Why your Explainer Video Needs to be Short

Why your explainer video needs to be short

An explainer video is a great way to communicate your company or product to customers or potential customers. Reading a product description is all very well, but there’s nothing like having something explained and having the chance to see it in action to make it come alive for the viewer. Not all videos are created equal, however; the successful video has to be lively, engaging and above all short. Even if you know that your video needs to be brief, you may be surprised to learn the reasons.

A recent study published by researchers from the University of Massachusetts found that viewers were highly intolerant of long load times or buffering. Users were likely to abandon a video in as little as two seconds if it began buffering. After all, there’s a lot of content on the internet competing for people’s attention. If you want to catch it, you can’t afford to let them get distracted.

Buffering and load times, of course, are a consequence of file size, so one important way to cut down on them is to keep file sizes small, which means keeping your explainer video short. Although this is an important reason to keep your video slim – and to have a dependable host for it – it’s far from the only one.

The explainer video is a close cousin to the infamous “elevator pitch”, in which a businessperson tries to explain what his or her company does in the length of time it takes a lift to reach its destination. The short length of this pitch is crucial to its success.

Your video doesn’t have to be quite so brief, but it’s best to keep things short. Studies have shown that the average amount of a video a viewer is willing to watch decreases as the video lengthens – essentially, the longer the video, the less likely an average viewer is to watch all the way to the end. Given that the call to action is likely to be at the end of the video, someone switching off in boredom or frustration is every bit as bad as someone who never watched the video at all. Thirty seconds to one minute – the length of a television commercial or film trailer – is a good target; attention drops off significantly after the first minute.

If you’d like an explainer video production that’s perfect for your business then speak to us. We can help you drive sales and conversions today. Talk to your friendly experts today on 01527 910050.