Connect Emotionally through Animation
By: Claire Riggs, Managing Partner
In our previous blog about the power of video content, we shared that video is the medium where seeing and believing increases online engagement. It builds trust with brands, and is becoming a part of successful marketing strategies. Well, research shows that video is here to stay. And, the video options for telling your story continue to morph and multiply.
How powerful is seeing to believing?
I recently sat through a neuromarketing session with neuroscientist Dr. Terry Wu on how to outsmart your competition. He noted that we make purchase decisions with unconscious emotional connections, and that 95 percent of our decisions are influenced by emotion. As Dr. Vu explains, neuromarketing contends that we can increase sales by creating a better customer experience through the power of FOMO (fear of missing out), through the power of speed (how fast our websites load), through the power of the “free” offer, through the power of color, and by reducing decision anxiety.
Specific to video, Content Marketing and Digital Marketing Influencer Michael Brenner noted in a recent Marketing Insider Group article: “Research has found that 84% of consumers have been convinced to buy a product after watching a video, and they’re twice as likely to share videos than other types of online content. Cisco reported that by 2022, video will account for 82% of all online traffic.” Videos create the better customer experience by showing the product in action, demonstrating the process, and delivering the emotional appeals that get the desired responses.
Go beyond the live-action video option
In addition to the live, talking-head corporate, customer testimonial, thought-leadership vlogs, educational and event video options we discussed in our earlier blog, I liked to share two additional options for telling your story.
First, consider animating your logo.
Why are social media stories and reels so engaging? Because movement causes us to pause and engage. For increased brand awareness, change your static logo into an animated logo. Use an animated logo at the start of your social media content pillar posts or to conclude your video storytelling case studies. Among other benefits, it helps “brand” your brand into the viewers minds and makes that all important emotional connection.
“Its the emotional aspect to the animation I like the most; it’s not just informative. You can put humor or drama and set a tone or theme with an animated logo, especially one with sound,” shares Riggs Creative Group’s Creative Director Melody Edwards.
As an aside, and in keeping with our 2022 building trust blog theme, Dr. Terry Wu provides another tidbit of guidance to consider when creating movement in your logo or ads. “Consumers express more trust in brands that feature ads with a left to right motion.” Who’d have thought?! But, it makes sense since we westerners are used to reading and writing in this direction.
Second, use animation to tell your story.
We recently worked on video for a client who wanted to share its career path (see below) with its employees, to increase retention and to encourage progression from within. In deciding how best to tell this story, we recommended animation.
When it comes to sharing processes, marking a milestone or explaining how a product works, consider animation over live video. “One of the huge benefits of using animated video content is that it condenses information into bite-sized chunks. Animation works very well in simplifying complex and abstract concepts, bringing the intangible to life in a digestible format,” notes Kartoffel Film’s Creative Director Eoin Dowdall.
One note — budget and time considerations also come into play in deciding animation as creating characters, storyboards, scripts for on-screen content and/or voiceover, and other personalized aspects. “Most people think animation will be the cheapest option because you don’t have to build a set or hire a camera crew, lighting equipment, and actors. But the state-of-the-art technology needed to create intricate graphics might make you want to tighten your purse strings. The costs of specific equipment and software to create an animation can sometimes outweigh the expenses of a live-action video, depending on the complexity of your project,” adds Dowdall.
The emotional connection you can make through animation, as well as the increase in understanding and knowledge retention it offers, makes it an option worth your consideration.
