Animation videos are a visual, engaging way to communicate ideas, tell stories or explain processes and they are becoming an increasingly popular part of social media marketing strategies. If you are like most businesses, you are using social media to:
- Introduce your brand to new people
- Connect meaningfully with your audience
- Build a loyal fanbase
Storytelling is key to achieving these goals, allowing your audience to get to know you on a deeper, personal level and build a trust in your brand that takes them from potential customers to devoted supporters. And with video being by far today’s favorite form of social media content, achieving the most reach and engagement across almost every platform, producing storytelling videos might be seen as hitting the social media marketing jackpot.
This is where animation videos become your new best friend. Not only because there are numerous free and easy-to-use animation applications out there, which make creating a video a whole lot more doable, but also because animations are designed to break information down into easily digestible entertainment. They are easy to watch, easy to understand and easy to share with everyone you know – which makes it easy for you to grow your business. All you need is good content to put in them, and here are 5 of our top ideas.
1. Tutorials
“How to” videos are one of the most watched content types across social media, drawing in billions of viewers with the promise of teaching them something helpful. Users are flicking through their feeds every day to be entertained but also to learn new things, and if you are providing valuable educational content you will easily be attracting new audiences and keeping them captivated with your brand. Your tutorials can teach anything relevant to your business, from how to make a product, to how to use a product, to how to solve frequent problems that your customers have and make their lives easier. A sportswear brand might provide 10 tips for running beginners, or a kitchenware brand might post quick, healthy recipe videos. Whatever your niche topic, making step-by-step guided videos is a fun way to pass on your industry knowledge and demonstrate your expertise.
2. Sourcing Stories
Today’s consumers are becoming more and more aware of choosing brands with conscious sourcing, whether to ensure that products are matching their ethical standards or simply to ensure quality. People want to know what goes into your products and where it all comes from; they also want to know that you have the answers to those two questions, and that you are willing to be open and honest about them. While it’s a good idea to focus on telling stories in your supply chain that you are proud of – handwoven scarves, fair-trade coffee beans, locally sourced vegetables – it’s also fine to be transparent about where your business falls short and the steps you are going to take in the future to resolve the problem. You can even ask viewers to comment with their thoughts and ideas, opening up a dialogue which shows you respect your audience. They’ll likely respect you for doing so.
3. Sustainability Stories
How industries are affecting the health of the planet is a big concern for many people, especially for the younger generations, and even small businesses are coming under scrutiny for how they manage their impact on the environment. Waste management, water usage and energy efficiency are all hot topics, and your social media audience will be keen to know what you are doing to reduce your footprint. An animated video is a great way for people to visualize your efforts, whether you are showing how much of your packaging can be recycled, a map of local sourcing to reduce vehicle pollution, how much water you save by going low-flow or any other sustainability campaigns that you have underway. As with stories about your supply chain, honesty is key, and you should avoid making any misleading claims that will come back to bite you. If customers are asking a lot of questions about something that you’re not doing right, use a video animation to explain what obstacles you face and what you’re going to do to overcome them.
4. Your Brand Vision
Your brand vision is one of the greatest stories to tell, because it is how you can build meaningful connections with people over your passion and the drive to achieve your dream. Designing a short video about the future that your business is trying to create, the problems it is trying to solve and the reasons why your viewers should also care is a powerful way to show your online audience that there is more to your brand than just selling products and making money. It will help you to introduce your brand to the right people, show them that you are a brand they can believe in, and turn them into loyal fans of what you do. Make sure you keep it snappy and upbeat (social media users don’t want a ten-minute history lesson or a rant about your competitors) with a clear idea to take away at the end.
5. Partnerships
Partnering up with other companies to create joint products or services, campaigns or events is great for your brand image, demonstrating that you are a community-driven team player wanting to provide the best for your customers. On top of this, a brand collaboration allows you to tap into their followers and target audience with the good news as well as your own, giving you even more reason to shout about it across social media. Creating an animated version of the partnership story – how you met, how you came up with your great idea, what each of you are bringing to the table and how it benefits your audience – is an entertaining and engaging way of making the announcement to your fans and introducing yourself to a whole new audience.
