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When Forbes ranks a marketing tactic as high on the list of “must haves“, it might be time to consider it.  Explainer animations have been playing an increasingly vital role in businesses across industries, and with great reason.  You have products, processes, and solutions that are amazing, increase profits and productivity, solve problems, and provide tremendous value to your customers.  So what’s the issue?  Before they’ll buy (and certainly before they will pay the premium that you so obviously deserve) they need to understand exactly WHY your product/process/solution is the exact thing they are looking for.  Enter the Explainer animation – 60-90 seconds that succinctly describes your value in a fun and engaging way.

Explainer animations come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.  If you can think of it, you can create an animation of it.  So how do you know which to choose?

As a director, I always believe that the simplest solution is the right solution.  Don’t ask your audience to make leaps, or to try to guess at what exactly your product/process or service is.  Don’t build your animation out of stock assets that could apply to any other business in your industry (or for that matter, in any other business period).  And don’t try too hard to be funny or cute.  Yes, entertaining your audience is great.  But the business executive who chooses to click play on your explainer video does so for one reason only – she wants to know why YOUR solution is the best way to solve HER problem.  Don’t distract her from that mission.  

And keep in mind that your target audience (which we in the business like to call BUYERS) could easily choose to watch your video in a situation where the sound is poor or even non-existent.  Having a great script, voiceover and music or sound effect track is important, but your explainer video can not depend on sound to deliver your message.  The visual story must be strong enough to carry the central message without sound.

A daunting task?  Great explainer animations follow a tight production process, and like any finely honed craft, is best approached with the help of a professional team.  But should this scare you away?  Heck, no!  Choose a production company whose work you enjoy, who have pieces in their portfolio that make you say “That’s a really great product/process/service!”.  They will guide you through the process, making it easy and fun, and leaving you with an amazing explainer video that increases conversion rates over and over and over and over again.

Like our work?  Think your business would benefit from our expertise in explainer animations?  Let’s schedule a time to talk!

These crazy kids today, with their fancy devices, their unrelenting consumption of video, and their high expectations of seamless integration between humans and technology.  Gen X-ers and their new-fangled ideas!

Yes, all we’ve been hearing for years is Millennials, Millennials, Millennials! (and us Gen-Xers reply, in unison now, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!). But who is actually driving the biggest changes and trends in business?  Gen X!  Surprised?  Check out the article here

What does this mean for video marketers?  For businesses like the ones we serve (such as Seiler Instrument & Manufacturing here), Gen X makes up the bulk of their client base.  And understanding what drives your client base to make decisions (including the decision to choose YOU) is just smart marketing.  And smart marketing makes everybody more money (we like that!)

What’s the best way to craft messaging for Gen X?  As a card carrying member, let me offer a few ideas:

1) Have Respect.  Okay, maybe we have been around the block a couple of times.  We’ve earned these gray hairs, and we’ll color them if we damn well want to!  We’re smart enough to know whether someone is genuine, or memorized lines written for them by a Millennial marketing intern, or, even worse, is struggling with cue cards.  Take the time to have a seasoned professional conduct an interview, answer questions honestly and authentically, and be passionate and emotional.  Not into an interview style video?  No problem!  Create animations or hire professional talent.  You can’t BS your way past a Gen X-er, so please stop trying.

2) Address My Problem.  Hey, we have a lot of choices when it comes to how we spend our time, so if we choose to spend it on your content, it’s because we want to know what’s in it for us.  We have a problem, you have a solution, lay it all out for us in a clear, easy to summarize way.  And, please, make it memorable.  If I don’t remember what your video was about 30 minutes after I watched it, did I really watch it?  Tell me why I should care, and then sell me on why you’re the best.

3) Quality Matters.  We make cell phone videos, too.  Of our cat, our kid’s concert, our intimate, off the cuff, exciting moments.  And there is definitely a place for those “seat of your pants” cell phone videos in your video marketing mix.  But we cut our teeth on John Hughes movies, son!  If you are truly a quality business with a quality product/service and a quality brand, then we want to see a quality video.

