How to Create an Iconic Animation for Business and Promote It Online


When it comes to promoting engagement on your site and encouraging users to share your content, you have countless options. Social media trends change on a month to month basis, and a strategy that works one-quarter might be a complete dud the next. Your users are likely bombarded with content put forth by all of the sites that they follow, and they are used to avoiding it and scrolling past.
Explainer videos are a way to cut through all of the chatter and produce something of real value to your clients. If a picture is worth a thousand words – a YouTube video is worth a million! If you are like the majority of people online, when you encounter a concept or task that you are unfamiliar with, you head to YouTube to learn more. This is the genius of an explainer video.
In this article, we’ll tell you all about explainer videos and how to create an iconic animation for business. Also, we will tell you what works (and what doesn’t) and explain how you can use them in your marketing strategies.
 

What is an explainer video?

You already know that video is a powerful medium. A video is exciting, dynamic and persuasive, and you need to harness its power if you want to stand out from the crowd. A skillful and interesting explainer video in a style adjusted to your business is a way that you can do just that.
Simply put, explainer videos do what they say on the tin – they explain a concept or a term in a simple to understand and clear way. A great explainer video should be 60 to 90 seconds, and it should start by identifying a problem. By the end of the video, at least one solution should be presented to the problem at hand.
 

 

What kind of company can benefit from an explainer video?

In a word: everyone. Do you work in a niche industry? Use an explainer video to help your customers understand what it is that you do and how you can help them. Do you want to introduce a new product or service?
An explainer video can show your potential clients how it can simplify their lives. Do your clients always seem to have questions about the same concepts or products? An explainer video can make short work of their queries and entice them to buy while saving your time.
 

Why do explainer videos work so well?

When you scroll the internet looking for a solution to your problem or an answer to your question, you are likely to encounter wall of text after wall of text. Explainer videos stand out from the crowd – we are hardwired to respond positively to sound, movement and animation. After all, YouTube is the number two search engine (not to mention the third most popular social media site) on the planet.
Your potential clients are far more likely to watch a video to the end than to read an article all the way through. Take advantage of this aspect of human nature – it will help to increase your bottom line.
 

What does a good explainer video include?

Ideally, you will hire a skilled expert to create your explainer video. Ask your animation studio to show examples, and search out their videos online yourself. Ensure that they include the following:

  • It answers the 3 Ws with video, motion, and entertainment

All good explainer videos should include answers to the 3 W’s: Who, What, Why. A truly great piece of text (or explainer video) will answer these questions in a clear and concise way in under a minute. Who are you, what do you do, why should clients choose you over the competition?

  • It evokes emotions and inspires your clients with a call to action

We’ve all been there – swept away by an advert or online video to the point that our eyes leak tears and our chests swell with emotion. Truly excellent explainer videos will evoke emotions within the hearts and minds of your clients – and ideally, inspire them to choose your brand. Ensure that your video includes a strong call to action.

  • They combine live action and animation

While the animation is a great tool, it can fall short when it comes to genuinely connecting with your clients. Ideally, you want to captivate them – adding live action scenes to your explainer videos is a great way to relate to your viewers and encourage them to see themselves in your content.
 

Promoting your Explainer Video online

Now that you have your explainer video ready to go, it is time to promote it online. The first thing to do is send it out amongst your existing social media networks (Facebook, email lists, Twitter followers, Instagram, LinkedIn etc.). Be sure to ask your followers to share it amongst their own networks!
That said, this technique will only go so far. The fasted and easiest way to promote your video is to use YouTube pre-roll ads. These can cost between .05 to .15 pence per view – they may not be cheap, but they are effective.
Make sure that you create two different targeting groups. One should be for topics (your video will appear as related to the videos that viewers are currently watching). The other should be for interests (your video will show up related to the topics that they are usually interested in.)
By following these tips, creating an explainer video and sharing it online is easier than ever before.
 
See also: 6 Ways To Make A Truly Engaging Video