The idea of educative explainer videos is not entirely new to schools – but it is a newer idea to most businesses.  Because of the way animated videos successfully grab attention and impart valuable information without being boring, they are an excellent choice for tutorial or training videos. What makes animation so effective, though?  Not surprisingly, a lot of this theory relates to advertising with animation, since it too relays information through the animation process.
 
 
Explaining your point faster via animated video

Animation comprises a different method of communicating with people – both children, and even adults.  By animating tutorials and training information, we then make it easier to absorb  and more exciting to take in. For certain ideas, like putting together a complex product, an animated guide can be much more effective because it can explain things in 3D. Have you ever tried to follow directions to put a product from IKEA together, and ended up finding it utterly maddening?  Cases like these could benefit tremendously from an animation as it is able to describe things more clearly.
 
 
An Example

For example, HowStuffWorks has a description of how gas turbine engines work. There are four pages of text explaining in detail how these engines work, but this could be better explained in an animated video. It is difficult to imagine everything within an engine that happens at once without some sort of video graphic representation – this is because we tend to focus on one thing at a time.  A repeating animation from start to finish would allow people who viewed the video to examine the action as it happens – from start to finish.  There is no need to explain parts that are removed or are not visible, or actions that have ended and why – an animation shows all of this in sequence.  And it can do so without the visitor or viewer becoming bored – 4 pages of text can get tedious and protracted, and prevent someone from really concentrating on the material.
 
 
Efficient Explanations

Instead of a visitor needing 10 minutes to read through the article, with time sprinkled in-between to think and contemplate until they understand the process, we can achieve the same thing more effectively within about 2 minutes.  Much more information can be imparted this way in a shorter period of time. Humans tend to retain animated videos more thoroughly and for a longer period of time, so this ends up being generally better than just basic text. We can also do so from a humorous tone – humans remember things much more easily when they can connect some sort of feeling to the material. Think of the last time you had a rather dramatic situation, be it sad or happy, happen in your life. Likely, when you remember that situation, you can remember exactly what happened in exceptional detail! This is because your mind instantly creates a link to that emotion when the event occurs, so that later on if you experience that feeling again you are reminded of the first situation. All of this is a part of the process of learning and growing.
 
 
Final Thought

It is also extremely valuable to reach out to students in various learning formats – some people learn by reading, others by listening, and still others by watching the process. With the benefit of an animated video, we can provide all three at the same time. It has also been proven that many forms of related sensory input at the same time is more effective for forming long lasting memories, than a single type of input.

Many schools have now adopted animated videos, and businesses are catching up to the trend as well. Especially in the case of demonstrating complex ideas or products quickly, it is fast becoming the most powerful and reliable method of getting a point across. Especially today, when videos can go “viral”, animated video education is more vital to our society than ever – and it is useful to customers or visitors because it presents your goal in as accurate a light as possible, without leaving anything out.

Demonstrating Your Benefits

In today’s global economy, businesses are marketing to each other from all over the world. Though this has allowed corporations to expand more quickly than they ever have before, it presents its own specific issues.

When a business is first starting up but intends on going global, typically making connections and networking is one of the most important steps. However, many startups do not have unlimited amounts of funds to expend on travelling all over the globe. Because of this, the internet has becoming a prime location for setting up a web front. The era of social media has only added to the benefits of having a web presence.

When you consider the vast amount of information available on line, and the vast amount of spam sent out by less-than-honorable people pretending to be real companies, it is perhaps no wonder that most introductions sent online between businesses get deleted or disregarded. However, there is a way around this! Through the use of explainer videos we can overcome looking amateur or as if we do not have enough skill to be trusted. A video often has more of a personal feeling to it, and can also easily get past the boring nature of most business presentations. Rather than having everyone falling asleep over text and whiteboards, here are some reasons explainer videos work well for business to business marketing.

Explainer Videos – Animated Introductions

Saying hello only works if you get your foot in the door first. Businesses today are slammed with proposals, offers, telemarketers and email spam – so many offers get chucked into the ignore pile before staff even have a chance to see if you are a valid company. Creating a short, 2 minute or less video introduction using animation can be an excellent way to break the ice.

Animation is friendly, heartwarming, and often humorous – which means staff are more likely to actually review your video than just pass it on to the trash folder. The chances get even higher if you can add a witty or eye catching title to your video. The key is to get and hold interest for at least ten seconds – if you can manage to do this; most people will finish the video out.

