough sketches first on paper 2. Draw out the entire script to make changes and optimize it 3. Keep tallying the storyboard with the script and voice over |
1. Create all the characters and big objects first 2. Have a basic mood and action chart in place 3. Keep the color scheme of the brand in mind |
- RawShorts - Video scribe - Moovly - Easy Sketch Pro - Doodly |
| Music & sound effects |
1. Understand what type of music would work for the video and demographic 2. Keep a few back up, royalty free options 3. Experiment with A/B testing |
1. Don’t overdo the sound effects 2. Make sure the music doesn’t overpower the voice over 3. Check the sound file’s licensing agreement before hand Keep a few back up, royalty free options |
- MusOpen - Free Sound - YouTube - Audio Jungle - Audacity |
| Measure the performance |
1. Measure video engagement regularly 2. Tweak it to understand what works 3. Try multivariate testing |
Note down the data in Excel sheets to improve engagement |
- Wistia - Google Analytics - YouTube Insight |
Why we like it: It is a straightforward ad and it gets right to the point with upbeat music and alluring hand-drawn characters. It emphasizes the ease and swiftness with which you can discover, play and share music with your friends from all over the world.
The video quickly explains how the app would work, what mediums it would work on, and how it can benefit the user. The creativity and story keep you engaged till it ends with a strong CTA, nudging you to check out the app for free.
Why we like it: Hootsuite has excelled in creating very unique-looking characters to explain its app in an endearing way. The story is compelling and takes you on a journey from feeling left out as a user to being included on social media.
The video explains how the app functions and will grow with the user, how you can schedule your content in advance and check if it’s working for you, and how you can incorporate the tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, Mailchimp, etc. that you have been using previously in the platform.
It highlights how it allows you to check the performance of your content in an easy-to-access data analysis report. The colors are attractive, the drawings have elements of fantasy and keep you engaged, the branding is on point and the benefits of the product are clear. It is one of the well-made, best explainer videos out there.
Why we like it: AutoDraw’s video is witty and curiosity-inducing from the get-go. It immediately points out the problem and quickly offers a solution. The video explains how AutoDraw takes basic doodles by users, and pairs the machine learning ability of the software with drawings provided by talented artists.
One key takeaway of the video is how they explain the app clearly and step by step using their UI itself. They highlight that it is easy to access with no downloading hassle or paying upfront for any medium. The closing CTA hooks onto the brand colors are clean and points the traffic to their website.
Why we like it: Pipedrive through its explainer video production engages the help of human characters to form a subconscious connection and personal relationship with the user. It immediately lists out the lineup of benefits that Pipedrive offers.
In a clever ploy, for a couple of seconds, they put in visuals of the user-friendly yet highly efficient UI. The storyline starts with showcasing how Pipedrive will help segregate and optimize data, incorporating different tools that the members are using already, synching calls and emails, and ends with establishing Pipedrive’s authority as the clear choice for every SaaS sales team.
Why we like it: The first thing that ropes you in is the bombardment of bright colors and pleasing doodle characters. The script is engaging, keeps the user hooked, and has elements of humor, with even a Zombie in the first 30 seconds.
The explainer video made through remote video production addresses the problem of keeping your App from fizzling out and how Beezer can help to create, publish, share and manage your app without hiring a developer. It demonstrates how you can integrate your online store, share your app and promote it via SMS email and social media pages The video ends with a CTA that pushes you to sign up for a 14-day free trial.
Why we like it: All the doodle characters are very detailed, their expressions are entertaining and the setting is technical. The video, therefore, resonates subconsciously with the target audience.
The storyline is compelling and since the storyboarding is spot on, the video delivers its message immaculately. ViGlobal has put in stats that add credibility to the problem the app is trying to solve.
It highlights the benefits of the employee retention software, specifically by creating a roadmap of integration and retention for a new employee. Colors, wherever used, resonate with the brand’s color scheme.
Why we like it: The setting, the voice-over, the colors and the characters take you into what seems like a story right out of an animation movie. The story shows the change of time in an engaging way with props and changing fashion and addresses the problem through decades. The video explains the whole point of using Pinterest and then takes you through the process of using it, all in under 90 seconds.
Why we like it: The main protagonist is a cute, worried-looking man that the user starts to empathize with immediately.
The video then takes you on the journey of how retrospective solves this man’s problem by running multiple search agents for each data source, across all servers making his searches for data quicker by showing doodle agents sprinting across the screen and fetching the required data. The whole video follows the color scheme of the brand and highlights all the benefits that the SaaS will provide to the user.
Raw Shorts is an AI-based video editor that allows you to create animated videos from a wide range of templates. This cloud-based platform provides users with all the latest tools to produce all sorts of professional-looking videos.
VideoScribe is a DIY tool that lets you build animated explainer videos. You add some images from their library, upload your own images, add some text, create a voiceover or music and VideoScribe will draw, animate and produce the video.
Moovly is a decent option for people looking to create presentation and animation videos. It has simple menus and easy-to-access features. Moovly lets you add your own audio clips and pictures that can be used to make your whiteboard animation.
Easy Sketch Pro is a doodle video creation software. It helps in creating videos that resemble drawings on a whiteboard in real-time.
Doodly is a drag-and-drop whiteboard animation software for creating videos that appear to be recorded as if someone drew them on a whiteboard. It can greatly help in creating a professional-looking video without increasing the explainer video cost. You can create videos with no experience and it, therefore, stands out because it is easy to use by even beginners. It has an ample stock image and sound library. You can edit your video by changing scenes, media appearance, and style.
“With video forecast to comprise 80% of all internet traffic by 2020, video marketing stats show how it is evolving into a key strategic element of the modern marketing plan.”
Benefits of whiteboard Explainer Videos:
Whiteboard explainer videos will add value to your business, attract the attention of potential leads, help in increasing sign ups and getting more product trials.
An added advantage is that the drawings and simple language help in explaining the complex concepts of your software easily to the user, later converting the user and keeping him loyal. Therefore investing in one of the top explainer video companies for your whiteboard explainer video will give you better product adoption and high ROI.
The most distinguishing characteristic of whiteboard explainer videos is that the whole script is drawn scene after scene on the screen for the viewers to watch the proposition of the SaaS company to explain the problem and the benefit of the product in a storyboard sort of format. They are generally categorized as animated videos with the drawings and illustrations being of 2D graphic nature.
The most popular softwares to make a whiteboard explainer video for B2B SaaS companies are RawShorts, Videoscribe, Moovly, Easy Sketch Pro, and Doodly Or you can opt for a professional explainer video company.
A lot goes into making a scene-by-scene drawn whiteboard explainer video. The first steps include optimizing and locking the script so that the artists can start working on the drawing style, character design, storytelling format, and storyboarding for the video. The production process is what will ultimately dictate the explainer video pricing.
The sound design and voiceover are finalized before the production is started. Most B2B SaaS companies hire an external agency to create professional-looking whiteboard explainer videos to communicate better with the audience about their SaaS product or service.
Customers tend to trust the personal opinion of a fellow client more than the company’s advertisement of its own product. Positive testimonial videos therefore add more weight to the benefits of the SaaS.
Recent trends in the B2B SaaS marketing industry have shown that whiteboard explainer videos are far more effective than regular videos because the drawing format is highly engaging and the video story created has a higher recall value for the viewer. Recent studies have shown that whiteboard videos provided for a 15% increase in information retention by the audience and 33% of them have found them to be more insightful.
