Working in the tech industry, you’ll know the buzz of creating and launching a new product that can change the world. You know the product inside out, how it works, how it benefits people, and how it makes the world we live in a better place. But you need to make sure the excitement and awe are shared by your target market. And, more than this, you need to make sure they connect and buy with you, rather than with your competitors.
But how? Communications. Not just any old communications, though. You need inventive, strategic communications that convey the message of who you are, what you offer and how it can benefit your customers. The message needs to be concise, crystal clear and cut through the noise of the rest of the industry to engage your customers. More than this, communications need to develop a stronger, easier-to-understand value proposition that leaves no doubt in your prospects’ minds that you are the one for them. The solution? A kickass animated explainer video.
But before we look into how these can bring you long-term success in the form of more clicks, enquiries, conversions and profit, let’s look at the communication challenges you face as a tech company…
Communication challenges of tech companies
First up, you live in a hugely competitive world. No matter what form of tech you’re in, be it software as a service (SaaS), renewable and sustainable energy, AgroTech, EduTech or SpaceTech, it can feel like there is more competition out there every day.
On top of this, tech products are often complicated, which can lead to entangled, indigestible sales messages. All too often, companies fall into the trap of their marketing being too product-led, focusing on the spec of the product and how it works. Pinpointing the benefits of the product, on how it will change someone’s life for the better, is a much more effective way of connecting on an emotional and psychological level – the level that takes people from browsing to buying.
Animated explainer videos are a brilliant way to achieve this. A complicated product can be explained in a sharp, simplified, visual message that is straight to the point and takes prospects on a strong, easy-to-follow customer journey.
Here, we’re going to take a deeper dive into the core benefits of animated explainers before giving you 5 top tips for animated explainer success.
What are the core benefits of animated explainers?
Tech marketers who have looked into animated explainer videos before will know that some of the main core benefits are that they:
- Illustrate a simplified sales message effectively
- Bring static content to life
- Improve brand identity
- Can be repurposed and used in presentations, seminars, exhibitions and so on
- Increase lead generation and conversions… significantly. Studies show that people are 64-85% more likely to convert after watching a product video.
But there are a few incredibly instrumental and constructive benefits that you may not know about…
Scriptwriting in animated explainers creates the best sales messages
Writing a script for an animated explainer video takes your brand, values, vision, proposition and customer pain points and condenses them into a 15-second to 2-minute long sales message. Done well, that will be the best sales message you’ve ever created.
In a matter of seconds, you communicate who you are, who your customer is, what problem you solve for them and why they should buy from you. Once you’ve got it nailed, it can be used everywhere – as your elevator pitch, in presentations, in marketing materials. It can even be used as copy on your website. Nobody has the time or inclination to read pages of copy anymore, so a short, well-scripted message that says everything will leave you with cleaner, effective landing pages.
Art direction takes brand identity to new levels
Skilled animation teams will work with you to create mood boards and storyboards from your current branding and visual identity. Through the use of graphics, illustrations and treatments, they will build an animated explainer with a new fresh feel that takes your brand identity to a new, and better, level.
What’s more, it will be done in a way that allows you to deconstruct the animation, taking out illustrations and core elements to use in brochures, slide decks and throughout your website. You can even use a shortened version of the explainer to adapt it for purposes such as short ads for targeted campaigns.
Visibility, reach and dwell time go up, up, up
Think about how you do your market research before you buy a new product or service – Google searches, YouTube videos, social content. Your customers are the same.
Placing animated explainer videos on multiple platforms that include key words and phrases will increase your SEO rating. When people watch a video on your website, it increases dwell time and reduces bounce rate. This makes you even more special in the eyes of Google and they will reward you by bumping you up the ranks… possibly to the point where you reach the holy grail – page one of Google! All of this translates into you being more visible and having a wider reach.
A sprinkle of creativity makes your competitors irrelevant
The fact is, very few tech companies are using animated explainer videos. You can get ahead of the curve and stand head and shoulders above the crowd simply by introducing a sprinkle of creativity into your communications strategy.
People can’t resist pressing a play button on a website. When they do, they spend more time considering your offering and, with each minute that passes, the crystal-clear message you’re communicating to them is nudging them towards crossing your conversion line, rather than that of your competitors.
And it doesn’t stop there. Once they’re at the point of converting, you could add in another video for the onboarding process too… making it as easy as possible. Remember, people don’t hang around these days. A bump in the customer journey road can mean you lose them at the ninth hour.
But it’s not just about new customers. Animated explainers are fantastic for customer retention too. They can be used to promote new products, services and features, or simply to keep you front of mind so customers stay loyal and committed to your brand.
5 tops tips for animated explainer success
So, how do we make the magic happen? How do we ensure that an animated explainer video ticks all the boxes and turns your tech company into a roaring success? Here are our 5 top tips…
1 – Be brave
Don’t play it safe. If you dilute the creativity, your animated explainer won’t reach its full potential. Think outside the box, use your imagination and couple a clever, thoughtful, hard-hitting script with visually stunning illustration and animation.
2 – First comes script, then comes art
Start with the script. Any animation starts with a story, and a story needs a script. This doesn’t mean that you have to have a voiceover. An animated explainer can be purely motion graphics and text. But that still needs a compelling and striking script behind it.
Then, turn to the artwork. But remember – think differently and don’t be afraid to create a style you wouldn’t normally use. It can still be in line with your brand guidelines, but a fresh new approach will attract and delight customers.
With both the script and artwork, try to get into the customers’ brains and think about what they want… then give it to them.
3 – Think about length and format
Ask yourself what length of video you need. Animated explainers can be anything from 15 seconds to 2 minutes long. What purpose will it be used for? How long does your audience have to dedicate to watching your video?
And what about the format? Landscape? Portrait? Square? It depends on where you’re going to use it. Different platforms call for different formats.
You may also want to consider making versions with and without sound, or multilingual versions if you have an international audience. All these options mean that you’ll reach and connect with a larger audience.
4 – Future-proof your animated explainer
When you make an animated explainer, you want to be able to use the content for months, even years, to come. So it needs to be future-proof. Unless it’s about a certain event or product, don’t make it date- or product-specific.
5 – Track, analyse, learn and refine
Animated explainer videos are a great way to garner analytics. You can track and analyse who is interacting with the content and how, right down to where they are located and how much of the video they watch. You can easily see if people are dropping off before the end of the video, which gives you the opportunity to learn and refine to get even better results.
So, have we tickled your tastebuds? Got your creative juices flowing? Excited you about the fact that an animated explainer could help you communicate how your tech company is changing the world for the better? Head over to our or head over to our Animated Explainer service page for more info.
Here at Seed, we like nothing more than collaborating with those who work for the greater good – so, if you’re in need of support with inventive brand and marketing strategy, we’d love you to get in touch.
Written in collaboration with Jo Berthalot.
