If you observe the present scenario, the B2B market is evolving in tandem with technology. Fresh tactics are gaining momentum, especially when you talk about the use of animation.
A lot of marketers are already raving about the benefits of B2B animation. Animated videos, in particular, are working their magic because of their ability to effectively seize the customer’s attention. They are also known for their versatility, i.e., you can easily use them in any tone, be it informative, professional, funny, or emotional.
Now, to the more important question — why are B2B businesses increasingly using animation in their content marketing strategy?
Here’s why:
Today, animation is fast becoming one of the hottest trends in visual content. And we can all agree on one thing — we live in an era where people absolutely love and enjoy looking at visuals.
As per the latest stats, 40.8% of marketers are already posting visual content 2-5 times per week.
The bottom line? Animation helps create an everlasting impact on your potential customers. The best thing about it is that it makes content appealing and interactive in a way that works to establish a strong connection with your audience.
Here are some stats that reiterate the importance of animation:
- 68% of consumers prefer watching videos to learn about new services or products, as compared to ebooks, infographics, presentations, and articles.
- Many B2B companies use a type of animation called animated explainer videos. These are brief videos (typically less than a minute long) explaining a service or product in a quick, creative way. With the help of these animated videos, demonstrating new services or explaining complicated business ideas becomes much easier.
Need more convincing? Read on to know more about why it is important to use animation in your content marketing strategy.
What are the benefits of animation?
Before we discuss the advantages of digital animation, let’s try and understand what animation is.
“Animation is a method wherein figures are manipulated to be displayed as moving images.”
Here are some noteworthy benefits of animation:
- You can visually communicate plenty of information in an animation.
- Animation allows you to quickly communicate ideas with no unnecessary visuals and verbiage.
- Animated videos help cut through all the digital noise. It helps differentiate your content from others.
- You can easily update animated videos.
- Animated videos help upgrade your visual content.
Benefits of using animation in content marketing for B2B businesses
You should consider using animation in the content marketing for your B2B business because:
Animation gets and keeps an individual’s attention.
A well-produced animation can both educate and entertain your potential customers. It helps them understand complex topics in an easy-to-digest format. People are also more likely to remember information they visually saw compared to reading it in text form.
Apart from this, animation also gives you more control over your image and branding compared to a live video. You can even use colors, language, and images reflecting your brand in your animated videos.
All in all, animation helps you experiment in ways that may not be possible with other forms of content.
Effective types of animation in content marketing
Popular types of animation you can consider implementing are:
- 2D animation
Today, the type of video animation content that finds the most common usage in content marketing is 2D animation. It is not only affordable but also gives you great results.
Note: You must know when to effectively use 2D animation to get the results you are looking for. For instance, if you want to explain a product, process, or idea, then 2D animation is what you should go for.
Also, refrain from using 2D animated videos for a demo. This is because 2D animation connects with your audience on an emotional level and not on a practical level.
An amazing example of 2D animation: is Mastercard’s “By the Numbers” video ad. It talks about Mastercard’s global impact in a relatable and uncomplicated way.
- 3D animation
3D animation is a more sophisticated type of animation to use in your content marketing. It helps businesses create dynamic and highly interactive videos featuring realistic characters as well as settings.
3D graphics animation videos are a fantastic way to communicate a powerful message that may be tricky to explain in other ways than by using conceptual animation.
Owing to its attention-grabbing tendency, 3D animation can give your marketing efforts a much-required boost. This type of animation can benefit you if you want to share your brand’s story.
Also, the best thing about 3D animation is that it doesn't take much time to create it. All you have to do is keep your idea ready and use software that can turn it into animated visuals.
A great example of the use of 3D animation in content marketing is McVitie’s “Sweet Together.”
- Motion graphics
If you want to create a video with loads of text floating by and minimum graphics, then you should consider using motion graphics.
Motion graphics focus on texts and shapes rather than characters.
A great example of this type of animation is Chemistry and Energy Efficient Buildings by Diemo Barz, a video that talks about the results made by BASF.
How to use animation in content
All said and done, let’s now look at the two different ways in which you can use animation in your content. Let’s begin:
- Explainer Animated Videos
If your company offers excellent products, but you are unable to find an effective way to present them to your audience, consider using explainer animated videos. As mentioned before, these videos work wonders when it comes to educating your audience about your offerings in a thoroughly engaging way.
In under a minute, explainer animated videos help make a lasting impression by evoking humor and emotion in your audience. The result? You get to boost your sales because you are able to effectively communicate what makes you stand out from your competitors.
A great example of an explainer animated video is this video from Slack, which explains how their product can uncomplicate the work lives of people:
You can also view Foleon's explainer animated video:
- Animated GIFs
Animated GIFs are visual content that uses captivating imagery to instantly capture the attention of your potential customers. In an era of shrinking attention spans, these GIFs help tell a dynamic story as opposed to a still picture.
Here’s an example of the use of an animated GIF in the header image of a blog post by Uberflip, a content marketing company:
Important Points To Keep In Mind While Using Animation
Finally, if you decide to use animation in your B2B content marketing strategy, some points you should keep in mind are:
- Keep it brief: Your audience might be impatient enough to go through long videos. Just make the animated video long enough to get your audience interested in your product/service. We recommend a length that’s less than 2 minutes.
- Include a CTA: Ensure you include a CTA in your video. It should be such that it prompts the viewer to take action after watching the video.
- Show what’s in it for your customers: The animated video should tell the customer what you and your product can do for your customers.
- Be persuasive throughout: Corporate customers are demanding when it comes to attention to detail and the quality of the animation. Ensure you focus on every little detail to prompt your persona to take action.
The Bottom Line
Content marketing is known to witness a transformation every now and then. For now, it can be seen moving towards visual communication. Hence, when you plan your content marketing strategy, think about leveraging animation. Who knows? Animation can turn things in favor of your B2B business and give your sales a much-needed boost.
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