5 ways you can use animated video effectively

Let’s cut to the chase. You need engagement, and an animated video will help you get it. There has been an inevitable shift towards animated content because more than ever before, consumers expect brands to offer something new, fresh and engaging. They don’t want to feel like they’re being sold to, they want to be told a story, to feel something emotionally for your brand. Only then will they trust and eventually buy from you. Crucially, they want to understand you and what it is you’re offering. 

65% of people are visual learners and visual information is processed 60,000x faster than text. Marketers from prominent companies recognise this and it explains why out of 50 best explainer videos collected by HubSpot, Video Brewery and Switch Video, only 7 are non-animated. That says a lot, right? 

You may already be utilising animated video in your marketing campaigns but aren’t seeing the results you need. Or you may be considering it for the first time and wondering where to start. Or you may not be aware that there are more uses for animation, than just marketing. Here are 5 ways you can use animated video effectively. 

Simplify complicated subjects

Animated video brings concepts to life that text or live videos can’t. No matter if it is; medicine, science, technology or anything else; animated videos can explain any difficult idea in the most creative and engaging way. You can show how mechanisms, processes and systems work easily, and in style. No more boring talking heads overselling and making people scroll on, no more organising locations and actors (usually bad ones) to talk through the purpose of a device. 

And guess what, you can even explain and showcase products and systems that don’t even exist yet! (And encourage those pre-launch sales!). Check out this video for Celcium, the wearable temperature monitor. The device was still in production when this was launched which led to pre-sales. Their how-to-use video was also a genius move. No complicated (boring) instruction sheets, it’s all in a shareable video. 

Turn dull into delightful 

Often, brands want to communicate to the world what they’ve been doing to contribute to a great cause and that’s fantastic! It’s also important for businesses to communicate any process changes, policies, sustainability efforts and anything else that tells their customers or workforce that they’re evolving with the times and care. But not if it comes across as bragging. Holding up a big sign shouting ‘look how awesome we are’ is never going to delight your audience. It’ll be dull as dishwater unless they care about the cause and understand the value of the contribution. 

Uniting your workforce and customers is key and engaging them in a story that they feel part of, will turn the potentially dull, into the delightful. Check out these examples from DS Smith and Tate & Lyle. Both had big news, but instead of boring emails and documents, they decided to delight and engage with animation. 

Use the Problem, Persona, Proposition Method

When it comes to products that are perhaps quite a sensitive subject, or services that are niche, speaking directly to that target audience is key, placing them in the scenario is essential. We use the problem, persona and proposition method. Rather than saying ‘hey you, we know what you need, come and buy it’, which can often provoke thoughts like, ‘how do you know what I need, you’re not me’. Brands can do better by placing the persona in the scenario or environment that’s causing the problem and demonstrating how their life can be better after using/wearing/subscribing to whatever it is. 

Character animation is a fantastic way to create a story that your customers can relate to. As long as you know who your target market is, you know their pain points and what problem it is they need to be solved, you can create an emotive story that triggers the golden thought, ‘he/she is like me’. Take this explainer from Bulkamid. Instead of talking about and showing the procedure and triggering thoughts of needles and surgery, they’ve focussed on life, experiences and happiness.  

Create emotion and nostalgia 

Most of us associate cartoons with the good times of our childhood. Animation can make us nostalgic which is one of the most powerful emotions. According to studies, nostalgia has the power to filter out all the negative emotions and bring feelings of joy and belonging. This is why brand storytelling works so well. Consumers love to hear about the origins of brands, the people, purpose and vision because it helps them understand the company and work out whether it aligns with their values. It helps them feel good about interacting with that brand if it does align. 

A brand storytelling animation, front and centre on a website homepage can drive the most significant engagement. It is your shop window after all. However, reaching out to your consumers with your brand story isn’t the only way to use this type of video. They can be used as part of inductions for new starters, as part of celebrations for the company milestones, even to celebrate the founders legacy. Check out this brand storytelling animation from Renold, who embraced their history and are celebrating the next 70 years in business. What a way to show your audience that you’re reliable, sturdy and trustworthy. 

Unify your workforce 

It’s not just your customers you should be speaking to with animated video. What about the most important people, your team. Training and onboarding are so important and retaining talent is crucial, that’s why first impressions count. The first few days can often be critical in informing the long-term performance and sustainability of a new hire. The first few days usually involve sharing lots of information and important processes but the truth is, even when we’re making a real effort to concentrate and focus, we just aren’t wired to retain every piece of information we receive and that can cause problems down the line.

This brings us to the value of video as a training tool. Video is also repeatable and can be revisited. This means all your new hires can get the same level of information – no little gaps because your trainer forgot to cover something important on day three. AND, if there’s something they were told but forgot – smart businesses are increasingly offering internal content repositories where they can head to and fill in the blanks of their knowledge. Genius! Check out these training videos from RWE, who know the value of easily digestible content for their team and know that with a global workforce, consistency is key. By the way,  these were produced in multiple languages too). 

There you have it, 5 ways you can use animated video effectively, win trust and convert leads. If you’re intrigued about working with us wizards, please get in touch and we can discuss how we can help bring your brand to life with animated video.