To Animate or Not to Animate? You know you need to add more animated material into your digital marketing strategy, but how? Where do you start, and how do you fine-tune your individual animation process to solidify it for the long haul instead of project-by-project? We’re laying allll the animation groundwork for you this week. You Ready?

FIRST THINGS FIRST

WHY SHOULD YOU ADD ANIMATION??

It really all comes down to science and audience preferences. Studies show that humans not only prefer visuals over text, they also absorb much more information. It’s proven that people can process images 60,000x faster than written words. It’s a tactic that marketers and advertisers have used to their advantage for years.

"Animated videos can explain and simplify complex ideas, promote products, events, and services, tell the narrative of the consumer journey, or show off the interface of apps and websites."

Chris Jon Conti
Editor, INDIRAP

STRATEGY

Animation for the sake of animation isn’t going to get you anywhere. Like every other branded element you add to your marketing arsenal, it needs to serve a purpose. Read through this article and if, in the end, you truly can’t think of one good reason to add animation into your digital strategy, then don’t! Simple as that.

WHAT’S YOUR ANIMATION STYLE?

When people hear “animation, ” they think of whimsical, over-the-top characters or flashy cartoons. It freaks them out, and their knee-jerk reaction is to reject the idea to remain ~professional~.

But, in our opinion, no brand is too “boring” or “professional” for animation. The best part of animation is its lack of restrictions.  

Your animation style can, and should, be 100% personalized to match your brand’s existing look, vibe, and feel. Color, style, speed, music, everything. You have the power to mold your style to match your brand. Not the other way around.

"With animation, you aren't limited by what's tangible. The possibilities are endless."

Chris Jon Conti
Editor, INDIRAP

FIND THE RIGHT ARTIST FOR YOU

Sure, you could hire freelance or work with a new designer on a project-by-project basis. But doing so makes it so easy to fall off the wagon, lose momentum, or splinter off from your initial strategy.

Working with the right artist and marketing team will ensure your animation stays on strategy and is absolutely loaded with purpose and value. They’ll know the ins and outs of strategic animation and can help bring your vision to life in ways you couldn’t accomplish alone.

It’s the best way to guarantee long-term success.  

SO YOU HAVE YOUR STRATEGY AND YOUR TEAM, WHERE DO YOU GO FROM THERE?

LONG-FORM BRANDED ANIMATION

Of course, we love the concept of long-form animated videos. When done properly, an animated explainer video or brand overview is such a powerful marketing tool. Here’s an excellent example of a branded animated video done right:

However, they tend to be pretty large undertakings. And it can be easy to fall into the habit of relying on these projects as your brand’s sole source of animated branding. It’s not a bad thing! But there are sooo many ways to sprinkle animation tactics through your everyday digital marketing strategies.

SUCH AS :

SOCIAL MEDIA

We have no doubt that your brand already has a digital presence on social media. At this point, it’s basically a necessity. Depending on your brand, incorporating animated elements into your feed can be a great way to grab more attention and add variety to your pages.

Whether you want to create static and visually-pleasing animated designs to breathe more life into your Instagram profile or you’re looking to develop interactive content to share on LinkedIn or YouTube.

These are small tweaks that can easily be added into your already existing content creation plan, resulting in a huge difference.  

PAID ADS + LANDING PAGES

If done right, adding animation into your digital sales tactics will likely have the most significant impact on your brand. We said this before, but your audience will absorb and engage with visuals more than text.

It’s been studied that businesses can increase conversions by 80% or more if they have a video on their landing page. And according to Springer, people following directions with text and illustrations do 323% better than those without images.

Don’t neglect this tool! If you’re going to put money behind your content, why not use visuals that are more likely to capture people’s attention? Animated paid ads or captivating videos on a landing page will pack a bigger punch than static images or chunks of text. Meaning more sales for you and a much more enjoyable brand experience. Honestly, don’t sleep on this.

"Animated branded content is evolving, and people are realizing more and more that it can connect them to their audience, teach and guide users and customers, and help improve sales."

Chris Jon Conti
Editor, INDIRAP

WEBSITE ANIMATIONS

When we say you should add animation to your website, we’re not talking about just pasting an animated video onto your homepage. Not that that’s a bad thing. But there are other ways to really bring your page to life with animation.

If your animation team developed branded characters or specific visuals, it’s vital that you sprinkle those elements throughout your website. Doing so will make for a much more interesting digital experience and keep your branding cohesive throughout your multiple channels.  

EMAIL FOOTERS

Adding a bit of movement to your team’s email signature is such an easy way to incorporate more interaction into your digital presence. Not only is the design process simple, but inserting the final product into your footer takes only minutes.

It’s unique little details like this that will give your brand an element of professionalism and quality that others may be lacking. Setting your business apart and giving your audience more reasons to remember your name and what you do.    

BRANDING ELEMENTS

There’s been a rising trend in businesses refreshing their basic branding to modernize their image while creating an element of interaction. For example, Google animated their logo back in 2015, and since then, many other brands have hopped on the bandwagon.

Following suit and adding animation to your logo, banners, website engagements –honestly anything– shows that your brand is on top of the latest methods and adapting with the times. Because who wants to work with a business that is committed to remaining in the past?