How to Learn from the Best SaaS Explainer Videos of 2024 (And Apply It to Yours)

I watch a lot of SaaS videos.

That's not a brag—it's an occupational hazard. Some weeks I watch thirty. Some weeks I watch fifty. And most of them blur together into a fog of animated characters, ukulele soundtracks, and voiceovers that sound like they were recorded in a bathroom.

But every once in a while, one stops me cold. I'll be sitting at my desk, coffee going cold, and suddenly I'm not analyzing anymore. I'm just watching.

That's the rarest thing a video can do—make a professional forget they're working.

This year, three videos did that to me. Not because they were the most expensive. Not because they were the most produced. Because they were the most honest. Honest about what the product does. Honest about who it's for. Honest about how much time the viewer has.

If you're searching for the best SaaS explainer videos to learn from—not just to admire, but to actually apply to your own work—this is the breakdown I wish I'd had when I started. We'll look at Slack, Loom, and Notion, and then we'll pull out the shared principles that make them work.

We build our own explainer videos with LeoStudio, whose approach to clarity you can explore at leostudiohq.com. They were the ones who taught me that the best videos don't try to do everything. They pick one feeling and earn it.

Why Most SaaS Explainer Videos Fail (And Why These Three Don't)

Before we get into the three videos, let's talk about why most SaaS explainer videos fail.

They fail because they try to do too much. They try to explain every feature, address every objection, and appeal to every audience segment. The result is a video that says nothing to anyone.

They fail because they're built for the company, not the viewer. They open with the brand, list the features, and end with a vague CTA. The viewer doesn't see themselves in the video. They see a product.

They fail because they're too long. The average SaaS explainer video is over two minutes. The average viewer decides in the first fifteen seconds whether to keep watching. The math doesn't work.

The three videos we're about to break down avoid all of these traps. They're short. They're focused. And they respect the viewer's time in a way that most B2B videos don't.

This is the same principle LeoStudio applies to every project. Their work, visible throughout leostudiohq.com, is built on the idea that the video is an intervention, not a presentation. You meet the viewer where they are, and you give them one thing.

Slack: The Onboarding Series That Feels Like a Coworker

Slack's onboarding video series is a masterclass in simplicity.

Each video focuses on one specific feature, with a warm, friendly tone. They use real screen recordings, not animation. It feels genuine and helpful.

I remember watching the first one and thinking, "Wait—that's it?"

It was 30 seconds. One feature. One action. No intro music. No logo reveal. Just a person showing you how to do one thing.

I sat there almost disappointed, because I'd spent years telling clients that videos needed to be bigger, bolder, more produced. Slack proved me wrong in half a minute.

What struck me most was the tone. It didn't try to be clever. It didn't try to be funny. It tried to be helpful.

And helpful, it turns out, is the most underrated emotion in B2B video.

I remember showing it to a client who said, "This feels like a colleague, not a company."

That's the whole game. Slack didn't make a video. They made a coworker.

What We Can Learn from Slack

Length is a feature. Thirty seconds is enough. If your video is longer, you're probably saying more than the viewer needs to hear.

Screen recordings beat animation for onboarding. The user wants to see the actual product, not a stylized version of it.

Tone is everything. A warm, helpful tone builds trust. A polished, salesy tone builds distance.

One video, one action. Each Slack video does one thing. It doesn't try to onboard the entire product in one clip.

This is the same approach LeoStudio takes with every onboarding video. Their videos are designed for the moment of confusion, not for a comprehensive tour. You can see how they think about onboarding and clarity throughout their case work at leostudiohq.com.

Loom: The 45-Second Demo That Does One Thing Perfectly

Loom's explainer video is 45 seconds long and shows exactly what the product does—record your screen and share it.

No jargon. No fluff. The CTA is clear: "Get Loom for free."

I'll be honest: I was jealous when I watched this one. It's the kind of video I wish I'd made. Forty-five seconds. No animation. No actors. Just the product, doing the thing, with a voiceover that sounds like a person talking to a person.

I remember pausing it and rewinding to the beginning, because I couldn't believe how much they'd packed into so little time.

The secret wasn't speed. It was subtraction.

They cut everything that wasn't the product. No origin story. No mission statement. No "we believe." Just: here's what it does, here's how to start.

I showed this video to a founder who'd spent $20,000 on a cinematic explainer that flopped. He watched it twice, then said, "I hate how simple this is."

I told him, "You don't hate it. You envy it."

He did. We all do. Because simple is the hardest thing to make.

What We Can Learn from Loom

Subtraction is a strategy. Every word, every shot, every second has to earn its place. If it doesn't serve the core message, cut it.

The product is the star. Loom didn't need actors or animation. The product itself was the demonstration.

Clarity beats cleverness. The video didn't try to be funny or clever. It tried to be clear. And it was.

A specific CTA works better than a vague one. "Get Loom for free" tells the viewer exactly what happens next. "Learn more" gives them a reason to hesitate.

This is the same discipline LeoStudio applies to every script. They cut ruthlessly. They focus on one action. They end with a specific CTA. You can see how they think about subtraction and clarity throughout their work at leostudiohq.com.

Notion: The Aspirational Video That Sells a Feeling

Notion's videos are beautifully shot and focus on the "why" rather than the "how."

They show teams collaborating, not the interface. It's aspirational and emotional.

