Explainer Videos: What Works, What Doesn't, and How to Get One Made Right
Most businesses commission an explainer video after watching a competitor’s and thinking, we need one of those. The video gets made. It looks polished. And then it sits on a homepage without doing much.
The gap between a video that exists and a video that converts comes down to decisions made before a single frame is animated — the brief, the script, the format choice, and how the video is deployed.
This guide covers all of that. Whether you’re evaluating explainer video services for the first time or looking to fix a video that underperformed, here’s what you actually need to know.
What Is an Explainer Video, and What Should It Do?
An explainer video is a short-form video typically 60 to 120 seconds designed to communicate one idea clearly and move a viewer toward a specific action.
That sounds simple. But the operative word is one idea. Most underperforming explainer videos fail because they try to do too much: introduce the brand, explain the product, list features, address objections, and close — all in 90 seconds. The result is a video that covers a lot and communicates nothing.
A well-made explainer video picks one problem and one solution. It doesn’t tell viewers everything about a product; it tells them enough to want to learn more or take the next step.
What explainer videos are best suited for:
- Products or services that require explanation before purchase
- SaaS onboarding — reducing time-to-value for new users
- Complex B2B offerings where the sales cycle involves multiple decision-makers
- Product launches where buyers are unfamiliar with the category
- Landing pages where bounce rates suggest visitors aren’t grasping the value proposition
The Four Main Formats — and When to Use Each
Choosing the wrong format for your use case is one of the most common production mistakes. Here’s a practical breakdown:
2D Animation
Best for: SaaS products, fintech, healthcare, and services with abstract workflows. 2D animation is flexible, cost-effective at scale, and works well for concepts that have no physical form — software dashboards, process flows, data pipelines. Character-based 2D works well for consumer-facing products where relatability matters.
3D Animation
Best for: Physical products, industrial equipment, and engineering-heavy applications. When you need to show how a product works internally — a mechanical assembly, a device cross-section, a technical process — 3D delivers clarity that no other format can. It costs more and takes longer, but the output is irreplaceable for complex product explainer videos. Eilan’s work in industrial 3D animation for manufacturers shows what this format can communicate at a technical level.
Live Action
Best for: Service businesses, testimonial-led content, and brands where human credibility is the primary trust signal. Live action builds personal connection quickly, but it’s less flexible post-production — if messaging changes, reshoots are expensive.
Screencast / Product Walkthrough
Best for: SaaS products and apps where the interface itself is the message. Showing a user moving through your actual platform, with a voiceover explaining what they’re doing and why, reduces learning curve and addresses the most common onboarding drop-off point. This is a format that SaaS companies underuse significantly — for more on its impact, see our piece on how product explainer animations improve SaaS user engagement.
What Makes a Script Actually Work
The script is the most important element of any explainer video, and the one most frequently rushed.
A functional script structure follows this sequence:
Problem — Name the specific frustration or gap your viewer experiences. Be precise, not generic.
Stakes — Briefly show what happens if the problem goes unsolved. This is what creates urgency without manufactured hype.
Solution — Introduce your product or service as the answer. One clear statement, not a feature list.
How it works — Show the mechanism in 2–3 steps. This is where format matters most: animation can show what live action cannot.
Proof — A result, a use case, or a credibility signal. Specific beats vague every time.
CTA — One action. Not three options.
Where Explainer Videos Perform — and Where They Don't
Where they work well:
Above the fold on landing pages — A video positioned in the hero section can reduce the cognitive load of a long value proposition paragraph. Visitors who watch even a portion of the video before scrolling tend to engage more deeply with the rest of the page.
Email campaigns — Thumbnail images with a play button in email increase click-through rates meaningfully. The video itself should live on a dedicated landing page, not be embedded in the email.
Sales decks and proposals — A 60-second product explainer dropped into a PDF or presentation gives prospects something concrete to share internally. In B2B, this is valuable — most buying decisions involve at least 3–5 stakeholders who weren’t in the original meeting.
Social media (organic and paid) — Short-form video performs well algorithmically across LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts. The key difference from a landing page video: social videos need to work with no sound for the first 3 seconds.
Where they underperform:
- As a replacement for a clear value proposition (the video explains, but the site still doesn’t)
- On pages with no clear next action after the video ends
- When shared broadly without a targeted placement strategy
How to Evaluate an Explainer Video Production Company
If you’re looking for an explainer video company in India or assessing production partners more broadly, here’s what to look for beyond portfolio quality:
Strategic input, not just execution — Does the company ask about your customer, your sales funnel, and your existing conversion data before pitching a format? A production company that leads with “what style do you want?” before understanding your goals will deliver a video that looks good and does little.
