An explainer video animation can be a game-changer for your business, product or service, especially those that are 60-90 seconds in length. Explainer videos can captivate your audience and keep them drawn to the screen while you pitch your value proposition.
This focus and depth is what every marketer is after. With the right explainer video animation, you can dig deep into the problems your audience may be facing while presenting the solutions you offer in a clear, concise way. You can draw connections, distill complex topic into simple to understand “nuggets” of information and explain why all this matter to them (i.e. the end benefits).
Sounds wonderful, right? Well, it is…but here’s the catch. If nobody see the video, it’s basically worthless! Even the best video won’t help you get attention or conversions if your don’t use the right channels to reach them. In the world of explainer video animation, placement matters as much as the production value!
So how do you build a strategy for leveraging the placement opportunities that enable you to get the most bang for your buck? How can you maximize audience reach while minimizing the disadvantages of a medium with content that is basically the anti Tik Tok?
Don’t worry. This article has you covered. Let’s explore 7 placement opportunities that will help you get the most out of your explainer video animation.
1. Your homepage
This is one of the all-time classic uses of an explainer video animation. Put that sucker front and center on your homepage to give users a choice between reading a bunch of text or pushing “play.” That’s what we’ve always done with our own explainer animation on Gisteo’s homepage, and it has been a key to our success. Many people are more visual/auditory learners in today’s Youtube/Netflix culture and you’re giving them what they crave by offering an explainer video animation “fix” right on on your homepage.
If you use this placement opportunity, it’s important to keep your video high-level. Give them the “gist” as we say at Gisteo. Something short and sweet. This is not the time to deliver a full feature film on everything anyone could possibly want to know about your company. On your homepage, audiences want to learn the basics so you don’t want to overwhelm them with a video that is too long or too focused on a particular element of your overall offering. Main takeaway: stick to the basics on your homepage.
2. Landing pages or internal website pages
For an explainer video animation that over 60-90 seconds and focused more on the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey, an internal page on your site or a landing page might be the smarter choice.
At this stage of the journey, your target is deeper into their quest for information, evaluating your product against potential competitors and searching for more reasons to “pull the trigger.” Your explainer video animation might be the perfect trigger in this case. If the messaging is properly crafted to this part of the buyer’s journey, your explainer video animation could give them the critical pieces of information they need to make a final decision.
3. Youtube
While you may host your video another another service (Wistia, Vimeo…), you should always upload it to Youtube too. Why? Because Youtube, by itself, is the #2 search engine in the world! Plus, it’s owned by the company holding the #1 search engine spot: Google. It’s free, quick and easy to create an account for your business if you don’t have a channel already and upload your explainer video. Bottom-line: unless your information is confidential, you have NOTHING to lose by putting your video and plenty to gain.
Here are a couple of tips to optimize your explainer animation once you’ve uploaded it to Youtube.
Optimize your video title for SEO. Just as you would do when writing blogs, website copy or other text-based content, you need to embrace SEO principles when giving a title to your video. Include trending keywords in your industry to make sure your video is found by your target audience.
Optimize your video description. The descriptive information contained in the caption to your video is also very important and an ideal spot to gain some exposure. Here again, use appropriate keywords for SEO purposes and add relevant keywords. Also, insert a link to your website and social media profiles. When doing so, don’t forget to include the “HTTP” extension so that YouTube automatically hyperlinks to it.
4. Targeted email campaigns
Explainer video animations can also be effective in email nurturing campaigns. It gives you another tool to stay relevant and top-in-mind with your audience. It’s another piece of content to nudge them towards the sale.
Research show just how effective videos can be in email campaigns:
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Almost 90% of online marketing professionals use video in their marketing campaigns. (Wordstream)
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Video can increase open rates by 19% and click rates by 65% while reducing unsubscribe rates by 26%. (Campaign Monitor)
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Video content in emails can improve click-through rates by up to 300%. (Biteable)
Pro tip: try using the word “video” in your subject line. It may make your email more attractive and more users are likely to click on it. And, if they do, half of your job is done.
5. In person (or virtual) sales presentations
This placement opportunity for your explainer video animation may be a bit less obvious because it’s kind of hiding in plain sight, as they say. You’ve got your video produced and you’re using it for digital marketing, but don’t forget about placing it at the beginning of your sales decks, investor meetings, important pitches etc.!
At Gisteo, we’ve had countless clients tell us how great our explainer animations are to kick-off important meetings. In a short amount of time, you can convey vast amounts of information in an entertaining way. It’s the perfect “hook” that can you get off on the right foot in your in-person (or online/virtual) meetings. It doesn’t replace the good old-fashioned deck but it can be the “wow” factor that sets you apart while setting you up for success in your presentation.
6. Blog entries or whitepapers
Don’t underestimate the potential for your explainer video animation in long-form content that you serve up to your audiences. These types of videos can be highly effective as supplemental media for any written content.
It’s a fact that people retain more information watching a video vs. reading but it’s also a fact that both are important to communicating your marketing messages. People are overloaded with information and learning something in depth certainly required reading. Video won’t necessary serve as a substitute to the in-depth knowledge you want to convey with a blog post or in an important thought-leadership piece. Explainer video animation can and should, however, be utilized for a “quick hit” of vital takeaways that you want to deliver.
By incorporating video into your written content, you are offering a sort of hybrid approach that will help boost engagement. You’re giving your audience a choice and a more rounded, multi-media experience that can spice up your long-form content and increase overall retention.
7. Pre-roll ads
When we think of skippable pre-roll ads we might be tempted to think that these need to be super short (like under 15 seconds) or else, why bother? Well, the good news is that Youtube doesn’t count skipped ads as video views, which means you won’t pay unless the viewer continues on.
This makes Youtube pre-roll ads a great placement opportunity because you won’t waste budget on an audience for who the video may not be relevant. Those viewers will skip it. Those who stay along for the ride are going to be more actively interested it what you have to say. Viewers who stay vs. skipping are also much more likely to watch the entire video, even if it’s longer than 30 seconds.
Conclusion
These seven placement opportunities will help you maximize the ability to attract and convert people with your explainer video animation. Using one or more of these placement opportunities will give you some powerful tools to distribute your content and get a serious ROI on your explainer video investment.
Quality, of course, matters in terms of your explainer video animation so make sure you’re putting out a video you can be proud of. One that reflects your brand and demonstrates the level of professionalism that your audience will demand.
If you need help producing a high-quality, yet affordable explainer video animation for your organization, don’t hesitate to contact us here at Gisteo!
