Stand out with animation in your video marketing strategy

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Thinking about how your business can stand out from the competition? Use video marketing but are looking for ideas to increase your engagement uniquely and creatively? Video marketing is an effective part of a marketing strategy today, and adding animation is a sure way to accomplish the goal of connecting your customers and increasing engagement. Let’s discuss these animation styles and how you can incorporate them into your brand.

When you use video marketing, you are not limited to the type of videos you can make based on your audience, the customer journey level, or the industry. Videos help your consumers become knowledgeable about your brand through captivating visuals, appealing audio that creatively explains a product or brand story, and the overall message of the video. Create short, entertaining videos that focus on explaining intricate concepts or behind-the-scenes, for example, while including your logo and CTA to keep customers thinking of your company. 

Now, in 2020, 92% of marketers use video in their marketing strategy, according to HubSpot. As the marketers using video increases, animated video is one method to stand out from the crowd. Animated explainer videos are 1-minute long videos that break down complicated topics into simplified entertaining ways. They help increase the emotional connection, brand awareness, and loyalty consumers have with the brand. Many brands use these types of videos for social media, product demos, landing pages, and more. They come in many forms, such as 2D, 3D, whiteboard animation, and a combination of live motion and animation. Whiteboard animation has been a popular style as it explains concepts step by step and is excellent for product advertising. The live-motion combination option is a visually entertaining opportunity to introduce your brand. Video marketing is a strategy that continues to evolve, and animation is an element to set your business apart from the next.

Credit: Dana Kachan Why 2021 Will Be the Year of Animated Video Marketing

Top reasons to include animation in your video marketing strategy for 2021

By now, you should know that video has been a present force in how consumers connect and become knowledgeable of your brand. As marketers and small business owners, fine-tuning your marketing strategy is another part of the process of a successful video marketing campaign. If you’re looking for more ideas on video marketing, look no further than animation. Animation has always been a popular video style in cinema. So why not use animation in your own explainer videos? Doubtful? We’ll reveal the top reasons to include animation in your video marketing strategy for 2021.

It’s important to note that video marketing will be incredibly important this year. If the average person watches 100 minutes of video a day and there is a 14% increase in video strategy implementation from 2015 to 2020, according to a Marketing Charts survey and HubSpot, then there’s no reason not to explore how your video marketing strategy can succeed in 2021.

Explainer videos are powerful on their own: your company becomes an educational source to your consumers, which further increases the trust and relationship between consumer and company. Add animation to the mix, and viewers will want to see what’s next in-store. This does well for brand awareness and helps you stand out from the competition. Explain your brand story, products, or services without feeling like you’re not connecting with your audience. An animated explainer video has engaging visuals, voice-overs, and music for your consumers to watch, understand and retain the information about your product or service.

Including an animated explainer video in your video marketing strategy demonstrates the effort your company makes to present complex topics that are meaningful and informational to the consumer. The eye-catching visuals in your thumbnail may stop consumers mid-scroll, but the visuals, voice-overs, and music will keep them watching.

Credit: Ripple Animation Why 2021 Will Be the Year of Animated Video Marketing

Types of Videos You Can Make with the EIEIE Method

What do a viral challenge, a how-to video, and a promo all have in common? They all can attract and engage with your audience at different customer journey stages while related to your brand’s voice and mission. A video that is educational, inspirational, entertaining, informational, or engaging will give your business the opportunity to showcase your industry knowledge, company news, or your take on the latest trend. Navigate your video strategy using these five categories. In this clip from our video content course, we explain the components of the EIEIE method and how you can use the method for your video marketing.

Apply These 6 Video Types to Improve Your Business

A growing number of businesses are seeing the positive impact videos have on their business. Videos help improve engagement and conversion rates on your websites and social platforms. With so many options out there, it can seem daunting to create one that fulfills your business goals. We’ve compiled a list of the needed six video types to create for your business.

The first four focus on your customers and viewers. If your business is in an industry many may be unfamiliar with or feature terms that need an explanation, the best solution would be to create explainer videos. Explainer videos can help viewers understand your business better and possibly increase sales. Have a new product coming out and want your customers to know all about it? Product videos are best, in this regard, as they demonstrate the product’s features and benefits to the consumers. This is the time to answer any consumer’s questions and offer any tips to use the product or service in the best capacity. Consumers are then informed with the information from the video to make a purchasing decision. Also, consider creating a customer support video that answers more questions your customers may have once they become your customer.

With those two video types created, your consumer knows your business and the products offered. What they don’t know is what past customers have to say about your business. This is where a testimonial video plays a role. Testimonials show the potential customer the positive impact your business had with your satisfied regular customers. These types of videos provide your business the opportunity to teach and show your customer that you are a valued trusted brand.

The next two video types focus on creating videos to benefit your internal team. The recruiting videos reveal a behind-the-scenes of what it’s like to be an employee at your business. Videos that inform the employee on the recent company news and train them on new product offerings are valuable resources that can be updated and accessed at any time. Answer, educate, and inform your customers and employees through these types of videos for a prepared, engaging, and competitive business.

Credit: Written by Jennifer Lonoff Schiff 6 ways video can boost your business

Find Your Optimal Video Length for the Best Engagement

So you’ve entered into the world of video marketing and you’re already uploading videos to your audience! Great job! Are those videos meeting the engagement goals you set for them? Have you considered that the video length is a possible reason for not hitting your goal? If not, don’t worry, because our guide goes over the conditions in a video that could determine the engagement.

Before we get into the video length, it’s crucial to consider the other reasons why viewers might not fully watch your video. When you create videos for your business, you may create them to be informative, educational, or entertaining. The videos you upload are to appeal to your target audience, optimizing for the device they are on. This is where viewing your analytics plays a role. Look into where your viewers are watching your video as well as when the engagement tends to drop. This will help you create content that keeps them engaged throughout the video. After you’ve adjusted the content, target audience, and device optimization, if needed, let’s move on to the video length.

Video length is a good metric to review towards understanding your viewers, as you can pinpoint where most of your viewers finished the video and what they might have missed after they left the video. Each video type has a desired length that has optimal engagement. Most videos that perform well vary between 30-119 seconds, according to The Next Web. However, according to Wisita, a 2-minute video can do well in engagement. However, don’t be restricted to create videos within two minutes. The longer your video is, the more you will have to stay connected with your audience as engagement continues to drop.

Here are some strategies to include in the context of your video to help your customers stay engaged. Focus on one main subject and if that subject is a pain point your customer requested, that’s even better because you will have their attention during the video. To ensure that, write the pain point or main subject in the title, caption, and keywords of the video. Don’t forget to add captions and include a CTA to take them to another video or through a sales funnel. If you’re planning on uploading your video on social media, keep in mind that those platforms have varying optimal video lengths as well. Now your short, concise, engaging video is ready to be uploaded! For more information, click the article below.

Credit: Jesica Mraz Short vs. Long Videos: What is the Best Explainer Video Length?