Should Animated Video be a Part of Your Content Strategy?
Video has become an increasingly popular marketing medium in the past few years, and it doesn’t matter who your target audience is. Are you a B2C retailer or service provider? The average Internet user watches 32 videos per month. Are you a B2B agency or software vendor? Fifty-nine percent of senior executives report they would rather watch a video than read. Any way you slice it, your demographic is consuming video media, so why isn’t it part of your strategy? And if it is, how are you standing out?
Embrace the Uniqueness of Animated Video
The fact that your customers watch 32 videos per month is a double-edged sword. On one hand, you’re embracing their preferred media, but on the other, you risk blending in with all the other content on the web. Not only are you competing with other vendors in your industry, but also with YouTube stars and adorable kittens.
The popularity of video also means customers can spot a low-budget clip a mile away. If you don’t trust your CEO on film and don’t think you can make a video that looks modern and professional, animated films are a slick alternative. We specialize in creating animated video that will draw in your customers and teach them something new.
Use Animated Video to Break Down Difficult Concepts
Have you ever struggled to explain your job to family members? Anyone who develops site content or manages site SEO might sputter when it comes to describing their day-to-day tasks. We experience the same problem on the agency side — which is why we often use animated video to break down how our systems work.
Animated video brings out the little kids in customers who enjoyed watching cartoons on Saturday mornings. Immediately, viewers drop their guard and feel less tentative about a difficult concept. Once your audience is willing to sit through your video — now that their brains associate it with a cartoon, and therefore fun — you can get to the point of explaining what your business does.
Almost any business concept or industry can be visualized into an infographic or video to become more captivating. By using energetic visuals and simple paragraphs, complex subjects can be simplified to introduce new audiences to your business.
Warren Buffet was able to create an animated series to teach kids about the principles of investing. If he can do it, so can you.
Educating Customers Also Works on a Retail Level
Of course, you don’t need to work on Wall Street to find value in animated video. Almost any industry with products at all price points can take advantage of this medium.
Let’s say you sell t-shirts that specialize in repelling water and protecting your skin from the sun. You might add an amazing photo to your website and explain the product’s characteristics in your descriptions, but customers still might not buy it. The amount of information you have on your product increases the likelihood of purchase, and an animated video will provide the answers that customers need to push them from viewing to buying.
Not only can an animated video cover the basics of a product description, but it lets the seller emphasize the most important points. Videos can and should also include quips or quotes of customer reviews talking about their favorite aspects, which will increase the video’s credibility.
We’ve all seen make-up tutorials on YouTube and expect to see the same sort of thing when we’re watching product videos, but choosing animation will help you stand out and give your brand a fresh feel. Remember: the hardest part after getting customers to click on a video is keeping their attention until the end.
Your Video Can Help Both Conversion and Return
We’ve talked quite a bit about using video to drive lead generation for B2B companies and increase the conversion rate for B2C stores, but what about ROI? The first two will increase sales, but video content can also increase your AOV and bring customers back.
A survey by Liveclicker found that 57 percent of retailers saw an increase of AOV when they added video content to their product pages. Stores that had video on 50 to 75 percent on their product pages had an average order value of $300, while those without video content had an AOV of $177. Yes, video increases the likelihood of purchase, but it also increases the purchase amount and final sales numbers.
Animated Videos Help Both the Marketing and Content Teams
The digital media budget tends to get slashed between site content and marketing, but the two teams really need to work together. The marketing division will use your animated video to drive new customers to your site, while multiple videos across various product pages will keep customers clicking and learning about your business. If both teams do their jobs correctly, these new customers will return and spend 66 percent more than they did the first time.
The price of creating an animated video and promoting it across the Internet might have a 10 to 1 return for new customer acquisition; however, if your new customer signs up for your email newsletter and buys from you twice more that year, the videos are actually worth closer to a 30 to 1 return in annual value.
There’s Also That Whole ‘Google’ Thing
Beyond the site statistics and lead generation, video is also an awesome way to boost your SEO. Almost 80 percent of videos promoted by Google are educational videos, and many industry experts say that search engines give priority to websites that have video content. Think about it: Google makes money when your question is answered quickly and thoroughly. If the great and powerful search engine believes that your site comprehensively helps customers with solid product descriptions and smart videos, then you should start to see a bump in traffic and rankings.
Where Do I Start? How Do I Start?
We have clients in all different stages of the video creation process. Some just know that they want an animated video but have no concept or content ideas, while others have a whole plan and screenplay ready for us. It’s okay if you don’t know what you want because that’s what we’re here for. It’s okay if you want to be involved every step of the way or you just want to sign off at the end. We’ve seen it all before.
By 2017, 74 percent of Internet content will be video. Yes, there will be a lot of kittens out there, but there will also be the product descriptions of your competitors, ad clips of industry leaders, and nerds using impressive special effects. If you don’t have something to contribute to this caravan of video content, then your customers will leave you behind. So why not give animated videos a try?
CopyPress writer
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