Demonstrating Your Product Or Service

Business concepts can be lengthy, and sometimes complex. There may be nuances, rules, regulations or other factors that must be shown to help your business clients to understand the whole picture. An explainer video can do all of this in a shorter period of time than it can take the average user to read text.  In the case of technical products, it may be possible to show your clients a moving representation of parts and motion – better indicating why your product is better for them than the competition.

Business To Business Networking Benefits

Not only can you get your introduction or demo to your clients easily and effectively, videos are much more likely to be passed along to those within a client’s network. Email forwards are immediately suspicious when they simply contain text, but a smart video with a catchy title and interesting thumbnail is more likely to be checked out before it is deleted. If you create videos for your idea that are exciting, humorous, or even simply really well done, you will encourage the video to be passed on from colleague to colleague – thus garnering you more business. In some cases, businesses have shot to the top and reached success simply because of incredible startup videos.

In the end, it is clear that all new or existing businesses should begin to at least consider adding video to their websites. Studies have shown that visitors spend between 5 and 10 times more time on websites that have video content. Considering all of the varied benefits to explainer videos between business-to-business clientele, there is really no downside to adding them to your web presence.

How To Best Reach The Human Brain

We have known since the dawn of television animation that animated videos are incredibly attention grabbing, for some reason. We know that bright colors, snappy or witty remarks, and fast moving transitions from one scene to the next can hold the attention of even a child – and children have the shortest attention spans of all of us. But do we know exactly why that is the case? Why do those darn viral cartoon videos or promo videos work so well? What is it about explainer videos that can make us want to take a deeper look, when plain text just seems like too much work?

Obviously, there is the fact that these videos are almost always fun and or humorous.  Researchers are also beginning to understand that deep within the brain, buried in the way our brain normally works, are patterns and receptors that respond uniquely to this type of video.

Think of the last time you did an internet search for something and the first result you clicked was not what you wanted. How long did it take you before you hit the back button to find another site? You only have between 8 and 10 seconds to capture the attention of your visitors who click into your website. If your main page or splash page is not immediately interesting and attention grabbing, you are no competition for other internet marketers and are likely to see very little revenue or attention.

It also gives a sense of professionalism. Some  website fronts are set up to simply mine for visitor information, or end up being scams. With a video, your visitors feel more comfortable finding out more simply because they know you have put time and effort into creating your site.

Video is also easier for the human mind to retain in memory. Research has shown that most visitors retain as little as ten percent of text based information they were shown after only 3 days. However, sites with a video can enjoy a much higher percentage – nearly seventy percent – as a combination of sensory input allows memory to store pieces more effectively.  Research has also proven that there are three simple factors that should always be followed when creating promo or explainer videos:
1. Simplicity is key.

Our brain’s working memory has a limited capacity. Non-essential information can take up that space and distract us from learning. This is why we need to keep videos simple, without alot of filler or junk that serves only to lengthen the video without imparting actual relevant information. Though using attention grabbing images and sounds is important, a lot of useless information will only serve to bore your visitors.

2. Know your market well

The human brain  tends to process information more easily when it can relate what it is seeing to something  previously experienced. This is the same concept that many people use to remember last names – such as relating a “Mr. Baker” with baking bread, or perhaps relating a “Mr. Green” with trees or grass. When the human mind is able to bridge a connection such as this, it already has a link to that information and can easily call it up when it is needed. This is also why analogies, as long as they are clear, are a great component of an explainer video.

3. Use a combination of sensory input for better retention

In 1971, a researcher from Ontario University named Allan Paivo discovered and formulated what is called Dual Coding Theory. Dual Coding Theory states that the formation of mental images almost always aids in learning. Furthermore, as our attention spans get shorter, you have less and less time to captivate your audience and explain what you do. One does need to take care, however, not to “barrage” the visitor with harsh and unpleasant combinations (such as strobe light effects).

In the end, knowledge of who you are marketing to and what will grab their attention is the best way to start your process. Much as any other type of startup or project, market research is a vital component of the process, but it is only one part of making a vibrant, exciting and attention grabbing video.

