Whether you call them explainer, corporate, or online videos, when you incorporate an animated video into your digital marketing strategy you are offering a highly creative and flexible platform for site visitors to quickly engage with and set yourself apart from the competition.
In the last few years, online videos have gone from being a trendy addition to an existing communications strategy to becoming an essential component of the marketing mix. In fact, the 2014 Online Video Marketing Survey and Business Video Trends Report says that 93% of marketing professionals are using online video for marketing and communications.
When referring to “online videos” there are a number of different styles including live shootings, testimonials, interviews, and animations. While live shooting remains the most commonly used form of online videos, animated videos are quickly becoming the “go-to” format for a number of reasons; here are our top five:
Animated videos defy the laws of physics & alter our reality
The best example of how animated videos defy the laws of physics is The Magic School Bus. As a child Ms. Frizzle and her class boarded a regular school bus for a field trip that traveled to the depths of outer space and to the miniscule functions of our own mitochondria.
As a child, these are wildly intangible concepts to grasp, yet thanks to animation and the Magic School Bus, we were able to understand these complicated ideas and easily relate to them because they were told as a story that was engaging and easy to understand.
As adults and professionals, animated videos can be used in the same way on a more advanced level to appeal to consumers, retailers and customers. For example, let’s look at TydenBrooks.
As a company who designs and manufactures high security and tamper evident seals, they needed a way to visually explain the technology behind their seals. With their animated explainer video, TydenBrooks invited their consumers to board their own version of the “Magic School Bus” to explain how conventional seals can be broken and how their seals prevent tampering.
2. Animated videos have a high ROI
From the offset, an animated video far outdoes a live shooting in terms of the initial investment.
What’s more, an animated video can be constantly changed or adapted as the situation requires; with a live video, you are limited to the footage that was acquired during the shooting.
The table below outlines just a few of the initial investment required for both a live shooting and an animated video:
Once you have produced your online video, you can use powerful hosting services to monitor its progress and attribute a tangible monetary value to each piece of data to define a measureable ROI. For more information on applying a tangible ROI to your online video, download A Marketer’s Guide to Calculating a Measurable ROI.
Alternatively, you can use A/B testing to measure the impact of a live shooting vs. an animated video to really see which type more strongly resonates with your audiences.
3. Animated videos are proven to be more engaging & increase conversion rates
In a recent study by Unbounce, animated explainers are more engaging and increased conversion rates by 20%. An example of viewer engagement with an animated video is when the popular airline, Virgin Atlantic, made headlines with its new “unconventional” inflight safety video. The airline quickly learned that a professional animated video served to be much more engaging and maintained their fliers’ attention better than any other format.
4. Animated videos reinforce brand awareness & send subliminal messages
The beauty of an animated video is that you can apply your corporate identity across the entire production to reinforce brand awareness. This also makes it easier to integrate and streamline any promotion, product or message into your existing marketing strategy.
You can also use colors to trigger emotion and set the tone of your message. Animators who specialize in creating design concepts for online videos have spent years understanding how certain audiences react to various color schemes and the subliminal messages they send.
5. Animated Videos Denote Professionalism and Uniqueness
Thanks to the abundance of mobile devices and easy access to a video recorder, anyone can capture a live video – in fact many online strategies have encouraged users to “upload their video” or “create and submit your own video” as part of a promotion.
How often can an average person create a professional animated video? Animation is more difficult to produce from an artistic standpoint, thus immediately establishing it as more unique and professional.
Have questions about whether or not an animated video is right for your product or business? Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our professional video experts today!
