Here’s Everything Worth Knowing About Mobile App Explainer Videos
Here’s a depressing thought: most apps fail. They fail for several reasons but weak marketing (weak launches in particular) is one of the main reasons. However, since you’re reading this blog, you’re probably more than familiar with this depressing fact and are therefore ready to prioritize your app’s marketing strategy. A quality explainer video will be a big part of that strategy and before I share a few tips for creating the best ones, let’s just clarify…
Why a mobile app explainer video is so effective
Explainer videos have numerous benefits. In fact, they’ve got so many I wrote a pretty large blog about them. Read that if you want a deep dive. Otherwise, the benefits below outline why it can pay to invest in a mobile app explainer video.
A mobile app explainer video can be great for the App Store or Google play
These video previews can quickly communicate much more about your product than any still image or headline could. On the App Store, you’ve got to keep your video to under 30 seconds but that doesn’t have to be a problem. Usually, any demo of your product and/or intro messaging that sells your product can be condensed into a 30-second section. Plus, you can have up to 3 videos so you could essentially display an entire explainer video’s worth. On Google Play your max length is 2 minutes so no sweat.
They distill the complex into something simple and easy to consume
In any marketing context simplicity is going to help. That’s because we’re bombarded by thousands of marketing messages a day; the simple and clear ones will always speak the loudest. Our default setting is to ignore marketing. So if a message is unclear then people will definitely ignore it.
App explainers help you stand out and be more memorable
Since there are so many marketing messages out there, without a video your app will be a smaller needle in the giant haystack that is your industry. As mentioned, on app stores a good video will automatically put you in your own category of visibility, and in all other scenarios, they’re the most memorable and attention-grabbing way of communicating.
They’re one of the best ways to generate an ‘aha’ moment
When it comes to having successful apps, achieving the ‘aha’ moment is key. This is when your audience realizes just how much your product will help them. Although aha moments typically only happen when your users first start using your app, it’s usually beneficial to illustrate situations in your marketing that communicate the product’s aha qualities.
This isn’t technically a mobile app explainer video but I thought I’d share it since it’s a great example of how to nurture an aha moment on video. Because it’s for a large UK bank, the video doesn’t need to introduce the product and explain to the audience why they need a bank, etc. It just focuses on illustrating the typical situation that the product might be useful for.
You can boost your SEO
Whether it’s on an app store or in Google, your SEO will thank you when you include a video. SEO all comes down to the user’s experience and engagement. Creating an eye-catching video will help attract more prospects and – since it can offer a preview of what your app does – increase metrics like dwell time and conversions. Metrics that all search engines like.
They can be super sharable
Your mobile app explainer video has the potential to travel far and wide beyond the confines of an app store. Make a video interesting enough and you can expect big names in your industry, influencers, or even large news publications to share your video on their channels. You may even go viral.
They can make your product appear more exciting and interesting than it is
In this mobile app explainer video, we see a piece of fun, jazzy promotion for a product that’s actually quite straight and prudent. I mean, you can’t get much squarer than a safety app! I’d bet that the brief here was to sell this app in a fun way without losing the serious message and I think they did quite a decent job.
When you add things like animation, a creative script, and music, a boring topic and product can be presented in a pretty entertaining manner.
Here are a few tips and things to consider when creating app explainer videos
These pointers will help you figure out how to demo an app, what kind of messaging you should focus on, how you should tailor your mobile app explainer video to certain situations, and more.
Focus on the aha moment
This is everything. As mentioned earlier, it’s the moment users of your app recognize and comprehend just how valuable your app is. If you don’t know what your aha moment is, talk to your customers. If you haven’t got customers, get your app in front of some willing test subjects. Any analytics you have will also be useful.
Once you know your aha moment you need to decide on how to best depict that on video. Usually, it will be some combination of app, on-screen behavior + the results it delivers. For example, with Uber, you might show the few actions that a user takes to order a cab and then show the cab arriving after just a few minutes.
How long should my app explainer video be?
Most people will tell you to keep it under two minutes. Or they may even tell you the shorter the better. I would half agree with that since there’s plenty of evidence suggesting that beyond two minutes people start to switch off. You certainly want to be as concise as possible. BUT the two-minute rule is just a guide. Here’s the thing…
If what you’re saying is truly engaging, then viewers will happily keep watching. Yes, the longer a video is the bigger the strain on someone’s attention. But this is where research, humor, and visual flair can save you. A well-researched script that knows customer needs will strike such a chord with viewers that they’ll hang on every word. And - like any good film or T.V show - if it’s genuinely entertaining it will be easily viewed for more than two minutes.
I answer the question of explainer video length in this blog. But if you want a short answer use max two minutes as a guide and feel free to go over that if you’re confident what you’re saying is highly entertaining/relevant to prospects’ desires.
Is the video for The App Store or Google play?
Firstly, let’s be clear, the art of app store optimization is boundless and bottomless. For a complete rundown of how to approach your app store video, this blog from some app store marketing experts has all the answers. And if you’re after something a little more digestible, here’s a quick rundown of what you should keep front of mind.
