5 Reasons Why Promotional Videos Should Be Animated

by AConnollySeptember 7, 2020

Today, video content is the dominant medium for business marketing as well as academic education. Everywhere you turn, there’s a video to be watched. But when you look carefully at the differences between traditional “live-action” videos and business animation, it’s easy to see that animated explainers bring much better results. Why is animated video marketing so much more powerful than live-action videos? In this article we’ll dive deep into the top 5 reasons why promotional videos should be animated.

Understanding the past of video marketing is the key to predicting its future

To understand the popularity and effectiveness of business animation, it’s important to learn from the past. Video content has been used for marketing purposes for many years, so let’s trace the evolution of whiteboard animation and hand drawn videos.

Distinct from cartoon movies made for pure entertainment purposes, the use of animated videos became popular for business animation around 2006. They were first used for medical and scientific education.

Back then, hand-drawn videos were a natural progression from using ordinary cameras to record a university professor’s scribbles on a whiteboard in a lecture hall, while they explained complex concepts to their students.

Whiteboard videos were especially popular in the sciences. That’s because they were often used to describe microscopic processes or other things that couldn’t easily be shown “in the flesh” with traditional live-action video.

Back then, some professors were talented artists who could draw their thoughts clearly on a whiteboard. Of course, many others weren’t so talented.

The demand for talented artists and animated video explainer experts led to the rise of the business animation industry as we know it today. The competitive pressure to use animated explainer videos began within high-stakes professional marketplaces such as medicine, healthcare, law, digital technology, and high-end sales.

Explainer videos first became popular in mainstream business niches around 2007. Since then, animated videos have mostly replaced traditional live-action videos as the most effective way to sell products and services.

Social media is also fueling the rise in animated videos. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram,https://neilpatel.com/blog/product-videos-conversion/ and other social media platforms are creating enormous demand for animated explainer videos.

Why animation is better for promotional videos than live action

Today, animated video is the rockstar of digital marketing. A recent study indicates that 90+% of business leaders and social influencers rely on video content for their decision-making processes.

Even when they’re too busy to open an email or read a marketing brochure, people always have time to watch funny promotional videos. That’s why your promotional videos should be animated.

Given the history of video marketing and business animation, now let’s take a closer look at the top 5 reasons why promotional videos should be animated.

#1 – Animation makes storytelling simple & fun

The magic of animation videos is partly due to their storytelling power. It’s much easier to promote your products and services by using animated characters instead of humans.

On a basic emotional level, we all love stories. People identify and empathize with funny animated characters in a childlike way.

The key to marketing success is to have your messages delivered by animated characters who were created with specific marketing purposes in mind.

Our animated video explainer experts use this formula to produce winning results –

First, introduce an animated character (your “hero”)
Next show a problem that confronts the hero, and highlight their pain from that problem
Then present your product or service which quickly solves the problem and heals their pain
Highlight the resolved problem, and call viewers into action (CTA) to resolve their own similar problems

Let’s go over each step of this process, and you’ll soon see why this format works so well for promotional videos.

Keep in mind that this new, winning formula for video marketing is not the same as the “old school” sales approach: Show a product, explain its features, ask for the sale.

In reality, traditional sales-closing methods don’t work today. That’s because Gen X, Gen Y, and Millennials require a different marketing approach.

Instead of watching a traditional video “sales pitch,” viewers prefer to be entertained by humorous animated characters. Of course, those characters also happen to be your promotional pitchmen!

That’s the awesome power of business animation, and one of the 5 reasons why promotional videos should be animated.

The hero is a foundation upon which the rest of the video’s story is built. After introducing a hero and their “problem” – and only after they’re introduced – the next step is to talk about that problem.

Remember: Viewers probably aren’t interested in your company. They might not even know anything about your product before clicking on a video.

But they are certainly very keen to solve their own problems, and they’ll listen to a good story, so that’s where we must focus our marketing efforts.

Of course, viewers love to be entertained during the journey toward finding a solution for problems.

Avoid the “numbers trap”

As mentioned earlier, it’s important to keep the video focused on problem-solving instead of squandering your marketing face-time on product statistics and complex technical details.

One of the major downfalls of live-action video marketing is the tendency to blather about big numbers and fancy product features. Instead, in order to win the video marketing game, you’ll need to focus on solving viewers’ problems and healing their pains.

Our team of animated explainer video experts uses the power of storytelling with memorable animated characters to help solve viewers’ problems.

Grateful viewers reward successful problem-solvers by buying their products and services.

#2 – Engage your audience, bond tightly, and call them into action (CTA)

As mentioned earlier part of the reason is the fact that people remember the messages in combined audio and visual information better than messages through either medium alone.

In addition to better memory retention of marketing messages, animation videos also have the power to drive sales by stirring viewers’ emotions, which leads to bonding with a brand.

Buyers are cautious, and they don’t want to commit to your products or services until they trust the quality of products and the reliability of customer service.