Script ownership — Who writes the script? Is there a dedicated copywriter involved, or is the script written by the animator? The two skill sets are different. Agencies that treat scripting as a discovery-to-production phase — separate from animation — tend to produce clearer, more focused videos.
Revision policy and timeline — Standard explainer video production timelines range from 3 to 8 weeks depending on complexity. Rushed timelines compress the scripting and feedback stages, which is where most of the strategic work happens.
Vertical experience — If you’re in SaaS, manufacturing, pharma, or any other specialized industry, look for a production company with category experience. The ability to accurately represent a complex product — technically and visually — matters. Generic animation houses often produce videos that look polished but misrepresent how the product actually works.
For a broader look at what separates strong video production partners from average ones, the criteria in how to choose a commercial video production company apply directly to explainer video briefs.
SaaS Explainer Videos: A Specific Use Case Worth Addressing
SaaS companies have a structural challenge: the product is invisible. There’s no physical object, no retail shelf, no tactile experience. The only way to build confidence in software before a trial or demo is through clear, credible visual communication.
SaaS explainer videos serve two distinct audiences with different needs:
Prospects — need to understand what the product does, who it’s for, and why it’s different. These videos live on the homepage or product pages. They need to be short (60–90 seconds) and focused on outcome, not features.
New users — need to understand how to get value from the product quickly. Onboarding videos and feature walkthroughs reduce churn by helping users reach their first success moment faster. These can be longer (2–4 minutes) and more instructional in tone.
Treating these as the same video is a common mistake. A homepage video optimized for conversion will confuse a new user trying to learn the interface. Separate briefs, separate scripts, separate formats.
See our dedicated analysis of the ROI of explainer videos for SaaS for more on this.
Common Production Mistakes That Reduce Performance
Starting with the format, not the goal — Deciding on 2D animation before knowing what the video needs to communicate often produces a visually appealing asset with structural problems.
Trying to explain too much — Every additional point in a script dilutes the clarity of every other point. A viewer who finishes a video confused about what the product actually does is a missed conversion
Neglecting audio — Voiceover quality, pacing, and music selection have a significant effect on how professional a video feels. A well-animated video with a rushed voiceover reads as cheap.
No CTA — A video that ends without telling the viewer what to do next wastes the momentum it built. The CTA should be specific, contextual, and tied to where the viewer is in their decision journey.
Posting and forgetting — Deployment matters as much as production. A video buried on a secondary product page won’t move metrics. Video placement should be tested, not assumed.
Final Thought
An explainer video is a communication problem before it’s a production problem. Get the strategy and script right, and the format, animation style, and distribution will follow logically. Get those wrong, and no amount of polished motion graphics will compensate.
If you’re working on a product explainer video, a SaaS onboarding video, or need animation services that combine creative execution with strategic thinking, [explore what Eilan Digital’s animation team produces](https://eilandigital.com/services/animation/) — or get in touch directly to discuss your brief.
FAQs
How long should an explainer video be?
For homepage and landing page use, 60–90 seconds is the effective range. Social formats work better under 60 seconds. Onboarding and tutorial videos can run 2–4 minutes if the content justifies it. The length should be determined by the script, not the other way around.
What does an explainer video cost?
Production costs vary significantly based on format, complexity, and the experience level of the production company. Basic whiteboard or template-based videos start lower; custom 2D animation with original character design and professional voiceover sits in a mid-range bracket; complex 3D animation or live-action production with high production values sits higher. As a general principle: the cost of a poorly-made video that doesn’t convert is higher than the cost of doing it properly.
Are explainer videos effective for B2B?
Yes — often more so than for B2C, because B2B buying decisions involve more stakeholders and longer evaluation periods. A clear, credible video gives procurement teams, technical leads, and executives something concrete to review and share. B2B videos work best when they speak directly to the decision-maker’s specific concern rather than leading with product features.
What's the difference between a product explainer video and a demo video?
An explainer video communicates *what* the product does and *why it matters*. A demo video shows *how* to use it. Explainer videos are typically shorter, more narrative-driven, and used earlier in the funnel. Demo videos are longer, more instructional, and used post-conversion or later in the evaluation stage.
How do I brief an explainer video production company?
A strong brief answers: Who is this video for? What do they currently believe, and what do you want them to believe after watching? What single action should they take? Where will this video be placed? What existing brand assets (color, fonts, tone of voice) should the production follow?
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