You may have read that the average online attention span of your audience is falling. In 2015, TIME magazine summed up the problem in an article aptly titled, “You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish.” Statistically, 17% of you are about to click away from this article, as you’ve already read for 4 seconds. However, if this were a video instead of a text post, you would stay longer. That’s key information for marketers competing in a landscape where engagement is the currency. This is affirmed by Aberdeen’s latest report, which found that “marketers who are using video are seeing (on average) 49% faster growth in revenue.”

Video marketing expert Rohan Kale, founder of the animation video company rkale.com, knows how useful prospecting via storytelling is. “It’s the best way to attract and engage your audience and can provide as much as an 80% boost in conversion rates.” Even small increases in conversion rates can make a big difference to profitability. Kale points out that Dropbox was able to increase their conversions by 10% simply by adding an explainer video. This translated into 10 million additional users for the file hosting service.

Whether you are marketing a simple product, or a complex piece of software, an explainer video can do a better job of telling your story. Explainer videos far out-pull blog posts or traditional webpages in terms of user engagement. The following is my interview with Kale to help startups navigate the use of such videos successfully.

Harrison: What exactly is an explainer video — and how do you sell the idea to new businesses?

Kale: Most people are too lazy to read the entire text on your website or landing page. A short video can hook your prospects and help them understand your value proposition. As a result, your sales cycle reduces — due to the educational effect of the video — and you generate more qualified leads. Including a video on a landing page can increase conversion by 80%. In addition, Google and other search engines rank pages with video higher than pages without video. A good explainer video frees your sales team to work on closing high quality prospects rather than repeating the same pitch over and over again to potential clients.

Harrison: Are there different ways to use explainer videos?

Kale: There are five different types of explainer videos that I commonly make for clients:

Benefits video – These work well on the cover of your website or landing page to get a higher level of information over about your product/service right away.
“How To” videos – These work well explaining specific topics in details.
Testimonial videos – These live videos are good for credibility and trust building.
Demo videos – These videos explain the finer details about products/services.
FAQ videos – These videos answer all common questions and save time — and they can be updated as new inquiries are received.

Harrison: Which types of explainer videos work best in different industries?

Kale: An ideal video strategy should combine live as well as animation videos. A personal brand or product business can benefit most from live videos. The best example is Dollar Shave Club businesses that sell something intangible, like service companies, can benefit most from animation explainer videos, like this one from Blue Triangle Tech. Remember, the primary goal is to engage the audience. If you do that, your video will be a success!

Harrison: What are some components of a high converting explainer video?

Kale: The best explainer videos include all of these aspects:

Script – The script is the heart of the video. The ideal script is approximately 90 seconds. It should focus on the “pain points” of the customer, while detailing the benefits of working with your solution. It should show your customer as a hero with your product/service as the guide who can take them to their best destination.
Graphics – The graphics must consider your target audience and should reflect the daily things they encounter in their personal and professional life. It needs to be age appropriate and culturally accessible.
Voice over – The voice you choose should reflect your brand well and should replicate your brand’s “tone” as established on your website/landing page.
Music – Just like voice, music plays an important role in reflecting your brand. It needs to be keyed to bring out the right emotions from your audience.
Animation style – The animation style should be free flowing and easy to grasp. It can be motion graphics if you are a serious business in, for example, the financial industry, or it can be cartoon if you are a light-hearted brand, like an app company. In some businesses like construction or architecture, 3D videos can be useful. In the end, how your video looks, feels and works depends on your brand and budget.
Subtitles – Up to 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound according to research by Digiday. So if you are advertising using Social media, subtitles are essential.

Harrison: Can marketers use an iPhone and just shoot something themselves?

Kale: In general, as in many things, I think you get what you pay for. I believe that choosing the right video partner is crucial for video marketing success

@kate_l_harrison is a branding and marketing consultant specializing in nonprofits and sustainable businesses (katelharrison.com).