3 Unique Ways to Make an Explainer Video

For better or worse, just about every startup needs an explainer video—some sort of overview that clarifies what you do for customers (and often investors, too).

Whether you call it an explainer, an overview, or a sizzle video, we're all familiar with the standard format: about 90 seconds, a polished voiceover or motion graphics, and a straightforward walkthrough of the product.

Here's one we made a few years ago.

It's a tried-and-true format that works for almost any company in almost any industry. It's especially useful when you don't want to go too deep or don't yet know exactly who your audience is. This one served as the company's primary overview video for years, shared with customers, prospects, recruits, investors, and anyone else who wanted a quick introduction.

But if you want to break away from the standard explainer, here are three formats worth considering.

1. Direct Address

Instead of talking about yourself, talk with your audience. Put them at the center of the conversation.

Here's a video we made around this product's unique differentiator—conversational AI (groundbreaking at the time). Notice how it shows instead of tells.

2. Curated Team Interviews

Your leadership team thinks about this space every day. They often have a perspective no one else has because they've spent years immersed in the industry. When they can explain that perspective simply, it often feels more authentic than another product animation because the audience gets to hear directly from the people building the company.

Of course, that experience can also work against you. Sometimes experts forget what it's like to be new and overwhelm the audience with industry jargon.

Note, this style requires a little more coordination because you'll need to schedule and shoot interviews. But it's not necessarily more costly and can absolutely be worth the extra effort.

3. Voice of the User

Your users often have a strong point of view on why what you're doing matters. User advocacy can be incredibly powerful, and you probably already have a super-user inside your own company.

They naturally focus on the things that matter most to them. By weaving product footage into their story, you connect those moments directly back to the product. The result feels more authentic because you're illustrating the product through someone else's experience instead of your own claims.

Videos like this are inexpensive to produce, and audiences are often willing to trade production quality for an authentic voice. That's probably one of the main reasons the creator economy has taken off.

BONUS: The Secret to Making a Product Video Last

When making a video, consider using extracted UI elements (pieces of the product instead of showing your full product) for most of the video.

Software changes constantly. By showing just a piece of the experience, you don't need to redesign your video every time something small changes. And when you do need to update it, it's usually just the section that shows the full product.

We usually like to put that piece at the end of the video so it can easily be swapped out while still giving the video a strong finish.

If you find yourself trying to do too much

It's not uncommon to try to stuff too much into an explainer video. Try to resist the urge. As the saying goes "if you try to be all things to all people, you'll be nothing to no one." (is that really the saying?).

Take a breath. Do less, better.

As your company grows, you'll have more opportunities to make focused videos around specific features or capabilities. Those pieces are often more memorable because they aren't trying to explain everything at once. If you can do that now, great! If not, try to make your overview an elevator pitch. Focus on the most interesting points of what you do, and leave the rest for future touch points.

If you're just getting started, here's one last tip: make what feels true today. Don't try to manufacture a point of view you don't have yet. As your company grows, your story will become clearer. You can always make another video.