The Power of Animated Videos

“Girls just want to have fun.”
Ok – not just girls.
We all like to be entertained and have fun. We’re also becoming very accustomed to ‘watching’ when online instead of reading. So keep that top of mind when considering why animated videos work.
From an SEO perspective, you only have a few seconds to capture your visitors attention – most people will say 5 seconds and you either grabbed them or they are gone.  Proof!  You have to keep them there long enough to consume what you are offering; and, in order for Google to lower your bounce rate you need to let them- as wells as your visitors –  know that you have valuable content that people want to consume on your website.
“Video ads on lifestyle sites have a completion rate of 71%, and a click-through rate of 0.79%”
When I am consulting with a client about website conversion, I usually hear the following:

“I’m doing everything you’re supposed to be doing for my business website. My site is optimized for search engines, I’ve got a terrific design along with some meaty content. But still I’s still not getting the conversions I had hoped for. Why not?”

The Reality

One of the critical issues to building a successful website and SEO campaign is telling your story and making the visitor want more in just a few seconds. On average, you have 5 seconds to capture the attention of the visitor in order to make them want to spend more time on your website. Getting your visitors to ‘stick’ is essential to reducing your website’s bounce rate. This statistic applies to any website.
Why do people leave quickly?  It might be because your visitors just don’t like to read. For many people —actually, most people— reading is like work, while video is like fun.
That’s why the use of video is exploding on the internet. Nielsen has reported that the time spent watching video on the web has increased at an astonishing 45% year-over-year rate. The expectation is growing among web visitors that when they hit a site, they will have the option to watch video.

Video communicates in a fun and entertaining way

Make your videos lively, entertaining and informative.  They should be to the point.  One to two minutes is the perfect length, and make sure you keep the video controls in place so someone cause pause it if they need to.
Not only do people prefer to see video, studies show that they comprehend and retain more from an audio-visual presentation than they do from just reading. And Google’s Double Click reports that video outperforms other rich and non-rich media in both brand-building and driving purchasing intent on business sites by overwhelming margins.
Anecdotal evidence shows that video often increases conversions by double-digit margins.
Video can:
• Live on your site
• Be emailed to your list as a link
• Be shared on sites such as YouTube
• Be played on a big screen at a trade show or kiosk
• Be shown on a laptop during client meetings
• Be pulled out of your pocket and played on devices such as the iPhone.
Video is portable, viral, and high-impact… the perfect utility player in your marketing mix.
Okay, but… why animation?
There’s two compelling reasons why you might do better with animation than with live-action: let’s call them left and right.
The left side of the brain likes animation because it can encapsulate thoughts into icons and concepts into schematics. Complex messages are distilled into clarity. Animation communicates thinking in a way that blabbing heads can’t.
The right side of the brain likes animation because it is somehow more human than a real person is. Animation touches our feelings and entertains our eye; it gets under our skin.
An animated video can unlock capture your customer’s attention.
Videos not only capture more of your visitors, but they also tell them more about what your business can offer them in a simple format.
An easy-to-understand message is important and should be no longer than 3 to 4 minutes. This is plenty of time to formulate your script, and improves your chances of your video being seen and shared.
Here are a few helpful hints on how to set up your animated videos:

• Create a script and then read it out loud. Ask yourself whether it is clear, concise, and entertains the viewer.

• Capture more subscribers with a call to action at the end of your message. You can set up a separate sales page or direct them to your website with a special offer that provides value.

• It’s better to allow the viewer to play the video themselves rather than set it up as an autoplay. This gives them the chance to choose to watch instead of imposing this on them.

You do not need to be a professional video editor in order to create your message — there are endless apps, freelance workers, and online software resources to help you get started with little or no budget. Take a look at websites like Fiverr, PowToon, GoAnimate, and more to get started.
Let me know how animated videos have worked for your business sales below!