Everyone knows that video has become an integral part of a marketing plan. While you may have embraced video marketing in theory, have you put it into practice? For example, do you have an explainer video on your website’s landing page?
An explainer video is typically sixty to ninety seconds long (experts recommend keeping explainer videos under two minutes), and provides an efficient and persuasive introduction to your business, product, or service. Explainer videos are a great way to highlight what is best about your business, build trust with your customers, drive traffic to your site, and keep visitors on your pages for longer.It doesn’t take much to convince savvy business owners, marketers, and developers that explainer videos are the way to go. But once you’ve decided to create an explainer video, you’ll still have to decide what kind of explainer video is best for you. The three most popular styles are whiteboard animation, 2-D animation, and Kinetic Typography, or text animation.Below are the differences and advantages of each animation style, plus guidelines on how to leverage each type of explainer video for maximum success.
You’re familiar with classroom whiteboards and the way that a blank, white surface can become filled with inspired doodles, equations, and formulations. Whiteboard animation videos are similar: Viewers watch static images being “drawn” across a white screen. Even if these images are computer-generated, they still appear to be hand-drawn, which gives viewers an intimate experience, and keeps their attention. Studies show that whiteboard animation videos have a 75% audience retention rate for up to two minutes, because the process of observing the animation comes to life entertains viewers and compels them to keep watching. Viewers also spend more time with each image. They’ve watched it come into being, and feel more invested in its final manifestation. Whiteboard videos are often black and white, but color options are available, too. Here on Fiverr, there is a wide selection of professionals who can produce eye-catching whiteboard explainer videos in both black and white and color. Try browsing a few of the videos to see how the hypnotic appeal of whiteboard animation takes effect. The other advantage to whiteboard animation is its potential to set you apart from the competition. Make sure to work with professionals who don’t rely on stock images and will give you unique and exclusive animations instead. You may also be interested in the RSA’s (Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts) animation style, where the completed whiteboard animation ends up covering an entire mural that is revealed in the final seconds of the video.
If you’re looking for more characters to tell a compelling story, turn to 2-D animation. 2-D animation is one of the most popular styles, because it uses storytelling to explain why your business or product is necessary – and best. Many of these explainer videos feature a protagonist who represents your target audience and has a problem that can only be solved by – you guessed it – your business or service. 2-D animations are a great way to make your brand relatable by creating appealing characters that viewers engage with right away. If you create a good narrative, you can be sure that viewers will watch to the end to see how your product saved your cartoon protagonist’s day.
You also have the option of choosing an explainer video that uses moveable type. Imagine words that spin and stop, fly sideways, disappear and reappear, or change size. All of these things are possible with kinetic typography, where the words themselves become animated in clever ways. Kinetic typography videos are a third way to grab your audience’s attention, as potential customers feel compelled to read what’s there, and follow the sequence of words until a sentence comes to its conclusion. Text animated videos are perfect for businesses where no visual immediately suggests itself. It’s also an ideal way to have customers associate your brand with certain key words. Kinetic typography can be simple or elaborate, and it can help you strike the right tone and convey emotion. Infographics and charts can be incorporated as well, and you can play around with font, color, and size.
When considering what explainer video would be best for you, think about the nature of your business or brand. If the service you’re selling is less dynamic – say you’re in the insurance business – whiteboard animations may be the way to go. But if you have a more inherently exciting product, and want to tell a more detailed story, 2-D animation may be the right fit. Kinetic typography is useful if you don’t have a visual to link to your business or brand, if you’re on a budget, or if a text-heavy approach makes the most sense for you.Once you’ve created your explainer video, it’s time to get the most out of your investment. Consider the success of two different companies that have used explainer videos on their landing pages: Crazy Egg increased conversions by 64%, and made $21,000 additional monthly revenue. Dropbox increased their conversion rate by 10%, and made $50 million in extra revenue.
Explainer videos are the perfect marketing tool because of their versatility and shareability. Here are tips on where and how to use your explainer video: On your landing page. This will make it 53% more likely that your website will show up on Google’s first page of search results. It will also help increase web conversions.- On YouTube. YouTube is the second largest search engine, and you’re likely to reach younger and more diverse customers.- On social media. The statistics say it all: video URLs are the second most retweeted and shared links after photo URLs. Including a video on your LinkedIn page updates results in a 75% higher chance that your followers will share your update.- On your blog. If your company doesn’t already have a blog, it’s time to get one. Blogging will drive traffic and help you reach new customers. But blogging also requires compelling content, which is where your explainer video comes in.- In your email marketing campaigns. People are more likely to open an email when video is mentioned. You can also include your explainer video with your email signature.- In Customer Support. Sometimes explainer videos can address customer requests, or help appease concerned customers before they speak with a representative.- At presentations and meetings. You’ve gone through the effort of creating explainer video. Let your video do some of the hard introductory work for you.- It’s clear that not having an explainer video or leveraging it will only hurt you, and help your competitors. Get started on creating the perfect explainer video today.
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