An introduction to content marketing
Content marketing is at its heart, based upon mutual respect between brand and audience. Building a targeted audience by creating and distributing valuable and informative content is an approach that shows you understand blanket sales techniques don’t work on real people.
Instead you’re marketing your product or service via timed demonstrations of empathy, showing your audience you understand what interests and concerns them and how your brand can fit into their lives.
In return your audience invests their valuable time by watching and sharing your content either through following your social channels, directly sharing your posts or the ever-hard to measure dark social.
The vast majority of content is distributed in text form for a simple reason; for most people it’s much easier to write an article that it is to make a video. Many believe that a video is outside their budget or fail to see how the ROI could justify the effort and expense but the simple truth is that videos aren’t just more eye catching, but vastly better suited to consuming and sharing.
More than half of executives report that they would rather watch a video than read a wall of text and more than 90% of people that watch a video on mobile will go on to share it – 64% of your audience that watch a video are more likely to purchase a product.
Why animate?
So why choose an animated video? For starters it’s much easier than filming a full video – you don’t have to worry about casting actors, finding locations or renting expensive equipment. It allows you to create whatever your imagination can come up with, making it a dream for even the least creative marketers.
All you have to do is find an animation studio that you work well with, set your budget, lay out your ideas and the work can begin. With improvements in technology and an over-saturation of talent available it’s easier than ever to find an animator that can work within your budget.
Aside from the practical reasons to use animated content to propel your marketing, there’s one key reason to consider; the ROI. Having a unique animated video allows you to directly show your brand image to your target audience in ways that simply aren’t possible in reality.
You can use colour, language and images that portray your brand exactly how you want. Animation resonates with people, with some studies suggesting that animated explainer videos having the potential to increase traffic to your website by almost 200%.
Who else is using it?
There are a number of companies using animated content to great effect. With 82% of B2C using videos to get ahead, you can’t afford to fall behind. Here are some of the best and most skilful uses of animated content marketing.
1. DropBox
DropBox are a perfect example of a brand doing it right. This potentially confusing yet incredibly useful piece of tech added an animated explanation on their homepage. This simple action saw 10 million new customers sign up and a jaw-dropping $48 million increase in revenue.
By using a mix of memorable images and easy to follow explanations, they were able to inform their audience without boring them and once people understood what it could do, they understood what it could do for them.
2. PayPal
PayPal saw remarkable international success with their animated advert ‘Stellt sich vor’. As you might guess from the title this is an unusual example as the advert is entirely in German! Despite this, the beautifully distinct visual style transcended language and led to world-wide shares across social media, proving the value that lies in pure aesthetics.
3. Hellmann’s
Another example of the power of a distinct visual style, Hellmann’s used their advert to escape from their box and hurl themselves to the forefront of conversations about sustainable living – one topic most people don’t associate with mayonnaise.
This transcendent use of animated content allowed them to reach out to a completely different audience while putting out a powerful message about their brand. It’s a perfect example of why you shouldn’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone.
4. Quicksprout
Quicksprout were truly ahead of the curve when they launched their animated gifographic “How Google works” back in 2014. As opposed to a full length video, the gifographic is an animated infographic, brilliant for catching the eye and quickly conveying information.
Much like DropBox, by simplifying a complex yet interesting subject they were able to reach far beyond their target audience while appearing both understanding and intelligent.
Animation is the way to go
From the budget, to the world’s it can create and the incredible ROI, there really is no reason why you shouldn’t be using animation with your content marketing.
The unique way it allows you to inform and captivate target audiences of your choosing mixed with the power it gives you over your branding, animated content marketing is here to stay – don’t miss out on this creative revolution.