Firstly, make sure you cover the basics like keeping to Apple or Google’s guidelines. Remember that your app store video is for warm prospects who’ve actually searched for your product. So they are often more invested than most. This means your video can focus more on showing the user what they can do with the app and showing the app in action. Plus, on the Apple App Store, you can only upload 30-second videos anyway (Google is 2 minutes) so you’ll need to simplify things.
One mistake that some people make is showing real human hands using an app. Instead, a screencast or animated app interface will be the clearest way of communicating functionality.
Also remember, most app store videos will be auto-played unless the user has turned off their autoplay or scrolled past it too quickly. If autoplay is turned off then your prospects will be met with a thumbnail: make sure you have an enticing thumbnail.
Lastly, either do a good app store video or don’t do one at all. According to a study by Storemaven, a bad video can do more harm than good.
“From observing how tens of millions of users respond to videos, our data tells us that CVR rates increase by 20%-30% when videos are done right, and it can harm conversions by 15%-20% when done poorly.”
Source: Storemaven.Com
It’s not an onboarding video
Your app explainer video is a promotional tool for encouraging people to download your app. An onboarding video is what people watch after they’ve downloaded your app. An onboarding video helps them get accustomed to your app’s features and is more like a user manual.
In your app explainer video, showing off what your app can do and how it should be used can be a good idea. But you don’t need to show people everything. Just enough to get them excited. If you make your app explainer video double up as an onboarding video too, then you may end up with an explainer that doesn’t get people excited and an onboarding video that’s barely usable.
To screen record or not to screen record
This is the simplest way of showing your app being used. It can be very effective and since it’s free to make your own screen recording, it might be the only option if you’re on a tight budget.
If your aha moment needs to be depicted by showing the exact on-screen process a user goes through when using your app, then a screen recording may be the best way of doing this. If, however, you only need to show certain elements of your app being used, or maybe just an outline of your app’s broad functionality, then you could probably do better. In the next section, we’ll see some examples of app explainer videos that offer much sexier alternatives to screen recordings.
Will the video go on a landing page?
If so, then you need to prioritize the goal of the landing page above all else. That goal might be getting an email address, signing people up for a trial, etc. Your explainer video needs to work with the copy on the page. Typically, this will mean the video acts as a hook that follows on from the headline in the hero section. Or sometimes an explainer video will make more sense further down the page. This blog on how explainers can work on landing pages will give you a clearer idea of how to execute things.
The primary goal of any explainer video on a landing page should be to make more people read the rest of the page and drive conversions. So if you want your messaging to be as powerful as possible then you may want to create multiple versions of your explainer video. One for your landing page, one for app stores, etc.
4 of the best mobile app explainer videos
If you’re looking for some kind of mobile app explainer video template, then I have some bad news. All apps are different and creating a template wouldn’t be very effective. The good news is that you can draw up your own template by looking at some of the top app explainer videos out there and stealing their best bits.
McDonald’s
We all know what McDonald’s is. And this video takes full advantage of that by claiming the new app is “all the things you love about McDonald’s, at your fingertips.” It then jumps straight into demoing the product.
It takes advantage of various visual tricks like the phone transforming into a self-ordering kiosk. And the split-screen depiction of the kiosk, counter, and drive-through. These slick techniques are a pleasure to watch and show people just how easy it is to use the new app.
Also, despite my previous point about onboarding videos, this video could actually be used for that. It seems to be a complete intro to using the app. Since McDonald’s is such an established brand it doesn’t need to spend time introducing itself. This means it can spend all its time communicating onboarding style information.
Med Mart
What I love about this video is that it clearly demonstrates how the app works without getting too caught up in the specifics of what button to press or which screen does what. The result is something much better looking and engaging than a screen share. Since this is an app for cosmetic surgeons, it’s understandable why they’ve decided to prioritize looks!
Amazon Go
The aha moment for Amazon Go couldn’t be promoted better. The core value of Amazon Go was nailed within the first ten seconds of the video! Since this is an app that combines with a physical product, they’ve made sure to focus on the real experience of using the app. Not the fine details of what the interface looks like. They also make sure they address what are very understandable queries from the audience like “how the F*#K does it work” and “really, I just walk out!?!?”
Headspace
Back when Headspace launched many people thought that meditation was only for new-age hippies or Yoda. That meant that this video had a tricky job: introduce meditation to the masses. The opening does that perfectly with straight-talking and empathetic copy that outlines the benefits of Headspace. It then challenges what I would suspect is the number one objection to meditation - that it’s not for regular people - before saying that Headspace caters to all experience levels.
Final thoughts
Mobile app explainer videos and app demo video production can be a huge factor in an app’s success. But it is of course just a small piece of the marketing puzzle. When you decide to work with Bullseye Motion we’ll take into account all your marketing goals. This is so that you get the maximum ROI from your video and can use it in as many useful scenarios as possible.
If you’re interested in creating a video that does your product justice and gets you the results you want, then click below and book a meeting with me, Bullseye Motion’s creative director.
P.S. all comments and feedback on this blog are appreciated! If there’s any way you think it could be improved, then feel free to shout and I’ll see if I can work them into a redraft. xx
