6 Ways Motion Can Help Your Business Online
With ROI and EI in Mind
Successful businesses understand that marketing reigns supreme. Successful content marketing means a flourishing business. Video takes the cake as the most coveted and high-performing material in digital spaces. Motion design is usually the last item on the marketing wish list, but I'd argue that motion is one of the best ways to get bang for your buck. It's one of the most versatile forms of video that businesses can add to their toolbelt. Below are six specific ways motion design can elevate your business to market effectively online.
There are dozens of ways animation can impact your audience on social media, email, web, and tv. Below are six specific ways motion design can elevate your business to market effectively online.
1. Social Media Advertising
Posts with video generate 45% more views than static posts (source). Why? Moving advertisements attract attention. Utilizing motion on social platforms can increase engagement, brand awareness, and sales. Plus, more content fits into a moving animation, so it's a quick way to get more info across to viewers. Social ads are often used for rotating campaigns, product launches, announcements (ex. discounts like Black Friday or Cyber Monday), giveaways, and selling services.
Due to their short format, simple animation, and short lifespan, social ads are one of the cheapest forms of animation. But don't underestimate their impact–these animations can create serious ROI.
Clip from a social media ad with VeracityColab for Rentex. Animation by MCC.
2. Website Video
Website animations help businesses proactively shape how consumers experience their site. Embedding brand videos, showcasing product features, or highlighting brand values are typical examples of a website video. (The term "website video" is ubiquitous and can sometimes serve as a marketing, promo, commercial, or explainer animation.) In 2018, consumer demand for video content increased 54% (which is pre-pandemic; can you imagine the demand in 2022?).
These animations often aim to share brand values or products on the website rather than paid promotion or advertising. They play an essential part in the consumer's decision-making process, increase website traffic, and add value to the UX experience.
Website and branding video for The Go Fund. Creative direction, animation, and design by MCC.
3. Explainer Animation
Explainer animations describe complicated ideas or services concisely and clearly. Key themes of explainers include introducing a problem or question, presenting a solution, and a call to action. These videos can live on websites, social, or email marketing and highlight a specific product or service. Explainers differentiate your brand, give extra content to your viewers, and are a fast way to showcase product details. With 65% of the general population identifying as visual learners and 30% as auditory learners, explainers are the best way to create engaging material for your audience.
Explainer animations involve a highly collaborative process and, while generally more expensive for custom work, can be a versatile tool for multiple platforms social, email, web, and even events. These videos typically range within 15-60 seconds and can have over a five-year lifespan.
Other subsets of explainer animation include startup launches, training, tutorial, or tradeshow videos.
Explainer animation showcasing Borax™, an all-natural cleaner. Creative direction, animation, and design by MCC.
4. Marketing (or Commercial) Promos
Marketing promos aim to market commercially. In the broadest sense, marketing videos refer to any videos used for marketing. However, more specifically in motion design, these videos are unique because they highlight the brand and product equally. Unlike explainers (which exclusively explain) or brand videos (which show who you are), marketing promos combine the best of both. These often are aligned with attracting new customers and spreading a broad reach.
Marketing promos can range from tv commercials, event reels, Super Bowl Sunday ads, and startup launches. These promos reign as a high-ticket animation item because of the videos' high conversions, targeted ads, and lifespan.
CBU marketing promo video, “Live Your Purpose.” Animation by MCC.
5. Brand Videos
Brand videos showcase the uniqueness of a business's values, mission, and essence. These videos are identifiable because they highlight the company above all else and sometimes don't even have a CTA. But don't be fooled: brand videos are essential for ROI. These videos serve as an opportunity to be relatable, and Gen Z (who makes up 40% of US consumers) holds brands accountable for advocacy and seeks to support honest, mission-minded businesses.
Brand videos range from showcasing testimonials, values, charity contributions, mission, staff interviews, and identity. These animations can take many forms in length and style, although and are found on websites or part of internal marketing.
Animation highlighting the core values for The King’s University. Creative direction, animation, and design by MCC.
6. Giphy Channel Stickers
Gifs are a fun, sharable way to add brand personality to social channels. People love gifs: they're entertaining, relatable, and make people happy. While these channels aren't known for ROI (return on investment), it's a great way to add EI (emotional intelligence) to brand marketing. EI references a brand's ability to understand its target demographic's mood and behavioral patterns (source). If your brand is constantly sharing Instagram Stories, Reels, or TikToks, ad encouraging your following to do the same, it might be worth jumping on the gif band-wagon for custom brand engagement.
Businesses with Giphy Channels upload custom gifs to appear on Instagram and TikTok. These are typically short, looping gifs with limited animation and solid images or typography. Because of their short duration and simplified animation, custom gifs are an affordable form of animation.
Giphy stickers for Mocktober, a for-fun creative Dribbble competition. Concept, design, and animation by MCC.
Summary
Motion design is a powerful tool for businesses to add to their marketing toolkit. It's a versatile and powerful solution to add ROI and EI to brands looking to market effectively online. In some instances, animation can cover multiple (if not all) the above categories. These videos live in the digital space accomplishing brand awareness, providing solutions to problems, selling products and services, and promotional ads.
Want to see what your business can accomplish with motion design?
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