01 Aug Animated Video – A Science Well Worth It
I am sure if you’ve ever considered having an animated film; explainer or video produced, your first reaction to the price was to have your jaw drop just shy of the floor, followed by an experience similar to a cardiac arrest. After you’ve come to, you politely refuse, only to be confronted with a heftier price-tag when you seek out a ‘second opinion’ of sorts. The question then arises in the back of your mind, “Why is it so expensive, and is it even worth it?”. The answer to the latter part of that question is yes, it is well worth it to produce an animated video. The former, however, is a bit more complicated and requires a bit more explanation as to why it is worth it to pay an arm and a leg to have an animated video.
ANIMATED VIDEO IMPROVES YOUR BRAND RECOGNITION
Video is a very memorable medium when used in conjunction with sound as it stimulates the audience in ways which standard print media does not. It also allows one the opportunity to make use of catchy gimmicks and jingles to improve the overall impact further. Furthermore, because animated video is a visceral and audible medium, it creates an opportunity for what I like to call associative encoding, or ‘brainwashing’; and while it sounds horrible, associative encoding is a powerful marketing tool to facilitate the recall phase of memory. It is the reason for when we hear or see the term ‘Running,’ that we immediately think of the Nike brand and their range of athletic footwear.
ANIMATED VIDEO STRENGTHENS YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE
SEO is heavily reliant on content. Images reign supreme as the best tool for reaching audiences on social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter and linkedIn; among others. It remains to be said the supplementing these images with video will improve not only the ranking of your images and content, or the visibility of your online profile, but also diversify your content marketing portfolio – which, in turn, keeps your audience interested in the content you provide online.
ANIMATED VIDEO BOLSTERS THE SIZE OF YOUR ORGANISATION
I believe that if used correctly, animated video could give smaller companies a greater competitive edge over their larger, financially strapped competitors. If the capacity to do the work is available, small enterprises could attract much larger clients. Breaking even to justify the cost of the animated video or the work force is much lower in this instance, and thus, turning over a profit also become easier.
ANIMATED VIDEO IMPROVES YOUR STATUS
There is a certain status that comes along with having an animated video. In my experience, when dealing with the average consumer, as well as other small businesses, animated video often prompts for a “wow, that’s fancy,” type response. It is probably because only the larger organisations would have had access to animated projects in the past due to the extremely high costs involved with the new technology back then. With the reduction in production costs by over 380% since the advent of the animation industry and the less complicated nature of the programs and software, even the most technologically challenged consumer could have an animated video produced at a fraction of the cost.
ANIMATED VIDEO REDUCES TIME SPENT ON SUPPORT
There are a thousand other things that animation could be beneficial for, but I believe that this is one of the most-important benefits of animation. As service-centric companies, time is our most-valuable commodity. When we spend most of that time supporting and providing information about a product that is relatively unknown to the consumer market, other areas in our businesses start to suffer – which is never a good thing.
As a firm believer in business automation, animation allows us to automate a segment of our business that is very difficult to replicate without the actual use of a person on the other end of the line. by automating support, we not only tailor content so that the product or service is understood exactly as it was intended to be used, but also it allows us to step away from supporting the product or service, but focus on selling it.
Animation allows us to create fancy looking tutorials or screencasts with step-by-step information, guiding our clients and customers through processes without having to get involved in the support process.
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
In my next article, I will be delving in a bit deeper and explaining what the actual process behind animation is and how we can use that to our advantage. In the meantime though, consider the benefits of animation, and if it is in line with what you’re going for, then I seriously recommend having an animated video produced. it would be a step in the right direction. Your business and your bank account will thank you for it. If you enjoyed this article or would like to share your experience with animation, please do so in the comments section below, and don’t forget, share this with your friends and family using the social links below.