A client asked us last week why their explainer video got decent views but failed to convert. They'd spent £15,000 on it. Professional production. Slick animation. Three minutes of explaining every feature their product had.
Here's the thing: they'd committed one of the most common mistakes we see. They'd tried to say everything.
Over 15 years of making explainer videos, we've learned that what separates videos that convert from videos that just get watched comes down to a handful of critical decisions. Most of them happen long before you even think about animation.
Understanding explainer video best practices is one thing. But knowing what actually impacts explainer video conversion rates is another.
This blog will give you the most influential aspects to be aware of that can impact conversions.
Let's start with a fundamental question: why do people even bother watching an explainer video in the first place?
They don't have to. They could skip right past it and read your website copy. So what's their motivation?
The reason they're watching is they believe they're going to get the answer to their question quicker. Is this right for us? Is this worth exploring? They click on the video because they believe it's going to give them the answer faster than searching through the website.
So here's the risk. If they don't get what they want quickly, they will quickly grow frustrated—and click off the video before ever getting what they wanted.
In the early days, we had clients push back on this. And honestly, we get it. It's a lot of money to spend on an asset, and you want to ensure you're not missing anything.
But we'd be swimming upstream against the audience's intention.
Our goal instead should be to give our audience exactly what they want in the shortest time possible.
The sweet spot for explainer videos is 60-90 seconds.
If you want a good gauge of how long your script is—we pace our scripts at 140 words per minute. Just enough time to absorb the message without rushing.
Just remember to make sure you keep laser focused on the audience's pain point and the big ticket features.
Which brings us on to the next issue.
We get it—the product is appealing to more than one audience. Honing in on just one specific profile seems like it's disregarding the others.
But here's the thing. If you go too broad, you'll struggle to write an engaging script.
It seems obvious to say it, but video is a linear format. You can only speak to one audience at a time. And they'll switch off if you're not talking directly to them.
Take one of our pharmaceutical clients—Biorate.
The problem? These audiences care about fundamentally different things.
The data scientist is interested in very specific problems they're trying to solve. They're looking at granular details of the product—the specific features that help them with their day-to-day work.
The head of R&D is looking at the bigger picture. How can we increase the success overall of our drug discovery method? How does this impact our strategic goals?
It's very difficult to hit both of those problems in a single video.
The question to ask yourself: Out of all the audiences on your brief, which ones are most likely to convert?
Pick one. Then really understand them.
That means going beyond demographics into psychographics for video targeting.
So what makes a good explainer video when it comes to audience targeting? It's not just knowing who they are—it's understanding how they think.
We worked with Mulberry Risk on a product called Ada—a highly advanced way of determining insurance values. Their audience was specialists in their field wanting to offer niche insurance, but more often than not, they were in the dark about how to price it accurately.
Understanding their psychology beyond their labels (demographics) helped us write a strong hook that instantly engaged them.
"We test our sanity by selling insurance products without actually knowing their ultimate cost."
This line gets the viewer nodding their head: "Yes, this is us!"
By showing we understand their world, we earned credibility. They feel like if we understand the problem, then it's worth hearing out our solution.
When some people hear "storytelling," they can picture a character-driven narrative: "Meet Dave. Dave has a problem. Dave found us. Dave is happy now."
And there are more than a few explainers that follow this exact format.
But actually, what makes a great story is not knowing it's a story at all. Instead you're simply absorbed and engaged with it.
A story is just a wrapper—a delivery mechanism for your message. It's the structure that helps the brain process and retain information. Understanding core brand storytelling principles helps you choose the right narrative wrapper for your audience.
What's also fascinating is our brains don't just watch stories; they experience them. Mirror neurons fire when we see emotionally expressive situations, whether they're real or animated—that's the biological basis for why story works.
When we use stories in explainers, we're simply tapping into how we best receive and process information. It's as unsexy as that.
So how do we structure your content into a story that drives more conversions?
Once you're clear on the audience, the question becomes: how do we structure this in a way that's going to maximise engagement?
The answer is we do it in a way that naturally follows people's decision-making and buying behaviour—similar to how metaphors influence understanding by connecting the familiar with the new.
This is the framework we use. It's a way of ordering your script in a way that follows a natural progression. We call it the RPCA script format.
Relate - Relate to where your audience is right now. How do they describe the challenge they face?
Promise - State clearly what you're offering. Is this a single line that clearly demonstrates you understand the audience's pain point.
Credibility - Choose 3-4 features/benefits that clearly demonstrate the promise. For example, if the promise is "Drug discovery is twice as fast", then what F/B give credibility to this?
Action - What do you want them to do next? Download a guide? Book a demo? Be clear and intentional.
This structure works because it mirrors how people actually make decisions:
Do they understand my problem? Do they have the solution? Can I trust them? What's next?
The discovery questions give you the content. This structure gives you the way to deliver it in a way that drives conversions. To dive deeper into applying this framework, explore our guide on writing scripts that convert.
Production value matters. But what actually builds trust isn't just slick animation—it's whether the video feels like your brand.
Here's something most people don't realise: most brand guidelines don't include motion guidelines. They have notes on static illustrations, colours, fonts—but they very rarely cover animation.
When we take on a new client, we have to create brand guidelines for motion. Essentially, what does animated content look and feel like for this brand?
Production value must align with your brand strategy fundamentals rather than existing in isolation.
Here's an example.
We created an explainer for HEKA, a business about personalising employee benefits. Their brand guidelines gave a nod to using shapes and colours to represent different features. But like most brand guidelines, there was nothing about motion.
So we translated that nod in the brand guidelines into a fully developed animation concept that uses these same shapes as characters. Using this concept enabled us to create a whole motion language.
A star-shaped character with square gym membership? Mismatch. A star-shaped character with star-shaped dental care? Match. The employee feels valued.
Visual cohesion triggers emotional trust, while disconnect erodes it.
Characters in B2B video marketing are a whole kettle of fish in themselves. For example, how are you representing diversity? Do characters align with the overall brand style and tone? Will the video feel in-keeping with the rest of the marketing materials?
Characters aside, there are other considerations too. For example, if you're a SaaS brand, how are you representing the platform? Is it a stripped-down, simplified platform? Does this marry and match up with your other marketing collateral?
Essentially when branding an animation, we want to ensure it feels cohesive and representative of the brand experience. Rather than the video feeling like an add on.
That disconnect is what erodes trust and hurts conversions.
Here's what it comes down to: explainer video conversion isn't about following a formula or ticking boxes. It's about understanding that every decision—from who you're targeting to how long the video runs to how you represent your brand—either builds trust or erodes it.
After 15 years and hundreds of videos, we've seen the same mistakes repeated. Trying to speak to everyone. Cramming in every feature. Missing the narrative structure that mirrors how people actually make decisions. Getting the tone wrong. Creating a visual disconnect with the brand.
The videos that convert avoid these pitfalls. They're laser-focused on one audience. They respect the viewer's time. They follow a clear structure. They feel authentic. And they look and sound like the brand they represent.
It's not complicated. But it does require strategic thinking before you ever open an animation tool.
Ready to improve your explainer video conversion rates? Book a discovery call to discuss your project, or get our guide to learn more about our approach and pricing.