In Education and Training

There are many medical schools today that are using explainer videos to train on the use and care of their technology, and even to explain complex surgeries as a sort of pretraining.  Obviously, in these cases their videos end up being longer than the suggested two minute limit for explainer videos – but the same theory as in explainer advertising is valid for hospitals and clinics also. These videos assist with breaking down an idea visually, and holding thought long enough for a visitor to absorb all of the information.

In Waiting Rooms

Research has shown that this technique works well in all areas of health care. Even waiting rooms with explainer videos playing on televisions were shown to increase the patient’s understanding of certain conditions or hospital procedures. The  average patient visiting a hospital waiting room has only the television with which to entertain themselves, as magazines and other items that can pass on flu germs have been largely removed.  Because the television is the only item in the waiting room, they are more likely to focus on it. This is an excellent time to show animated health information. This is particularly useful when you engage the patient in a familiar scenario – such as educating them about getting a flu shot.

Why It Works

There’s a reason people enjoy visiting the movies – video just simply holds our attention. Scientists have theorized that this has something to do with the way humans process information instinctually – we tend to be attracted by movement and bright colors. Animated videos almost always involve both of these, often paired with humor and intriguing characters. In healthcare, this can be a lifesaver, quite literally, because trainees tend to remember small details that may be overlooked if just reading a textbook.

Research has shown that as many as 50% of Internet viewers frequently watch humorous or dramatic videos.

 

 

 

If you have a brand new project starting up, Kickstarter may be a good place to begin if you are finding it difficult to get backing or funding. Your own initial excitement and trust of your project can often be an excellent basis for an incredible explainer video.

Kickstarter.com describes themselves as “The world’s largest funding platform for creative projects.” This is not that far from the truth – they have enjoyed vast popularity and have assisted in getting everything from grassroots movements through brand new companies off of the ground. The basis of Kickstarter.com is that people or companies can post their new projects, and request that people put up money to fund the project. Generally geared toward creative works in the vein of music, film, art, technology, design, food, and publishing industries, explainer videos can be an enormous benefit to a Kickstarter project.

Explainer videos work very well for creative projects, because they are often creative. They can include the use of humor, funny cartoons, or dramatic situations. Most explainer videos make us feel a certain amount of emotion – , and if you are trying to convey an artistic representation or idea, they can bridge the gap between you and your intended viewers.

It is especially important with creative projects to find a way to reach as many people as possible, while still relating to them on an individual level. Video, especially animation, work very well for this because nearly everyone has fond memories of lazy mornings watching cartoons as a child. It can also be tailored extremely specifically for each project – and easily updated for changes without hiring actors and creating a whole new video.

Some quick benefits of using explainer videos in your Kickstarter.com project:

• They boost website conversions. Visitors are much more likely to fund your project if you have a promo video. It proves that you believe in your project and have put time and effort towards getting a plan to make it work set up.

• They boost assembly interaction. People tend to generate buzz about a well put together explainer video. Research has shown that even a good explainer video has the potential to go viral, increasing your viewership by possible thousands.

• They emanate prelaunch buzz around your project. A well done animated video can spark curiosity among visitors, and then keep them following your story. Your visitors can get an idea of what your project does and why they should fund it, before anything is even finalized.

  These are certainly not the only reasons you should seriously consider animated video for your Kickstarter projects, but they are the most important ones. When you begin the process of creating your video, the first thing you should consider is your target market or audience and what will relate to each of your visitors on a general basis – as well as a personal one. Make sure to keep your explanations simple and easy to understand, and provide just enough information to entice people further into your project. Ideally, you should explain the true bottom line of your project with the first ten seconds of your video. From there, you can expand on your main point for up to two minutes. Most project startup videos should be kept to two minutes or less, as casual visitors tend to move on to other pages after this point.

Smartphone sales, and thus app sales, are now pulling ahead of computers.

Apps are often affordable, and easy to download, so they enjoy very high sales. Mobile video viewers are doubling every year, with statistics suggesting that within the next five years up to 70% of mobile smartphone usage will be video.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, more than 25% of users’ time on smartphones is spent playing apps and games. Due to simplicity in use, nearly 60% of users now access social media and other applications from their devices. A whopping 80% of users are avid users of apps.
This illustrates that video explainers are the most obvious and well-suited choice for advertising. These are some of the best reasons:

1. Higher Rates of Attention Paid
The advantage with mobile video advertising, when compared with computer advertising, is two-fold. With PC’s, in most cases the user can choose to click-out and ignore the advertisement. However, with mobile video, app creators can require watching an advertisement to use an existing app that would otherwise be premium. This theory of pay-with-ad-watching is not new, but with smartphone devices, visitors are much more likely to stick with the video until the very end. Combine this with the fact that in most cases the media automatically has unilateral presence on the device when active. This ensures deeper user engagement during consumption.

