Marketers already know that video is a captivating, engaging tool for businesses. Companies using video enjoy 41% more web traffic than non-users and video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80%, if not more. But video is such a broad over-arching medium that spans many different formats, which can make it difficult for a company to decide which format fits their needs. But one thing is for sure when a topic is complex or needs to be relayed at a fast pace, animation can be far more useful than live-action.
Animated video gives you limitless freedom to convey anything, no matter how complex or how dry the subject matter, in an entertaining, light-hearted way. Here are six key ways animation can be an asset to your brand’s marketing efforts.
You Can Always Change The Video’s Direction
It’s common that a video will go through a few passes before getting the stamp of approval. Most people in business can’t imagine how the video will ultimately look so making edits, and rearranging sequences is a common occurrence. If you have an animated clip, rearranging moments or elaborating more on a specific point, can be a quick and easy process. After a few hours, a new draft can be ready for review. If these edits need to be made to a live-action video, however, this can become a tedious, long and drawn out process of scheduling reshoots and redrafting scripts.
Simplify Concepts
Animated video can simplify as well as personify your subject matter. With animation, you can give the chalkboard eyes, or the gargoyle speak, in order to explain the dryer points in a captivating manner. Because ultimately in storytelling, the number one rule is to show, not tell, and the beauty of animation is that you are fully able to show, rather than tell, what you want to convey with colorful imagery and interesting characters.
Condense The Copy
When doing a live-action video, talking heads can re-cover a topic again and again. It’s hard to edit a person to say the exact lines you need in the exact way you need them. When employees or business heads are placed in front of the camera they need to come off as natural and this generally happens by allowing them to speak off the cuff. Unfortunately, this can result in overly lengthy explanations or unengaging dialogue. When you’ve chosen to animate the subject matter, however, you can get the video script down to a science. Your animated video can include the best keywords that condense the explanation and make it memorable. This also cuts down the length of your video considerably, which is an incredible asset to retaining your audience.
According to ComScore, the average user spends over 16 minutes watching online video ads every month. Of that time, videos that run 1 minute or less receive a retention of 80% up to halfway through the video. If your video runs between 3 – 5 minutes, your viewer retention drops to 50%. These figures show clearly that the shorter the video, the bigger audience you have; thus condensing the copy is a huge asset.
You Can Color It Any Which Way
As Quicksprout shows us with their infographic, color and visual cues can directly impact a video’s conversion rates. Colors are tied to many connotations: cultural, social, and emotional. Thanks to animated video, your color options are endless and thus so are your options for conveying your content in a way that best suits the subject matter. You can use blue to convey security and integrity, or you can use green to convey freshness. Kimberelysnyder.com states that 20% of their revenue comes through using a bright red Hellobar that they placed at the top of their page because this color conveys urgency and importance.
Mobile-Friendly
Mobile devices reduce your video to a 2×4 inch screen. Most times mobile video will be watched on a morning commute or while waiting for a friend at a coffeeshop. The animated format can increase the chances of a click, in the midst of multitasking, because it appeals to the eye as lighter content that can be watched quickly. Blame it on the color or the cool animation, but the kid in all of us sees an animation and associates a lightness with the subject matter instantly. Audiences don’t want to watch an entire five-minute live-action explainer video while they head into the office, but they will click on a short, one-minute colorful video; even if the five-minute live-action video and the one-minute animated video cover the same information. Animation packages content in a user-friendly wrapper and since 92% of mobile video consumers share videos with others, you want your video to be mobile-friendly.
Comedy Is Easier To Include
According to Burst Media, comedic content is by far the most popular form of online video, followed closely by news content (33%) and music content (31%). Talking heads in a live-action clip won’t always be funny; in fact, frequently they won’t be funny at all. Humor is a hard skill to call upon at a moment’s notice, especially on camera. Making humorous animations is a far more attainable goal. Have a baby talk about your low-interest rates, or show a monkey trying to use your mobile app. These examples might not be comedic gold, but you get the idea. Animation opens up your options for presentation and delivery in your videos to allow you to put complex ideas into a memorable and enjoyable style.
Utilize animation in your video marketing strategy to engage your audience with complex subject matter and you’ll see a rise in conversions.
