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Explaining Explainer Videos with Colin Hogan, Ep. 109

Aug 15, 2019

On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Colin Hogan, the managing director of Demo Duck, joins us to talk all things video production. Video is one of those things that every company wants to have, but few know how to make. On this week’s episode, we talk with Colin about what sorts of video a company should use for different purposes, how a production company works with a business to tell their story, and whether we’ll ever see the commercials Colin shot as a kid.

What types of video should you do?

Business owners know they should do video, they know they want to do video, but they’re not quite sure what video they should make. There are a billion types of videos you can do, so which one should you choose? Colin says businesses typically go for explainer videos first. Those videos do a great job of establishing your authority on a subject, and because it’s in your area of expertise, you’re not stretching too far to come up with a topic for the video. But there are loads of other types you can consider, and that companies like Demo Duck can help you make.

So what makes a great explainer video?

You’ve probably seen some great explainer videos you’ve learned a lot from, and you’ve definitely seen ones with roughly zero information. Colin says the key to a good explainer video is to be concise. Know what you want to say, present it directly, and avoid any sort of jargon or insider language. Know what your ideal viewer might be interested in, what problem you’re solving for them, and then go from there.

When to make a video yourself

You can hire a company to help you produce a video, or you can even just turn on your phone and go live on Facebook. But when should you do the latter, and when should you do the former? There’s no quick-and-easy answer, but a lot of times it has to do with your revenue. If you’re just starting out, you may want to do it yourself. But if you have a little bit of a marketing budget and you have a message you know you want to get out there, Colin says it’s worth the investment to have a professional production company make that video for you.

How to get the most out of your explainer video

So you make an explainer video. Now what? Colin actually recommends making several videos out of the one that you’ve written. In other words, say you make a 90-second explainer video. Then you want to share that on Twitter or Instagram. It’s best to budget in shorter clip versions of that video for your various social media platforms. That means you may have to re-script some things, but it’s worth it to make sure the video you’ve made aligns with the correct platform. 

Outline of This Episode

  • [3:28] How Colin got into video
  • [4:30] Why sales is actually great
  • [8:02] What sorts of video work for what 
  • [10:00] What makes a great explainer video? 
  • [12:40] Stay jargon-free
  • [17:04] You shouldn’t have to convince someone to buy
  • [18:30] Is there a bottom threshold in terms of production value
  • [23:32] Where do explainer videos live?
  • [25:46] Managing creative professionals

Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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