How To Create Great Marketing Animated Videos
One of the ways I market my consulting business, The Marketing Sage is by using short, animated video. To create these easy-to-assemble animated videos to market your product or service, you can use a software product called Animoto.
A subscription costs about $250 per year and it gives you templates, stock videos, licensed free music, photographs and illustrations. There is a free version too but it is so limited, you’ll want to use the more robust fee-based subscription.
If you hired an agency to do this, you’d pay thousands for each video. I’ll bet someone you know could do this for you and help you create some great videos to tell your story.
By using video, I create another asset beside blog posts to help communicate how I can be helpful to prospective clients.
Here is a marketing secret that is just for you.
Video works!
It is easily to digest, passive and effective. When you combine information in a fun format – magic happens.
My Process
I start by writing a simple script with about eight sentences. I focus on one theme or topic area. I find video clips that help tell the story. For example, in this example, I wanted to talk about the tug of war as it relates to polarity thinking. Animoto had stock video of a tug of war I could embed in the video. Animated videos become easy to create when the software is so easy to use.
I look for words that are critically important in the messaging and find a photo or video clip to emphasize that word – like embrace used in the image of a team embracing a player.
This takes ZERO coding skills and once you create a template, you can copy it and just change the words, video clips, illustrations, music, and photos. If you are too busy to do this yourself, you could write the eight sentences and hire someone to use your $250/year Animoto account. Once you get a few produced, it is easy to create a little library you can use in your content marketing effort.
Social Media
Once you complete a video, you can download it and repost it on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any social platform. I leverage my network to share the videos and over the last few years, have had many consulting leads come from this effort.
Tips
- Keep it simple
- Focus on one idea or theme
- Make sure it follows your brand standards and voice
- Don’t sell. Subtly share problems you can solve.
- Keep it short – less than 2 minutes.
- Use music that emotionally fits your message
- Close with a simple call to action
- Beyond marketing your product or service, you can use Animoto to create a fun animated video resume
- I use Animoto for personal videos too – like this celebration of my grandson Bodhi Kai where I compiled video clips and photos all taken on an iPhone.
Sample Animated Video
I have created about eight of these videos on topics like focus, pain points, advertising and being, helpful. I’m working on a new one to promote my product and brand naming service. Here is a preview.
You can see a few of them below to spark some ideas. The rest live here on my YouTube page.
Remember, depending on the type of business you have, you want to focus your message on the benefit of your product or service, not the features. Concentrate on how working with you or buying your product solves a problem.
If you need help or want further advice, feel free to set up a time to chat with me. I’m happy to help you. I also may be able to find someone who could take your simple eight to ten-sentence script and help create these videos for you at a reasonable price.
Need help marketing your product or service with video?
I can help. You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
Note: Animoto did not pay me to write this post. I love using their software and am happy to share it with marketing professionals and friends who read The Marketing Sage.