2. Keep It Simple
The less a user has to do to complete an app transaction, the greater the chances of conversion. Animated explainer videos are very simple to set up with a clickable button at the end – so once you have presented your call to action users can pay and download with just a click or two. The less steps within your process, the better – a video and a single click to purchase is by far the best option. However, in most cases even two to three clicks will result in a successful conversion.

3. Less Distractions

Users engaged with social games and apps on smartphones are looking for entertainment, first and foremost. Those looking for apps are usually looking for immediate functionality to get a task completed. As such, they are more likely to appreciate short explainer videos – especially if they know you are going to present them with the answer to either issue. In this case, the video should lead them either to an app to solve their issue, or a game to entertain them. As you generally have their undivided attention, they are much more likely to pay attention.

Keep in mind that there is an overwhelming amount of advertising within the mobile world, so slamming your target market with multiple, lengthy advertisements full of text and huge graphics will only serve to alienate you. By keeping things to fewer than two minutes and using humor or dramatic presentations, you will keep your customers interested and stave off annoying them. Getting labeled as a spammer is not an easy thing to overcome, and in the age of the internet, nothing ever truly “goes away.” Take the time to hire a great company to make your animated explainer video, and be sure to pack only the most important information into your two minute maximum.

Explainer Videos – perhaps one of the most highly effective methods of online advertising. Almost all leading websites have, or will, use an explainer video throughout their life cycle. So, how do you distinguish between what makes a compelling video, and what does not? Here are ten of the most salient points to video creation.

• Pick a Powerful Title
  Headline is everything. Without a headline, visitors haven’t a clue what it is they are about to look at, nor do they think it is necessary to do so. Choose a memorable, informative headline for best results.

• Content is of Highest Importance
  Poor or boring content leads to poor or dry videos. Although video can improve on content and present it in a more appealing approach, your script needs to be stimulating and informative beforehand as well.  Any content can be made appealing to your target market – you just need to find a way to  connect it to existing experiences they may have had. Relating to your market is extremely powerful, as the human mind is better able to grasp concepts it can relate to.

• Figure out what works for others
  It is a well-known fact that when doing market research, it pays to investigate your competition. Look at direct competitors, and see how they set up their own videos.

• Make the First 15 Seconds Count
  the first fifteen seconds are the most vital of an explainer video. If you haven’t made your point within that time, you probably have lost their attention. Open your videos with the most attention grabbing graphics and audio possible.

• Keep it Simple
  Overly complicated videos tend to get confusing, and one of the major points of explainer video is to take sometimes complex ideas and make them easy to understand. For this reason, don’t overcomplicate your idea – present it as simplistically as possible.
•  Don’t Stray From Your Point
  Resist the temptation to web out and try to combine as many other ideas as possible. You want your video to include quality over quantity. Again, too many different ideas or concepts in one video can confuse visitors.

• Consider Your Audience
  Sometimes this step can be the most difficult, as even within audiences, differences in what people find appealing exist. It is still worthwhile to try, as getting the right tone to please as many people as possible is often how viral videos go viral.

• Keep It Consistent, Creator!
  Avoid potentially embarrassing mistakes – such as using politically incorrect terms, or fudging statistics. Online videos almost never truly disappear, and many can be found years after their creation. For this reason, think of your video like a political campaign – you don’t want someone to accuse you of being rude or even just downright incompetent.

• Timeless or Replayable Videos Are Best
  Content that is always useful tends to stick around in the eye of the public longer than that which is only temporarily useful. Christmas stores are a notable example of this – because they come around regularly once a year, topics related to it may decline in popularity sometimes, but they will always be valid.

