How B2B Marketers Can Increase Engagement With Animated Content

Ross Edmonds, Senior Graphic Designer at Napier, shares his views on how animation can increase content engagement for B2B marketers. 

We all want the content in our B2B marketing campaigns to deliver amazing results. One effective B2B marketing tactic is upgrading the more traditional content with animations. Something which can effectively improve engagement and increase leads.

96% of B2B organisations use video in some capacity in their marketing campaigns, of which 73% report positive ROI results. Overall, 57% of B2B marketers consider video as the most effective marketing tool.

Adding animation to a video can be a real differentiator and the great thing about video animation is its versatility. Small text can grow to something larger; movement can show speed and direction. Animating video makes it more memorable by using engaging graphics, colours and a compelling narrative that will help increase engagement rates.

In my experience, every little detail counts, from the eye-catching opening title to the final call to action.

Use video to explain the complex simply

Animations help explain complex and highly technical subjects and use cases with easy-to-follow sequences showcasing the products’ benefits, operation, and capabilities.  Explainer videos work well as either live-action or animated illustrations and a voiceover or music will keep the engagement levels.  Keep in mind that simple and intuitive video will have the best results so don’t overcomplicate.

Like any good feature film, it pays to create trailers or teaser videos for the main animated product. This shorter element helps build up anticipation and can be posted on social channels before the main video is revealed.

What’s the ideal length of an animated video?

In my experience, a successful B2B animated video is between 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

The shorter your video, the more people will watch it to the end. That is enough time for the animation to explain and engage so the viewer understands exactly how your product or service works.

Animated video use on social channels and web

Animated videos perform very well on social platforms and drive higher engagement rates than static posts. The main reason is that video forces scrolling users to stop and give an extra couple of seconds of attention to the post, which is vital if you are looking for people to like, share and comment.

The same applies if you have a website that has a video, people will spend a larger amount of time on your web page because a video plays upon visiting it. People will spend on average about 1.4x more time on pages with video than without.

Conclusion

In my experience doing the research and establishing the purpose of the animation from the start will help create a unique video. Like any motion picture you need a great story to tell which can be captured in a compelling and entertaining way.  You want your animated video to create an everlasting impact and establish a strong connection with the audience.

If you would like to know more about how Napier produces amazing, animated videos for our clients, please get in touch.