What is an Explainer Video?

Explainer videos articulate a concept, idea, or topic in a clear and simple way. They can be used in diverse learning environments — like classrooms, company board rooms, or on social media — to teach a concept or introduce a service. Explainer videos provide clarity, education, and knowledge about how something works.

Why Explainer Videos Matter

Explainer videos simplify complex ideas for audiences in engaging ways using narration, animation, stock media, and transitions designed to support understanding. More benefits of explainer videos include:
Increases engagement
Improves retention
Saves time for teachers and trainers
Supports diverse learning styles
Makes content scalable
Supports remote learning

Explainer videos are an effective way for educators, businesses, marketers, and creators to introduce step-by-step processes to their audiences.

Example Use Cases for Explainer Video

  • Educators: Educators create explainer videos to walk through assignments, introduce science concepts like gravity, or teach complex math steps. Educators can also assign explainer videos to learners to demonstrate understanding.

  • Businesses: Businesses use explainer videos for employee training materials, professional learning and development, and introducing concepts via presentations, slideshows, and customer service.

  • Content Creation: Creators use explainer videos to introduce a service, product, or concept that supports growth outcomes. Explainer videos are also common for YouTube channels, Instagram, Facebook, or other platforms for ads, promos, or demos.

Frequently asked questions

Explainer videos range between one and three minutes. Aim to be succinct and concise to best capture engagement.

Strong explainer videos are well written, dynamic, and visually captivating. Consider writing a script for voice narration that clearly articulates steps. Pair music tracks, transitions, and text effects to keep viewer attention.

Explainer videos are effective ways to bridge audio and visual modes of learning. They make learning fast and improve memory retention.