To quote Walt Disney, the king of animation, “Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive. This facility makes it more versatile and explicit by means of communication yet devised by a quick mass appreciation”.
Walt understood the immediate appeal and power of animated videos not only to entertain but to engage, educate and connect with people emotionally- thus the power to convince and convert through its mass appeal. It also has the ability to make complicated concepts simple to understand and grasp.
Many brands understand video’s power but not necessarily how it can boost their social reach. Most are noticing, however, that every year it becomes more challenging to gain any traction through social media marketing, even with paid social media marketing tools. Organic posts aren’t always seen even by your followers.
Organic reach for Facebook is only 2.2% per post. LinkedIn is somewhat better, with an organic reach of 5.3, and Instagram has the top spot for organic reach with an average reach of 9.4% per post. These figures help to highlight the need to create an organic presence that will keep people actively engaged with your brand and coming back over and over.
Video content, in general, continues to rise in popularity, demonstrating its ability to keep audiences engaged and returning.
Animated videos can create a professional image while at the same time being entertaining and delivering key messages that are easy to understand and that are retained by your target audience and shared. That is the key to increasing your social reach on these various platforms.
Some of the top-performing animated videos that work well to increase social reach include:
Company Histories – If your brand has an interesting history, animated videos can be a great way to tell the story. How your brand started, the ups and downs, and everything you have done to become the brand you are today.
Annual Summaries – Along the same line as your history, summarize your brand’s year- celebrate brand successes and performance. Be honest about any setbacks and how you are resolving them.
Mission-Driven Videos– People are much more interested in what drives a brand. What they stand for and support. Create a video that focuses on your brand’s social initiatives and community partnerships. Show how your brand is vital to your community and what your brand is committed to, and how that influences your performance, products, and business decisions.
Recruitment Videos– If your business is growing and you are looking to hire new talent, and if you want videos that are likely to be shared, consider producing a recruitment video. People will likely tag or share the video with others looking for a new job or with those they think might be a great fit for your brand.
Animated videos can also boost your social reach when utilized within a paid social media strategy. For paid social media, the types of animated videos that tend to perform the best include;
Explainer Videos -This type of video is excellent for explaining how your products resolve your customer’s problem and can introduce a new product or service compellingly, but remember to make these videos engaging and entertaining. You can also repurpose explainer videos to use on your landing pages or in newsletters and email campaigns. Explainer videos should be short so your viewers stay engaged and want to share them.
Sales Pitch Videos- Animated videos can work wonders in terms of supporting your sales efforts. This type of video is particularly effective with people who have already shown an interest in your product or service. Pitch videos can also help contribute to marketing and sales alignment throughout the customer journey.
Promotional Videos – These can be effective to help promote things like webinars, trade shows, podcasts, etc. Animated videos are easy to update and edit, so they can be used or repurposed easily for future events.
All these forms of animated video provide for extended organic and paid search reach but remember to tailor your animated videos to the platform they will be seen on. Work to connect with your target audience emotionally and make your videos entertaining and easy to share.
When you follow these simple steps, you, too, will discover the power of animated video.
