Explainer Videos – How They Became Popular and Where They’re Headed

To no one’s surprise, it didn’t take long for explainer videos to catch on. Granted, there are different forms of explainer videos, some of which have been around for quite some time. Over the last seven years, though, explainer videos have evolved into something truly accessible and helpful to people.

Viral Explainer Videos

2012 was the year explainer videos began to gain notoriety in the digital marketing world. Some attribute the microcosm of this revolution to Dollar Shave Club, who unveiled a viral video that was shared all over social media in the summertime of that year.

As with anything that goes viral, the video set up a domino effect where just about every kind of business start-up (CPG, Tech, B2C, B2C, etc.) wanted an explainer video of their own. Everybody wanted to make a video that went viral like Dollar Shave Club’s did. Discussions went from “are explainer videos necessary?” to “how can I create one that goes viral?” It is impossible for anyone to predict how the internet will react, but a number of explainer videos did end up going mainstream over this time.

Start-ups Weren’t the Only Companies That Capitalized on Explainer Videos

It didn’t take long for medium and large-size businesses to notice that start-ups were gaining a lot of traction with explainer videos. Naturally, they decided to capitalize on this form of digital marketing. Explainer videos tend to be necessary when a new service or product is released, or updates are required for existing ones. The videos they put out stuck to a proven formula: address a problem or status, provide a solution, explain the process, point out the benefits, and reveal what steps to take.

Explanation Education

A fascinating transition is what followed. Explainer videos became more entertaining and were no longer confined to just information or sales content. Vox and other companies began utilizing explainer videos, getting the word out to audiences about all kinds of subjects (to the point where a YouTube channel launched in 2014 by the company). An internationally connected world can be confusing to keep track of. As such, putting a spotlight on some important issues seemed like an optimal approach to gain followers and rank high on search engines. Before long, being informed became hip, and share news with others empowered people. Large companies began to offer insight on a number of complex factors, including policy or industry shifts, choosing to educate electorates rather than promote products.

What Is the Future of Explainer Videos?

Explainer videos aren’t very hard to find nowadays, but their future isn’t so clear. In our opinion, they seem to be progressing towards integration of sponsored and editorial content. That is the approach a huge portion of content seems to have gone in, as of late. A number of companies have committed to educating their followers all over the world by way of podcasts. Some of them have created a video series in an effort to support their audio endeavors.

Aside from that, it is our belief that the term “explainer videos” will be phased out and replaced by something else, as with other things that happened since the inception of the internet. Until then, we remain excited about helping organizations of all shapes and sizes articulate their message. We love producing great content, whether they are referred to as “explainer videos” or something completely different.