In other words, they won’t buy until they’ve bonded with you. For example, experienced salespeople know that one of the quickest ways to make a sale is to share a laugh with the prospect.

Once the viewer shares an emotion with you, they’re yours.

Successful business animation and whiteboard videos are all about sparking emotions and storytelling to highlight the information you want viewers to retain.

That’s why the wacky heroes in animated explainer videos work so much better than the old-school, suit-and-tie characters in traditional live-action videos.

Fortunately, our team of animated video explainer experts has enough creative juice to wake up and grab attention from even the sleepiest prospects.

Beyond catching viewers’ attention and telling them a good story, animated explainer videos will also drive them to click through and buy things. This is generally the second-most-important of the 5 reasons why promotional videos should be animated.

Interestingly, you can use a much stronger CTA in an animated explainer video than you could with live actors. That’s because whiteboard videos and other types of business animation have a unique power to call buyers into action without pressuring them.

Recent research indicates that sales conversion rates are higher, and average order sizes larger when your pitchmen are animated characters instead of real people.

That’s because animated characters – especially those funny heroes who happen to suffer from the same problems as your viewers – can ask for sales in a way that isn’t as threatening as a human “sales closer” would be.

It’s the same reason why public-service and educational institutions use animated explainer videos teach people about sensitive topics – Cheerful, sincere cartoon characters can’t really offend anyone.

#3 – Animated promotional videos are far more cost-effective than live-action videos

Beyond our human ego, there are many important differences between using business animation and live-action video.

Whether you work with a live-action video producer or try to do the job yourself using in-house staff, live video marketing always brings a big burden of expenses than animation does.

Live video production requires a long list of sometimes-unknown expenses:

Casting for actors, narrators, and other live talent
Labor and insurance
Site permit or private permission, if the video is being filmed in a public or private location
Sets, props, and sometimes clothing or costume expenses
Video cameras and lighting equipment
Editing and other post-production expenses

#4 – Live-action video is flat and boring, while animated video is flexible and creative

Animated videos have the power to do things that would be physically impossible with live-action video marketing. Imagination is the only limitation.

Using the power of digital design, talented artists can create perfect characters and stories to engage visitors and sell products.

Our team of animated explainer video experts brings life to inanimate objects, and we harness them to sell our clients’ products.

Animated logos bring new life to your company

Animated logos are a powerful way to present a brand. For example, if you want your corporate logo to dance a jig onscreen, we can do it as easily as we can make purple elephants fly through the air – while promoting your products.

Animated logos and explainer videos let you stand out from the crowd of competitors in any niche. This marketing tactic is especially important when you’re selling products in any industry where there are many generic “lookalike” competitors.

Business animation also helps when you’re in a business niche where certain visual elements are commonly used throughout the industry.

Animated explainer videos are the big dogs, live video is an ankle-biter

For example, let’s assume that you sell specialty pet supplies, mostly canine products. You sell almost entirely online through your e-commerce store.

You’ll want an animated doggie logo to help consumers distinguish your brand from all your “barkie” competitors who use canine-themed static logos.

Even a blind dog can find a bone sometimes, but you can make the search much easier by using animated logos

The animated logo quickly distinguishes your products from others’ and gives buyers an easy focal point. If you can engage and entertain visitors, they’ll soon forget about competitors and buy from you.

Woof woof!

Business animation is trending sharply upward

OK, so what if you don’t like animation yourself?

For the sake of argument, let’s assume that you hated watching TV cartoons as a child….. Perhaps you wear a suit and tie every day, and you believe animation isn’t powerful enough to promote products and services to your clients.

If so, it’s time to take a fresh look and consider the statistics – Nearly every successful company with global outlook is already using hand drawn videos, whiteboard videos, or animated explainer videos.

Google Doodles highlight the trend toward animation video

Google and all the other major digital players use animated videos throughout their organizations, for marketing as well as education.

Once you’ve seen a Google Doodle, it’s hard to forget. Likewise, our talented team of artists can create whiteboard animation videos that etch your company’s name into buyers’ minds forever.

#5 – Cross-channel marketing

In addition to increasing engagement and lowering marketing costs, cross-channel marketing is another of the 5 reasons why promotional videos should be animated.

Animation videos can easily be cross-purposed throughout your entire marketing channel –

Embed video content directly on your website
Include video links (with eye-catching thumbnail images) in your email messages
Share on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and other social media

Animated explainer videos are flexible enough to be used everywhere because they’re funny and non-threatening.

Think about this: During your own workday, when you need to learn new information would you rather get it from a “smiling suit” or a humorous animated character?

Enough said.

Conclusion

Animated videos have quietly but completely spread throughout the marketplace. Their storytelling power engages viewers and calls them into action.

Business animation is certainly the best way to increase conversions and boost sales totals, which is the most important of the 5 reasons why promotional videos should be animated.