I had lunch with a fellow Gen X-er today, and he brought up some videos that have been popping up on our respective LinkedIn feeds.  The owner of a marketing firm has a cell phone on his dashboard, and looks into the camera while he is driving.  Yes, while he is driving.  We talked about how this made us feel.  1) This is not a responsible individual so why we would give him money?  and 2) If we did for some reason hire him, how could we feel comfortable that he won’t crash and be incapacitated the next time he drives around making a video?  What’s onscreen matters!  That’s why there is a picture, people!!

Need help crafting videos for Gen X, or any other generation?  We’d love to help!

Yes, we’re all very excited about welcoming the tulips, daffodils, and lilacs to our previously dark and gray world, but, as you know, this is not a horticulture blog.  (But I will admit to tiptoeing through my own tulips after lunch today.  Yay sun!)

We obviously have a lot in common, you and I.  You love video, I love video.  You love a twist on an age old joke, I love to tell them.  And when April showers blow in overnight bringing downpours, thunder, and lightening, you and I both wake up, listen to the rain, and start thinking about our corporate budgets.  Yes, I understand.  April showers bring May flowers, tax bills, and 2 a.m. concerns about money.

One of the first questions I am asked by every client that is considering video is “How much will it cost?” or “Do you have a pricing sheet?”.  Well, it depends, which is why we don’t have a pricing sheet.

Video budgets come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes, and depend entirely on what you want to be included in that one, two, or ten minutes of video.  Do you need a crew size of 10, or can 2 people capture what’s needed?  Do you have three 3D models, or twelve?  Do you need onscreen talent?  Of what caliber?

To help you understand the many variations of video budgets, today I am sharing a blog post from the UK (see, it’s a universal question) titled “HOW MUCH SHOULD I SPEND ON VIDEO?”

With so many variables, how should you budget for your video?  We take a backwards approach – we know how to concept, develop, and produce projects at a variety of budget ranges.  If you meet with us first, share your objectives and share your budget range, we can usually find a great solution for you.  Don’t let worry over video budgets keep you up at night – call us today!

If you’ve been paying any attention at all (which I know you have, smart audience of mine), then you know that in 2018, having one video on your website does not constitute a video marketing strategy – and since we are quickly heading towards the day when 8 out of every 10 minutes spent online will be spent watching video, opting out of a video marketing strategy could leave your business in the dust. (For more, check out Wistia’s Guide to Video Marketing)

The good news?  All signs point to this is a great time to get started on, or invest more in, a video marketing strategy!  Yay!  It’s shiny, effective, fun to produce, and even fun-ner to watch, and best of all, offers the highest return on any marketing investment! Forbes says double ROI here. (The crowd goes wild.  We love video!)

The good-er news?  Developing video content in packages (like the one seen here) allows savvy businesses the opportunity to get the experience and high quality work of a seasoned production team at a low per-video rate.

Why?  A production budget is all based on time and materials – what gear do we need to execute the project, how many people, and how many hours will those people spend?  On one of our big, glossy productions (like these),  the combined team can quickly add up to 80 or 100 total hours.  On a simpler style of content videos, that same 80 or 100 hours can yield as many as 8-10 videos.  The economy of scale is huge, and something to take advantage of.

Speaking of advantages, if you want a simple style of content videos, why hire anyone at all?  Can’t your marketing person do that?

Well, technically, they may be able to.  Videos can be produced on a phone, with a wide variety of cameras, and editing platforms can be free or cheap.  There are several services that offer plug and play video editing (just put your content in and it does the work for you).  So, why hire?

It becomes a question of engagement.  Is it enough for you that an audience clicks the play button, or do you want them to watch the whole 90 seconds (yes, many will drop off at 5 seconds if not engaged)?  Do you want them to remember your video weeks or months or even longer after they’ve watched it?  They may not be ready to take action now, wouldn’t you like for them to remember your message once they are?  Telling a story that sticks is a difficult skill, and an experience video producer will add longevity to your content.

Want to learn more about video content packages?  Whether you’re just getting started, or think you have room to improve, we’re always here to help!  Contact us!