Let’s say you invested in a well-produced explainer video for your brand, shared it across your platforms, and waited for the leads, clicks, and conversions to roll in. But instead, you got low views and traction. The truth is, creating an explainer video alone is not enough.
According to Wyzowl’s State of Video Marketing Report, 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, yet a significant number of those videos fail to move the needle. In competitive African markets, where audiences are growing more digitally savvy and attention is harder to earn, a poorly executed explainer video does not just underperform; it actively damages your brand perception.
So before you scrap your video strategy entirely, let us walk you through the seven most common reasons your explainer video is not converting, and more importantly, what you can do to fix it.
1. Your Video Is Too Long
Attention spans are shrinking. Research from Nielsen consistently shows that audiences make viewing decisions within the first few seconds of a video. If your explainer video runs for three to five minutes, you are losing most of your audience before you ever reach your call to action.
The sweet spot for explainer videos is between 60 and 90 seconds. Get to the problem, present your solution, and end with a clear call to action, all without unnecessary filler.
2. You Are Targeting the Wrong Audience
Not everyone is your customer, and a video built for everyone ends up resonating with no one. If your explainer video speaks to a broad, undefined audience, it will feel generic and disconnected. Your viewers need to see themselves in your story.
Before your next video, define exactly who you are speaking to, their pain points, goals, language, and context. In Africa’s diverse market landscape, this step is especially important. A Lagos-based SME owner and a Nairobi corporate executive have very different triggers. Speak directly to one, and you will convert far more effectively.
3. You Focused on Features, Not Benefits
Your audience does not care that your product has a multi-layered notification system or a 99.9% uptime. They care about what that means for their lives and businesses. Features describe what a product does; benefits explain why it matters.
Restructure your script around outcomes. Instead of “our platform automates your invoicing,” say “you close your month in hours, not days.” That shift in framing is what turns passive viewers into active buyers.
4. Your Messaging Is Inconsistent
A great explainer video feels like a single, cohesive story. When the tone of your script clashes with the energy of your animation, or your voiceover contradicts what is on screen, viewers sense the disconnect, even if they cannot name it. That disconnect erodes trust.
Consistency covers your brand voice, visual style, colour palette, pacing, and the core message you want viewers to walk away with. Get all of this aligned in pre-production, not after editing has begun.
5. Your Script Is Weak
A polished animation cannot rescue a poor script. The script is the foundation of every high-converting explainer video; it shapes the emotional arc, the logical flow, and the moment your viewer decides to act or scroll away.
We have seen brands cut corners on scripting only to spend twice as much fixing the video in post-production. Hire a professional scriptwriter who understands video storytelling, or partner with a production company that has this capability in-house.
6. You Skipped a Clear Call to Action
Surprising how many explainer videos leave the viewer with no direction. If your video does not tell your audience what to do next, visit a page, book a call, download a resource, most of them simply will not do anything.
Your call to action should be specific, confident, and directly tied to the promise of your video. “Learn more” is weak. “Book your free consultation today” is a call to action that converts.
7. You Are Distributing Your Video in the Wrong Places
A beautifully made video buried on a rarely visited web page will never perform. HubSpot research shows that video placement significantly impacts engagement rates. Your audience might be on Instagram Reels, YouTube, or WhatsApp Business, not necessarily on a landing page they have never seen.
Identify where your target audience actually spends time online, and distribute your explainer video there with platform-native formatting. A video optimised for YouTube will need to be re-cut for Instagram. One version does not fit all.
The Bottom Line
Most explainer videos do not fail because of bad ideas; they do so because of avoidable execution mistakes. Whether it is a script that leads with features, a video that runs too long, or content aimed at the wrong person entirely, the good news is that every one of these problems is fixable.
At DottsMediaHouse, we help brands across Africa and beyond to create explainer videos that take customers on a journey through storytelling, leading to conversion. Our team handles everything from audience research, scriptwriting, and storyboard to animation and strategic distribution, ensuring your investment leads to a meaningful ROI.
If your current explainer video is not working, it is not too late to get it right. Let’s talk about how we can fix it.
