How to Use an Explainer Video to Get More Mobile App Downloads

Today, the media space is oversaturated with various content types, advertising, brands, products, and services. With the emergence of new brands and startups, the competition game seems to become even hotter every day. Standing out from the crowd of alternatives is a challenge that requires a lot of creativity, ability to think outside the box, and excellent marketing skills. 

To set your mobile app apart from competitors is particularly tricky. A well-targeted and creative mobile app marketing strategy can save a situation. And an explainer video, as its part, can significantly increase the chances for success. This article considers the most popular ways to promote your mobile application using an explainer video. 

Types of Mobile App Explainer Videos

There are several types of mobile app teasers and promotional videos. You can combine them in one exciting mobile app promo or use separately depending on your intents and purposes. Here are the most effective ways to introduce your newly launched mobile app. 

Animated Videos

It’s one of the most creative, engaging, and compelling video types. Animated explainers look like short cartoons that communicate your app essence, mood, personality, and mission. It allows you to show app functionality and competitive advantages in a truly extraordinary way. It usually spans from 30 seconds to 1 minute. This kind of video turns your app description into an engaging story with fun characters, clear messages, outstanding brand style, unique illustrations, and animation that brings dynamics to this promo & marketing mix. 

Here is an example of an animated app explainer video we created for Boostation.

Screen Recorded Videos

Screen recorded videos usually show your app functionality using a 3D model of a smartphone or tablet. You can use them as a kind of mobile app demo. It can provide the user with a comprehensive understanding of a mobile app within 60 seconds only. After the last second, you already know how an app looks inside, what it does, why it is useful, and why it’s better than anything else in this niche. It allows viewers to make decisions about whether or not to download an application quickly. Managing target user expectations in one of the foremost reasons why screen recorded videos are great for mobile app promo.

App Preview

To set an appealing presence in the Apple App Store, you may need an engaging app preview. It’s where an animated explainer video may help. There are many guidelines you should follow to get your mobile app posted in the app store. There are several of them:

• You can only show footage from inside your app. It means no animation, no fingers tapping the buttons.
• The length of the app preview video shouldn’t exceed 30 seconds. 
• The voiceover and text shouldn’t sound too promotional.

At Explain Ninja, we have helped dozens of startups present their mobile applications in the App Store with the help of attractive, short, and informative app previews. 

How to Promote Your Mobile App Video Explainer

Consider you have already created an excellent mobile app explainer video together with an experienced animated video production company. Now, it’s time to learn how to use an explainer video to increase mobile app downloads. Here we take a closer look at the most effective mobile app promotion channels.

Organic Reach on Social Media

It goes without saying that social media is like the heart of the web, spreading information among the millions of users across the globe. The information flow on social platforms is fast, powerful, and super-rich. Thus, posting an animated mobile app demo or commercial video on your social media profile can help you promote a product rapidly and effectively. One of the most significant advantages of animated videos is shareability. It means that an animated explainer video promoting your app can be easily and organically spread on social media by your followers. It allows you to reach their social circles.

Paid Promotion

To boost the power of social media marketing benefits for your mobile app, you can set social media advertising with your mobile app promo video. The most effective video marketing channels are Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube.

YouTube Ads

Since YouTube is a video content platform at its essence, we suggest considering it under a magnifying glass. There are a few ways to use your mobile app explainer video on YouTube:

• Discovery ads. They are usually shown at the top of the results page when you type a search term on YouTube. 
• In-stream ads. They are usually shown at the beginning of the video the user has searched for. It’s considered more efficient, as it guarantees that the viewer will see at least a snippet of your ad.
• Skippable ads. It’s a type of in-stream ad that includes the option to skip it if it’s irrelevant for the user.
• Unskippable ads. Obviously, unskippable ads don’t provide such an opportunity.
• Sidebar ads. Sidebar ads appear alongside suggested videos next to the main video a user is watching.

Landing Page

Don’t also forget to post an explainer video on your mobile app landing page. When entering a website, it can be the first thing users see. It works like a creative introduction of your product to the audience, sets you apart from the competition, and builds a strong brand image. 

Moreover, it helps your website rank better on the search engines, as it’s an engaging content that makes website visitors slow the scroll to watch it and spend more time on a page. Such user behavior lets Google know that this web page contains valuable content. Consequently, Google boosts a web page in search results. Do you love quality content? Google loves it too. 

Conclusion

Hopefully, these insights will help you promote your incredible mobile application even more effectively, quickly expand your audience, and skyrocket app downloads. At Explain Ninja, we are happy to share this knowledge with you. Are you looking for a team of cool animators and digital artists to produce a mobile app promo that will bring you success? Just contact us here.