Engaging motion graphics can boost your ROI in these 7 ways

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

Static is old news.

The Cisco VNI forecast is predicting that video will account for 79% of global Internet traffic by 2020, growing 15-fold from 2017 to 2022. There has never been a better time to create videos than now.

But is it worth it? A lot of people shy away from creating videos or motion graphics mainly because of two trains of thought; that it’s incredibly expensive and out of their budget, or motion graphics don’t add much value and are more of a vanity project.

We don’t think these are true. Every online brand in your sector is competing to attract the attention of the people you want to speak to most. Attention spans are getting shorter and more channels to digest content continually sprout up online. It’s essential that your marketing efforts aren’t only creative to attract attention, but to spark the interest of the people who matter to you most. Not only is video a great tool to engage people, but it can bring brilliant returns, too. Hubspot data shows that 83% of marketers say that video gives them a good ROI.

The versatility of motion graphics makes them a valuable addition to your brand in all markets and industries, lending itself well when visualising data/statistics, and also in giving your brand character and emotion. Motion graphics can come in many forms including 3D, stop motion or 2D animation. Combining both animation and graphic design is a powerful tool for telling stories, enhancing your brand and helping you to stand out in saturated markets.

Below is a list of reasons why you should be utilising the power of motion graphics and the returns they can bring:

Static advertising is great at attracting audiences, but motion graphics can command more attention. In 2013-2016 people spent on average 2.6x more time on pages with video than without and this is only increasing. Animoto also reports that video is consumers’ favourite type of content to see from brands on social media.

CTA: We know because we’ve done it ourselves. Click to see how we got over 10,000 impressions for Monster High with our social media animations. 

Motion graphics help visualise information in an intriguing and exciting way, holding the attention of the viewer for longer and engaging them in more creative and visual ways. Four times as many customers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it. By adding an element of visual energy to your message, people are more likely to digest the information you’re putting in front of them and start them on your buyers’ journey.

The human brain is amazing at remembering pictures when compared against other mediums. If you hear a piece of information, generally three days later you’ll only remember 10% of what you learnt. Pair relevant information with imagery and you’ll remember 65% of it.

Motion graphics such as animated infographics are great at conveying large amounts of information in an easily digestible and accessible way. Complex data, facts, figures and stats can be transformed into engaging, moving content in a marginally shorter timeframe than reading the same information. Explainer videos and complex data visualisations utilise this by transforming data into memorable illustrations and experiences for both experts and casual viewers alike.

The benefits are clear, simple messages that turn your website and wider brand into an authoritative resource that your target audience will come back to use time and time again.

Following on from that point, motion graphics can be used to create a strong narrative and instill an emotional connection in your prospects. 

Video especially isn’t just a fantastic platform for showcasing products. It’s perfect for building memorable stories around your brand and encouraging people to buy into your brand ethos. We inherently absorb storytelling and motion graphics, employing a level of fun and imagination that will convert your visitors into customers.

Video is consumers’ favourite type of content to see from the brands they follow on social media, and 73% say they have been influenced by a brand’s social media presence when they make a purchasing decision. Optinmonster statistics also show that not only do video marketing teams see 66% more qualified leads per year, but also a 54% increase in brand awareness. Motion graphics are the perfect way to tell emotional stories about your brand and generate leads in equal measure.

If you want to advertise yourself with creative marketing, then motion graphics are a fantastic choice. 

With technology constantly evolving and new additions and developments in design software, the cost of creating an animated advert, explainer video or motion graphics have never been more affordable.

When some people think about video marketing, they usually envisage a whole filming crew on location, costing thousands. That’s simply not the case anymore; you can create stunning videos with the latest smartphone, which has been one of Apple’s core marketing messages for years now. Whatever your budget, there’s always a creative solution to create something incredibly visual and impressive for your audience. Instead of expensive photography, sites like Unsplash can give you access to stunning assets for the editing process.

Again, Optinmonster says 81% of marketers using video saw an increase in sales. Even if you have a small budget, commissioning a creative video strategy can help you see results quickly that you can build upon in the future. The key to remember is to get a message across to your audience that they can embrace and understand as soon as they see it.