• The F Word – Follow Up
  Follow Up! Presenting your new product, but never actually launching it solves nothing – but it does serve to discredit your business. Everyone knows that things happen to hold back products, but handle it appropriately. Stay in touch with customers or post notices letting them know what is going on – if there is a delay, make it clear that there will be a delay. If something is changing, send an email out to your customers letting them know. Sudden changes or loss of services or products are a key reason for high turnover, because visitors feel distrustful when they are kept in the dark.

Far more personal than cold text on a page, explainer videos or promo videos catch and grab the user’s attention with graphics and audio. They are entertaining, informative, and impart a desire to learn more. Explainer videos are used on a variety of different websites, from storefronts to Facebook and of course, YouTube. Adding an incredible company video to your website is a great way to get people excited about your product, and can sometimes even result in your video going viral. By statistics alone, when your product information goes viral you can expect a sharp sales increase and in alot of cases, an incredibly large amount of publicity.

However, these videos must be well done if they are to be effective. A poor, amateur video done on YouTube through the use of PowerPoint slides likely won’t get you very far – though it may be a good start. So, how is a great animated video made? What goes into the process of creating these videos? Here, we take a look at just that.

1) Pre Planning – Identify your Needs and Requirements

What is your objective? What are you trying to accomplish with your video? What feeling, content, tone, or idea would you like to get across? Keep things simple – the more complicated videos get, the higher a chance the customer will click out and visit another site instead.  Give just enough information to draw a customer into finding out more, but be careful not to overwhelm with small details that aren’t necessary.

2) Storyboard Creation

This is the time when you want to be incredibly detailed. When creating a storyboard, you wantto have as accurate a representation of how the video will end up looking as possible. This way you can spot any potential problems before they even occur. Visualization is important to getting the exact outcome you desire, so be thorough. Outline your entire project, from the first second of your video through the last. Leave actual animation off until your project is finalized, edited and approved so that errors in animation are not made. Typically, most projects should be kept to 2 minutes or less – this keeps the audience interested without causing annoyance over wasted time.

3) Audio

Your voice-over can potentially make or break your video. Having a high-pitched, squeaky voice that sounds like nails on a chalk board will do nothing but dissuade anyone from continuing to watch it – perhaps even you! Nothing kills a video more than an annoying voiceover. Demo your voiceover talent to friends or members of your team, and ask their opinion on it. Once you find a good voiceover talent, next you will require background music.  Simple music is best – but be sure that the music is kept low enough to clearly hear your voiceover. Music that drowns out everything in the video will only serve to annoy.

4) Launch, and Celebrate Your New Success

Congratulations! You have your first demo or explainer video. Now your task is to get it out there. Your own website is a great place to start, but these videos often also do well on social media sites as well. Facebook Fan Pages, or even Facebook feeds in general are a great option. YouTube is another great way to get your video out there. You can even develop a network prior to launch by posting other videos or subscribing to other channels, and requesting people subscribe to you. Wherever possible, be excited about your product and video. Share it with everyone you can!  The more people discuss your video, the more others will start noticing it – and this is what begins the cascade of a viral video becoming popular.

There is really no way that is more effective for spreading the word about a business or product than making really great explainer videos. Many businesses are already a step ahead of the game, and have been publishing these videos for some time. Google, Dropbox, Skype and 99 Designs to name a few. There is no time like the present to hop on the bandwagon and start your very own video process today.

Explainer Videos: The Best New Internet Marketing Technique?

Content is extremely important to a successful website. Large blocks of text can get dry, and boring, without some fun to break them up. So what can you do to ensure you catch, and keep, the attention of your visitors?

Animated videos are an extremely effective way to hold visitors on your page.  An animated video provides motion, color, content, and information in a different way than text – all things that can keep your visitors coming back for more, and staying when they do.

Explainer videos are just that – videos which explain your product, service, or idea in an entertaining video form. Typically in the form of animation, they catch the attention through the use of humor or appealing graphics combined with audio that holds a reader’s attention.

Research proves it works

According to Forrester Research, you are nearly 53 times more likely to gain a page 1 rank with Google search engine if your site contains a video. The theory behind this is simple – because video changes and moves, it is more likely to be watched continuously than text. As most explainer videos are energetic, and often use humor or interesting facts to hold attention, they have become a very popular method of getting information across to users.

Generally, websites have as little as one minute to catch a reader’s attention. If attention is not caught within this time, most internet users will simply click out and look for something better. Because of this, most explanatory videos are short and to the point. They are typically clear and direct messages explaining the product, talent, goal, or service provided by the website. In some cases, they serve the role of catching attention just long enough to draw the user into clicking further into the site itself.

