We’ve established that it’s vital for brands to be visual (and if you don’t know why check out our post here). What we haven’t shared is one of the most effective ways to visually connect with your consumers. Motion graphics entail animations that combine illustrations, 2D and 3D designs, music, and often voiceovers to create a memorable narrative. You don’t want viewers just looking at your content; you want them engaging with it. Videos can seem daunting and difficult, but motion graphics have transformed the way people are viewing and understanding brand messaging.
Here at MAKE, we’re more than web developers, graphic designers, and strategists—we’re storytellers. As the digital landscape continues to develop and grow, our storytelling manifests itself in different forms through a variety of channels. We’re all about the most effective and relevant ways to tell a brand’s story, and video has proven to be a tried and true way to gain the attention of viewers and get them invested in your identity and your purpose. Video marketing will make people look your way.
And we’ve got the numbers to prove it.
So why should you employ animation, and how will video creation help you connect with consumers? MAKE’s motion graphics genius, Ryan Hannebaum, will help you understand the benefits of motion graphics.
USERS ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO LOOK AT IT
Social media platforms are filled to the brim with brand noise. The first step to connecting with people digitally is to make sure they’re actually picking up what you’re putting down. You’ve got to be an active participant in a conversation with your consumer. How many times have you scrolled through Facebook and rolled right by your friend’s three-paragraph-long-but-seemingly-interminable life update? Text = effort. The reality is, people aren’t usually going to seek your content out when scrolling through their feeds. If you’re asking viewers to pay attention to your brand, make it easy on them. Motion graphics are both auditory and visual, so users don’t have to put forth any personal effort to watch them. This passive consumption due to your active messaging allows users to learn more about your brand and absorb your message without moving a muscle.
stay relevant
Ryan’s point is that brands shouldn’t just want to use motion graphics; they need to in order to stay relevant and break through the noise. “Videos are the new normal. Just like professional websites and social networks after them became the new normal, videos and animation are now expected by the consumer.” As users, we assume brands are going to have exciting digital content because we know they have the resources to entertain and inform. If brands aren’t using video to communicate their message, they’re already behind the curveball.
Besides: motion graphics are fun!
grab consumer attention
Think about what you stop to look at when you’re scrolling through a social media feed. Most users don’t give text-only posts a second thought—or even a first. Social videos, on the other hand, generate 1200% more shares than text and images combined.
Twelve. Hundred. Percent. More.
More specifically, animation grabs the attention of social media users because it’s unique and stands out among the noisy ads. Videos create conversations that other mediums do not. Users are 10x more likely to engage, comment on, or share a video than they are blog posts or other social posts. Motion graphics make learning information seamless and inviting, and if it’s cool enough, viewers will want to share it with their friends, too.
VIEWERS WILL REMEMBER IT
Text content isn’t only less inviting; it’s also less effective. Viewers retain 95% of the content they see in a video, compared to the 10% they are able to recall via text. Quite the difference, wouldn’t you say? As a brand, you want people to engage with you, and that’s more difficult if they don’t remember your work. (Obviously.) People should not have to study like a Harvard student in order to retain information, and moving content means they won’t have to. When viewers remember your video, it makes your brand shareable beyond just social media.
When you see cool art, you want to tell your friends about it. It’s human nature.
motion graphics help consumers understand
You might consider yourself an audio learner, or maybe you think you learn best by reading. However, the reality for many of us is that we actually retain information better when it’s presented visually. People who attempt to follow directions using text and illustrations do 323% better than people who try to follow directions using only text. It goes back to the rule that your English teachers touted day after day: “Show, don’t tell.” This time, we’re taking that advice quite literally—I’m sure our teachers wouldn’t mind.
It also helps viewers break down information that is more difficult to comprehend. By creating motion graphics, you can help your viewers visualize large chunks of data (which will help them remember your point), and you can bring processes and instructions to life without boring the people who are absorbing your content. If you want viewers to remember your content, you have to make sure they understand it. While images are visual, motion graphics are an experience, and consumers are much more likely to recall the details of an experience than those of an image they saw once.
tell more of your story
With static images or text, there’s a chance that people will remember what you said. However, videos and motion graphics give viewers a chance to learn more about the depths of your brand’s purpose. With stills, you are limited to the amount of information you can share, but with animation, you can really dive into the nuances of your brand that help consumers connect. As Ryan puts it: “there’s more wiggle room with the use of audio and visuals to hit all the senses and really explain what your brand means to consumers.”
Videos draw users in through a progressive beginning, middle, and end, and give them a story to hold onto. You won’t want your reference point for consumers to be just an image when you have the option to introduce them to the heart of your company.
