Published on E27 and YourStory.
If you want to make sure your target audience doesn’t give a damn about your product or service, if you want to waste all your hard-earned money on an explainer video that doesn’t convert or educate your audience, if you really don’t care about your video’s ROI in any shape or form, then this article is just right for you!
Making a good animation explainer video is hard work. But to make a bad video is an art. One that we’re going to break down for you in all its gory details.
1) Use complicated language
Everyone in the world (basically, your viewers) is obviously well-versed with technical jargon and knows every detail of your product or service. Don’t make it easy for them to understand what you’re all about.
Knowledge must be earned, after all.
2) Choose the wrong video style
With the gamut of options available from stop-motion to whiteboard animation to colourful 2D animation, choosing a video style that completely clashes with your brand is very easy to do. Remember, it must look like you haven’t put any thought into it at all. Use a complex style for complex products, understanding is overrated.
3) List only product features
Your product is obviously great. People should be lining up to buy it. So use your video to tell your customers all about the exhaustive list of amazing (to you) features. But don’t tell them how they can benefit from these features. Because then they may be tempted to buy it and your video would result in some ROI. Imagine the shame!
4) Use boring content and visuals
Now this is a little tricky to master. The way the world stands now, somewhere, someone might just be interested in learning more about your brand. Script the whole thing, then switch up parts so there’s no flow. Get your seven-year old niece to do your graphics, but pick only the ones she herself rejects. You have to make sure your video is as boring to watch as possible. The aim is to get your audience to switch off in the first five seconds. Are you up for the challenge?
5) Don’t encourage action of any kind
Most good explainer videos will always have some kind of Call To Action (CTA) at the end. It ranges from asking viewers to check out websites, like pages, call a number, avail a service or buy a product. Since your video is supposed to be pointless, you should absolutely ensure you don’t have a CTA or display your web address anywhere. In fact, if you’ve done your job right, people won’t even reach the end of your video, right?
6) Use the very worst audio
Audio plays a big part in an effective video. The music serves to add atmosphere and evoke emotion. The voiceover works to engage viewers and set the tone for your message. So do everything you can to use the worst stock audio you can – bonus points if people would rather listen to elevator music on loop than your video’s audio. Next, use a voiceover that’s monotonous, mechanical, hems and haws, recorded in a noisy place. Better yet, get one of those electronic auto-generated voiceovers. Audio away your audience!
7) Make it a DIY project
This tip is optional and can only be done if you have no experience or idea whatsoever about making videos, much less explainer videos. Hiring a professional explainer video production company is a smart investment and makes business sense, so of course, steer clear of all of them. Do it yourself, follow the tips above and there you have it – a horrible explainer video!
You know how they say – those who can’t do, teach? Well, we’ve been in the explainer video business for a couple of years and haven’t been able to make a really bad video, despite knowing exactly what makes a terrible explainer. But then again, we’re a team of creative professionals who are quite passionate about the videos we make, so that kind of gets in the way.
Hope you have better luck with yours!