This form of advertising also serves the purpose of answering a potential client’s queries before they have even had to request support. They can answer such questions as:

- Who You Are
- What you can do for them
- Why you are the perfect choice for their needs
- How they can sign up

These videos have also become vastly popular with companies, because it extends a more one-on-one feeling to the user watching them. Reading text from a computer screen can be cold or impersonal, but with recorded audio, the user gets to hear a human voice speak to them. Research has shown that this helps the user feel as if he is getting real, human support rather than reading something from an advertisement.

A simple way to look at this is to consider how many people read books, compared to how many people might go to see a movie about a book. Movies tend to be more user friendly and a little more exciting to the general public.

The benefits do not end there. Videos are also shared more often by users, allowing them to espouse on the greatness of your product or service, and they also improve SEO.  If it is publicity your company is after, videos are much more likely to be shared by the press along with an article than simple blocks of text (think Techcrunch)  They can be especially beneficial to new startups, as they can give a preview of what you will offer and include a call to action that draws the reader back to purchase your product. Websites can even include a method of signup to be notified when the product is available, which gives them a way to keep in touch with prospective clients.

In short, a well done explainer video can be the number one way to energize and excite your users. Like any other form of advertising, however, the video needs to be well designed and well implemented. Placing your video on an internal page only a small handful of users ever see likely will not get you many clients, but placing that same video on a home page can draw in even casual passers-by.

Marketing To Youth With Explainer or Startup Videos

Explainer videos are extremely valuable for those who sell to youth or children. In the case of those marketing to children under the age of 5 – it is easy to see why a video could work better than an standard text description – children that are young simply cannot read it yet! However, startup videos or explainer videos have a direct advantage when marketing to teens and young adults as well.

Why Youth Love It

Explainer Videos are colorful, fun, intelligent, and are able to clearly describe your idea in a way that is extremely inviting.  Animation is reminiscent of our youth and tends to recall fond memories and warm feelings of comfort for the same reason. For children and youth who do not have a whole lot of experience with the world yet, it can create a sense of trust for the visitor and pull them in further.

Catching Attention Quickly

No one truly has the time to go through what you do, or what you have to offer – especially in text format, and particularly when dealing with youths. Teens and children have really short attention spans, and tend to only stick with marketing tactics that are attractive to them in some way. It certainly is not fair to expect a young person to spend 30 minutes reading dry, monotonous text that  probably reminds them of school books.

The average time any visitor spends on a website is only sixty seconds but, in youth, this timeframe is reduced even further. It becomes even more critical when marketing to youth to grab their attention immediately and sharply right from the first moment of your video. At the very least, you need to make a strong enough connection to their attention to draw them further into your site, encourage them to sign up, or have them want to find out more about your product. If your site doesn’t immediately engage them, you will find that most young people will just wander back to Google, and not give your business a second thought.

Setting Yourself Apart

Oversaturation of information has led people to know that if they aren’t extremely satisfied immediately, there are many more fish in the sea to choose from. Consider that teens tend to have music, FaceBook, Youtube, chat programs, and also friends distracting them from whatever they are viewing. Your explainer video should be at least as compelling as all of these – perhaps even more so.

The Power of Going Viral

Don’t underestimate how often youth share videos with their friends. Anything a young person sees or experiences is likely to be shared and discussed at length with their peers. Not just any video goes viral – but animated videos are much more likely to win a spot in the greatest viral video positions simply because they are almost always at least somewhat entertaining. Everyone loves a good laugh, and the warm feeling that comes with animation passes on to youth remarkably well.

Animated TV shows have always enjoyed a high viewership – take The Simpsons, for example. 23 years later, it still enjoys an tremendous number of views. Imagine if you could get your explainer video to be so popular, it is still viewed 20 years down the road!

Explainer videos are made to inspire people – to excite them about what you have to offer. The entire better if they love it to the extent that they must share it with people they feel would find it relevant.  In regards to teens and youth, they are social creatures by nature and one of their first instincts when they see something they like is to share it with their friends. If you can successfully convince even one teen to share with her friends, you stand to gain up to a few hundred views just from shares alone. Good luck!