IT WILL MAKE CONSUMERS FEEL SOMETHING
As digital marketers, our job is not to talk at consumers. Using images or text to share information is like yelling at users what they should believe, instead of engaging them in your message. “Animation turns the narrative on its head, putting the user at the center of the brand’s story instead of the brand itself, forging a subconscious bond between user and brand before any transactions even take place.” Ryan insists that with video, potential customers can imagine themselves interacting with the company, creating a more personalized and relevant experience. Most users won’t take the time to put themselves in the shoes of your customers or your brand, but videos take care of that for them. You won’t have to ask them to consider a situation because they’ll feel it by being a part of your visual experience.
connect with consumer emotion
On top of that, it is way more difficult to elicit an emotional response through text-based content. Think about it this way: are you more likely to see someone crying in a movie theater or a library? Now, that’s not to say no one’s ever had an emotional reaction to a great piece of writing, but most brands aren’t writing novels.
With motion graphics, you have the power of audio—which means utilizing music or voices (and oftentimes both) to create an engaging experience for your viewers. With audio, you have the ability to create emotion using a tone that fits both your brand image and your specific content. But any video can do that—so why should you use motion graphics? With animation, you can control the entire process. You aren’t reliant on other people (like actors) or physical sets to elicit emotion. If motion graphics is part of your repertoire, you are virtually unstoppable—because your playground is a virtual one.
By putting content in the form of a video, you aren’t just telling consumers what to experience; you’re letting them experience it for themselves. Why waste time telling your consumers why something should be important to them when you could show them instead? Feelings and information drive decisions, and with video, you can connect to customers and inform them at the same time.
HOW DO I GET STARTED MAKING MOTION GRAPHICS?
We’ve made it clear that images are important. If you aren’t being visual, no one is paying attention. But don’t stop there. Motion graphics help your visuals come to life. They give you more flexibility to appeal to viewers by giving you more control over the process. Motion graphics make it easier for your audience to connect with your message because they make your message clear and easy to understand. They give consumers a reason to connect with your brand and share your content with their friends. Videos are a way for you to communicate with your customers and internet users on your services or your purpose. You can provide valuable information or explain something they need to understand. Brands want to provide value to their customers, and with video, you can create content that matters.
If you don’t know where to start, start with your story. If you don’t know how to start, we can help. Well-crafted videos could mean turning a social media user or email opener into a paying customer. You’ve heard us talk about the importance of branding, and we can make that echo through each piece of content your followers see. Your business is successful because you chose not to settle, so don’t settle when it comes to engaging the public.
Your story is important—and video is often the best way to tell it. The content you share is the face of your brand, and we want to help you put your best face forward.
As Ryan says: “At the end of the day, your narrative has to be tight. The story has to be meaningful for the product or brand you’re promoting. Brands who don’t explore video are going to be left behind.”
Don’t get left behind.
BENEFITS OF MOTION GRAPHICS
- Not only do videos make an impact, but they do it in a timely manner. What could possibly take you 2,000 words to explain could be described in a 30-second video.
- According to Facebook, people don’t have to watch the whole video to be affected by an ad. This shows that even users who didn’t watch the video but saw the impression were more likely to recall the ad, had more brand awareness and were more likely to consider a purchase.
- They can be evergreen if you need them to be, or you can take pieces and adapt them to different consumer groups.
- Videos can be repurposed and used through many different channels.
- They leave more room for creativity. Motion graphics can include anything from gifs to 3D animations or even augmented or virtual reality. If you let your imagination run wild, motion graphics can keep up.
- Motion graphics also have a lot of different uses. Anywhere from traditional advertisements, social content, tutorials, or promotions can be created in this format.
- Videos create conversions. Adding a video to your landing page can increase conversions by 80%, and 74% of users who watched explanatory videos on products subsequently bought them.
- Videos are trustworthy because they’re conversational and informational
- When optimized for SEO, videos can help improve your ad rank and make you more visible to consumers
- Videos can be a cost-effective way to reach consumers
- It’s becoming more and more relevant – videos consumption increases by 100% every year.
- Mentioning the word “video” in your subject line can increase your click-through rate by 13%
- 1 in 4 customers lose interest when companies don’t feature videos on their website
- 81% of people using explainer videos said they saw an increase in sales
The only thing stopping you from using motion graphics to connect with your consumers is the lack of video capability in your toolbox. Exploring video content can seem overwhelming, but MAKE can help with that. We’ve got the professional editing tools, graphic treatment, and animation expertise to help you create dynamic visual stories. If you have questions about how to take your video or digital marketing to the next level, contact our team at MAKE and we can help you determine where you need the most help.
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