It’s easy for a viewer to watch and absorb videos with little-to-no effort. 

Once the video is playing the consumer can sit back and soak up the exciting information you provide to them wherever they are; on the bus to work, at home, on a cross-country train journey or elsewhere. 

Convenience is at the forefront of motion marketing which makes it perfect for the current landscape. People have little in the way of spare time, and reaching out to them with a creative video is something your audience will appreciate. It’s where the eyeballs are. Six out of 10 people prefer online videos to TV, according to Google, while they also say YouTube reaches more 18-49-year-olds than any cable or TV network.

Motion graphics aren’t just about creating an amazing video and letting it do all the work. To get the ROI you desire, your video strategy needs a strong content marketing strategy that identifies your audience, the platforms they digest their video content on and where they spend their time online.

Get that nailed down, though, and you can immediately get in front of the people who matter to you most with a creative, engaging video message that encourages them to find out more about your brand. 

People love sharing content around the internet.

92% of users watching video on mobile will share it with others, making it an invaluable resource for reaching new audiences and engaging with people who may not have heard of you before.

The value of motion graphics often surpasses the main scope they were created for. An animated video can be split up and used throughout social media platforms, for building further campaigns and creating articles.  Again, that comes back to your wider strategy and effectiveness with budget and time. Have an audience that’s active across multiple channels? Just a few tweaks to the core content can create an entirely new, engaging marketing campaign on a different social network.

Engagement is the key word here. Social media posts that feature videos have 48% more views than posts that don’t. Video campaigns on LinkedIn have 50% view rates while 81% of businesses use Facebook when video marketing. The caveats of that are more eyeballs, greater attention, increased shareability, and a greater chance your creative video campaign will generate a stronger ROI.

Most brands across all sectors are locked in an SEO battle to get their website to the top of Google and other search engines for specific keywords. A lot of them will be doing that with a focus on written content. The written word isn’t the be-all and end-all for SEO though; Google uses over 250 signals when deciding its rankings, and video content can complement a lot of them.

A good video campaign can attract backlinks to your website to give you a rankings boost. For instance, if quality news websites and blogs discover your video, write about it and link back to your website, your videos are then responsible for developing a strong, ethical link portfolio. Social signals are also used in ranking, and as mentioned, videos and motion graphics are highly-shareable forms of content.

As a Google company too, YouTube has its own algorithm that ranks quality content on its service. Creating your videos and optimising them for that algorithm will increase the chances of being seen in ‘Recommended’ tabs and relevant searches, expanding your content’s reach amongst your most valuable audiences.

Greater natural visibility optimised for the terms your most important audience is searching for will help them find your content, especially if it’s engaging and solves the problems they’re looking for solutions to.

A rule of thumb, though; never create content for search engines and their algorithms. Its best chance of success and the best way to improve ROI is to create something entertaining, informative and engaging that people love to watch and share with their friends.

According to an Animoto report the top 3 types of videos that people watch the most are: How to videos, promotional and brand sales videos and top 5 lists. You may notice a trend there. They’re all videos with a theme designed around solving problems. 

How to videos show people how to perform a task, promotional videos show how a product can make lives easier, and listicles can show viewers the top solution to a problem they have. Motion graphics are a fantastic tool that you should be utilising to keep up-to-date with digital trends, the trajectory of the current market and your consumers. They’re a highly visual platform and most importantly a way to help solve people’s problems. 

As a company creating moving content like the three above can be an invaluable resource, but you shouldn’t create content just because other brands are. It still needs to be relevant to your brand and marketing plan, and – most of all – provide value, like solving a pain point. In using motion graphics you’ll gain a much stronger response from your viewers if you take them on an interesting journey and help them out. 

They’ll become more emotionally invested and take in more of the information you are providing, helping to convert them from viewers to consumers. Think of the problems they’re having, create visual content that solves their problems, and link it in to your wider marketing strategy. By putting an arm around your prospects’ shoulders and creating valuable motion content that solves their problems, you’ll see your ROI skyrocket thanks to your creative visual marketing strategy.

CTA: The TAKEOFF team is here to help you create a motion graphics and video strategy that will blow your audience away. Interested?

Click here to view our most recent animation project and get in touch to have a chat.