The era of Mickey Mouse and the endless fights of Tom and Jerry gave birth to animation as a significant aspect of visual media, from simple animated cartoons to multi-million dollars animated movies. Today, the animated world does not only possess our favorite superheroes and anime characters but also multi-billion dollars of worth. And that is so, for a reason. Animated films and videos have become a great way to connect with the public, capture their attention, and let them know what you want to say.
Let’s journey back to a time when professional web pages were just text, basic hyperlinks, maybe an image or two, and perhaps a form. And if you were lucky, a homepage might play a catchy digital tune for you! Forget the 1990s—this was the standard recipe for creating web pages even earlier this decade (minus the automatic audio, thank goodness). Web designs vastly improved, images worked better, and menus became more user-friendly, but essentially the goal was to provide information within static pages.
Users’ expectations of web pages have evolved over the years; they assume—even demand—an interactive experience every time they come to your website. Web design has kept up by taking the visual storytelling experience to the next level. Animations are now a big part of this design philosophy. Thanks to the advanced ways of CSS3, HTML5, SVG elements, and lightweight JavaScript, today’s animations are smoother, more sophisticated, and more mobile-friendly than ever. Therefore, in today’s blog, I’ll be telling you about 5 great tips for using animated videos on your website. Let’s go!
Why Animated Videos?
Of all the interactive elements you might design into a webpage, animations particularly stand out. The benefits of animations include the following: –
- Animations tell you how to do things, draw attention to a webpage element, and guide visitors through a process—showing them the next step they will/should take on their journey through the website.
- With the rise of simplistic, flat, modern design, many visual cues have been removed from web pages. Adding animations without changing the aesthetic helps guide visitors through the website experience.
- Animations serve a purpose for visitors or at least aesthetically tell a story. This keeps visitors engaged for longer.
Traditional marketing tactics are no longer serving their purpose. With a fast-paced society and emerging trends, marketers have to look out for new ways to bring focus to their products and services. The classic marketing formula is also the safest one. AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) and Animation videos fit in this space perfectly.
Animation videos have the dynamism to seize the attention of the customer and can be used ingeniously in any tone, be it professional, emotional, informative, or funny, to create an everlasting impact on the customer.
Tips for Using Animated Videos for Your Site
Website animations can range from simple hover states to large animations that are almost like a video. Simple animations often work best because too many can be frustrating for visitors. These subtle interactions are tasteful, attract the user’s attention to important webpage elements, and ultimately enhance the design. Larger animations, when used sparingly and on the right project, can provide a powerful impact by offering motion graphics and an incredibly interactive experience for the user. Be sure these larger elements are smooth, not jumpy.
Types of animations include feedback indicators (such as hover effects, notifications, progression loads, and form validation), visual storytelling elements (such as parallax scrolling, typography animations, content fading, screen transitions, and walkthroughs), and navigation elements (such as hidden navigation menus and scrolling galleries).
If you’re planning to integrate animated videos in your website, these are the top 5 tips to help you out: –
1) Use explainer videos.
If your company brags about excellent products but lacks the skills to present them to the audience, an explainer video is the best way to do it. Explainer videos are an innovative part and parcel of visual communication that keeps your brand at the center and educates them about your product in an interesting way. How do explainer videos engage the audience well?
In a span of fewer than 2 minutes, explainer videos are capable of making an impeccable impression on the product by evoking emotion and humor to engage the customer. This way, there is an emotional response created within the viewer, and this emotional connection makes you the ‘chosen one’ among your competitors. It is reported that explainer videos have increased in their sales and lead by 52%. You can also create your own animated explainer video. But you must have a direction, an idea, a strategy and the right emotion.
2) Use video infographics.
The present generation has seen a shift from reading to perceiving and now to visuals. Infographics were used in business for a long to present. The statistical data, facts, figures, and information in an interesting way help the viewers grasp analytics faster. It has managed to make a good impact on the consumers and has generated a large number of social shares, and has also seen a significant increase in SEO performance. It has proven itself as an effective branding tool.
“Video Infographics” is a step ahead and definitely has a more advantageous side than Infographics. You can implement video infographics in your business to make an impact on the viewer’s mind. For example, you can make a video infographic report instead of a PowerPoint presentation or an average material. You can also use video infographics in your quarterly and annual sales meetings. This way, the employees could get a quick hold of the statistical data and understand the organizational goals faster.
The use of infographic videos in business is highly profitable. It is seen that social video campaigns which used infographic videos generated 2.7 billion views in 2010, up from 820 million in 2009, which did not implement the strategy.
3) Use whiteboard animation videos.
Whiteboard animation is also referred to as video scribing. With just a whiteboard and a few sketches, you can deliver your message in simple creative strokes that could do wonders. It may cost less, but it can be a very powerful branding tool. You can present the company’s complex information in simple illustrations that can help the customer to dive deeper into the product details. This will help the viewer to engage and interpret the data faster. Instead of using PowerPoint presentations, you can use whiteboard animation to present the idea and deliver the message effectively.
Videos, specifically whiteboard animation videos, add a personal touch that is not seen anywhere else in the video. Whiteboard animation can be used as a training library with interactive and interesting graphic visuals rather than dull and uninspiring materials. This will enable the employees to understand the product better. Furthermore, they can also be used as a sales tool as it could be an effective sales message delivery system.
4) Show tutorial videos.
Animated videos can also be used for training and tutorial purposes.
It can be used to demonstrate the process as well as the internal working of the product. Animation in these videos can be effective as it presents the unseen phenomenon of the product and helps in a deeper understanding. An animated tutorial video in business can be very interesting for your employee as training material. You can use screenshots and screencasts or a combination of these types to create an effective tutorial video.
5) Use product demo videos.
Product demo videos explain everything to you, from the necessity of the product to the invention and its after-effects. It is basically for the customers who are convinced to use your product and are interested to know about the practical usage of your product. By using a product demonstration video, you can showcase your product, advertise it, and reach to a wider audience. You can add emotion or humor to advertise your product and make your product seem more connected to the viewer.
Subconsciously, the viewer tends to prefer your product rather than your competitor’s. Product demo videos are a very influential strategy of marketing, and it had shown tremendous success in marketing and business. Companies like Padmapper, Dollar shave club, Biz4loans, etc., have been implementing these videos and have seen tremendous impacts on the viewers.