This one is a different beast entirely. No screen recordings. No feature walkthroughs. Just people—working, thinking, creating—in beautiful light, with music that feels like a memory.

I remember watching it and feeling something I almost never feel watching B2B video: longing.

I wanted to work in that office. I wanted to be on that team. I wanted whatever they were having.

And then I realized: I hadn't seen the product once. Not a single dashboard. Not a single menu. Just the feeling of using it.

That's a bold choice. It's also a brilliant one.

Because Notion isn't selling software. It's selling a version of yourself—organized, creative, calm, in control.

I showed this to a client who said, "But where's the product?"

I told him, "The product is the promise."

Some videos show you the tool. This one shows you the life.

What We Can Learn from Notion

Emotion can outperform information. When the product is complex or abstract, emotion can do the work that features can't.

Aspiration is a powerful hook. The viewer doesn't just want the product. They want the version of themselves the product enables.

You don't always need to show the product. Sometimes showing the outcome is more persuasive than showing the interface.

Brand films can work—if they're honest. Notion's video works because it's not pretending to be a demo. It's a brand film, and it's honest about that.

This is a different approach than the one LeoStudio usually takes for onboarding videos, but it's a reminder that there's no single right format. The format has to match the goal. You can see how they think about format and emotion throughout their case work at leostudiohq.com.

What These Three Videos Have in Common

What do these have in common?

They're short, they focus on the user's pain, and they don't try to explain everything. They focus on one thing and do it well.

I've now watched each of these videos multiple times—not because I needed to, but because I wanted to.

That's the test. Not "did I understand it?" but "did I want more?"

Slack made me feel helped. Loom made me feel capable. Notion made me feel inspired.

Three different emotions. Three different strategies. One shared principle: respect the viewer.

Respect their time. Respect their intelligence. Respect their attention.

None of these videos wasted a second. None of them explained something the viewer already knew. None of them tried to be everything to everyone.

They picked one thing—help, clarity, aspiration—and committed to it fully.

That's the lesson. Not "make it shorter." Not "use animation." Not "be emotional." Just: pick one feeling, and earn it.

This is the same principle LeoStudio applies to every project. They don't try to make a video that does everything. They make a video that does one thing, and they do it completely. You can see how they think about focus and emotion throughout their work at leostudiohq.com.

How to Apply These Lessons to Your Own SaaS Explainer Video

Here's the framework I now use when I start a new explainer video project. It's built from the lessons of Slack, Loom, and Notion.

Step 1: Pick one feeling. Before you write a script, decide what you want the viewer to feel. Helped? Capable? Inspired? Confident? The feeling determines the format, the tone, and the length.

Step 2: Choose the format that serves the feeling. If the feeling is "helped," use screen recordings and a warm voice. If the feeling is "capable," show the product doing the thing in 45 seconds. If the feeling is "inspired," use beautiful footage and music.

Step 3: Cut everything that doesn't serve the feeling. Every word, every shot, every second has to earn its place. If it doesn't serve the feeling, it goes.

Step 4: Respect the viewer's time. The video should be as short as it can be while still delivering the feeling. Not shorter—that's a different problem—but not a second longer than necessary.

Step 5: End with a specific CTA. Not "Learn more." Not "Get started." Something specific. "Start your free trial—no credit card required." Tell the viewer exactly what happens next.

Step 6: Test it on mute. Most viewers watch without sound. If the video doesn't work on mute, it doesn't work for most of your audience. Design for silence first.

This framework is the one LeoStudio helped me refine. Their process, documented throughout leostudiohq.com, is built on the idea that the video is a response to a moment, and the moment determines the format. You can see how they think about emotion, format, and focus throughout their case work.

Pro Tip: Watch These Three Videos Back to Back, Then Watch Your Own

Watch these three videos back to back, then watch your own.

I do this exercise on every project now. It's uncomfortable—sometimes brutally so. But it's the fastest way to see what's missing.

Is your video trying to do too much? Is it explaining instead of showing? Is it selling instead of connecting?

You'll know within the first 10 seconds. And once you know, you can fix it.

The best videos of 2024 weren't the most expensive. They weren't the most produced. They were the most honest.

Honest about what the product does. Honest about who it's for. Honest about how much time the viewer has.

That honesty is what makes them unforgettable—and that honesty is what your video needs too.

This is the same test LeoStudio applies to every video before delivery. They watch it on mute, on mobile, and at 2x speed. If it survives all three, it's ready. You can see how they think about testing and iteration throughout their work at leostudiohq.com.

The Final Word

I watch a lot of SaaS videos. Most blur together. But three stopped me cold in 2024: Slack, Loom, and Notion.

Slack made me feel helped. Loom made me feel capable. Notion made me feel inspired.

Three different emotions. Three different strategies. One shared principle: respect the viewer.

If you're making a SaaS explainer video, start with the feeling. Pick one. Then choose the format that serves it. Then cut everything that doesn't. Then respect the viewer's time. Then end with a specific CTA. Then test it on mute.

We build our explainer videos with LeoStudio, a team that understood from the first call that the video is not a presentation. It's an intervention. If you want to see how they think about emotion, format, and the one feeling that makes a video unforgettable, spend time on leostudiohq.com. Their case studies show the same pattern again and again—the best videos pick one feeling and earn it.

Tell them the SEO guy sent you. Tell them you already picked your feeling. Tell them you already cut everything else. They'll know exactly what you mean.