• Multimedia
  • 01.06.21

5 Reasons to Use Animated Explainer Videos

Is there anything worse than arriving at a website’s landing page and being inundated with large blocks of text and overused stock images? Not only are these design approaches outdated and boring, they also give users a reason to leave your page by failing to engage and tell a story

That’s where animated explainer videos come in. As an agency, we’ve been seeing a huge uptick in client’s who request our animation services—and for good reason. Not only can animated video content help communicate complex ideas in intelligible, engaging ways—it can also function as a marketing tool that can enhance your social media presence and improve your ranking on Google. 

Whether you want to explain a concept or service, tell a story, or introduce your brand to the world, animated explainer videos are the new frontier of content marketing.

Here are 5 reasons to create one for your website.

Explain Difficult Concepts

One obvious, logistical reason to invest in an animated explainer video is to create engaging content that also serves a valuable purpose. If the service you provide or product you sell is highly technical, scientific, or just plain confusing, video content is a great way to show your users the value of your service or product in terms they understand. 

We often make explainer videos for tech firms or medical companies, because it’s difficult to get the average lay person on board with something they simply don’t understand. On top of this, the average user surfing the web tends to be lazy, especially when it comes to reading. Users usually start skimming after 5 or 6 lines of text on a page. 

Instead of crossing your fingers and hoping your target audience will get hooked on a well-written sentence, why not produce something that almost guarantees engagement? 

Tell Your Brand’s Story 

And on that note—why are explainer videos so effective? Studies show that 66% of people say they’d rather watch a short video to learn about a product or service, compared to 18% of people saying they’d rather read a text-based article. 

It’s obvious that for most people, watching a video is more fun than reading a long block of text. But from a marketing perspective, it’s important to remember how saturated the digital market is, and how weary people are getting of targeted advertising. 

The beautiful thing about video content is that it acts as a sort of hidden marketing tool. Explainer videos don’t feel like commercials—rather, they explain new concepts and provide valuable information that can help inform user’s purchasing decisions. 

You can leverage this format to tell your brand’s story in a way that’s fun, engaging, and (importantly) actually useful. Instead of trying to capture your audience’s attention in a sea of ads and articles, give them something that is both educational and entertaining. 

Drive Conversions

Users are constantly bombarded with digital content of all kinds, making it more and more difficult for brands and small businesses to stand out in the crowd. Now more than ever, with the rise of social media platforms like TikTok, video content is capturing the lion’s share of the attention economy. 

So it’s no surprise that websites that include video content see higher conversion rates. In fact, including a video on your home page can boost conversions by up to 80%

There could be several reasons for this boost. As discussed above, videos do a better job of marketing by giving the user valuable information (a key principle of SEO, by the way!) as opposed to trying to ‘sell’ them through traditional marketing tactics. We also find that the use of animated explainer videos not only creates clarity for users, but also enhances the brand legitimacy. 

When done well, a sleek video with a well-thought-out concept will cause users to associate your brand with more established businesses that engage in this kind of marketing on the regular. Think about what an Apple or Nike commercial does, versus a tacky infomercial. One tells a compelling story about their product’s place in society—the other just tells you to Buy! Buy! Buy! Which form of marketing are you more likely to engage with? 

Improve Your Ranking on Google

Explainer videos don’t just enhance your marketing efforts through the stories they tell. They also play a key role in building strong SEO for your brand. This is for two primary reasons. 

Firstly, video is becoming the primary way that users want to consume content online. By 2022 the video will make up to 80% of all online traffic, compared to 67% in 2014. And since Google gives the people what they want, that means they now prioritize video content in their search rankings. Having a video on your landing page won’t just drive conversions from users who are already on your page, it will also help your website get discovered in the first place! 

Secondly, explainer videos do the exact kind of work that Google loves to see—they provide valuable information. The most important thing any brand can do to improve their SEO is to provide real answers to user’s most burning questions. Not only do explainer videos accomplish this goal, they also keep users entertained while doing it. 

Go Viral 

Finally, a great reason to invest in video content is its undeniable power on social media. When was the last time you saw somebody share a marketing email or a piece of copy on their instagram story? Never? That’s what we thought. 

Animated explainer videos are a great way to go viral on social media, because when brands tell their story in creative ways, people listen. Maybe your video explains a concept in a unique, or even funny way—or maybe it’s just extremely visually compelling.

If you give users a reason to say “Wow—that’s cool!” you increase your chances of getting shares on social channels. 

The stats don’t lie. 91% of marketers have said they’re satisfied with the ROI on their video marketing efforts across social media channels. And, 93% of businesses claim to have won new business because of a video they posted on social media. 

So, now that you know the power of animated explainer videos, why not make one of your own? Design in DC has a wide range of experience creating videos for brands across industries. Check out our website for more information.

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