Video is clearly an excellent way of bringing your firm’s value to life to potential buyers. Rich media is increasingly popular for social media users looking for short snapshots into what a firm can offer as opposed to long and drawn out corporate videos.
From being a ‘nice to have’ in terms of content marketing, a video sales letter is now an absolute essential for firms looking to grow into new industries, geographies, or markets.
But it is also easy to be put off by the production costs and complexity of producing good quality material that reflects your business in the best possible light. Finding a video production agency that can do this without costing the earth is the way forward, and a little research before you begin your search is a great place to begin.
Getting animated about animated video
Animated video is an accessible way of making your first foray into creating rich media video. It can be cheap and easy to produce, and you can spin up good quality end products in next to no time.
Putting your key USPs into a visual format that your target buyers will not only have more chance of seeing, but associating with can be achieved through animated video.
Inform and inspire your target buyers
Getting your target buyers’ eyes on your videos is only the first part of the challenge. Getting them to watch them all the way through and take a positive action at the end is the next, and perhaps even more difficult part of the challenge.
Letting them know how you can help them fix a problem, a pain point or generate more value to their customers is the way to do this. Videos that talk too much about your own company, how you are setup, and how many offices you have are a no-no in this early stage content. That type of thing serves a purpose for validation later in the sales cycle, but it is good advice to avoid it for now.
In this early stage content, focus on giving your buyers information and making your message stand out. To do this, pick the products or services in your portfolio that you are best able to bring to life in a short video format, and you can always upsell your other services once you have won the new customer and built up a trusted relationship.
Which animated video will do what you need to do?
There are two choices of animated video; 2D and 3D.
For short videos to demonstrate products or services in a quick and cheap manner, 2D video is the perfect tonic. For more technical animated video productions, you will want to look to 3D but know that in doing so there is more expertise involved. By extension this adds a little cost and time into the project.
To help you choose, consider what you will use your videos for. For a corporate video to play on your website, a 3D option is perhaps the best choice. This type of content is important for when your prospective customers are looking to validate your business and its credentials as they decide whether to work with you. The best way to position this is in 3D format to showcase real people from your firm, and perhaps your offices and corporate messaging.
If the objective of your videos is to drive traffic and produce leads on social media channels, short 2D videos can be a great, and cost-effective, option. Drawing attention to your products or services and how they help solve potential customers’ pain points is a great way of generating leads and building brand awareness on social media. A series of shorter 2D videos can be utilized to deliver a consistent message but with slightly different themes each time.
Because you are not using actual people, camera crews or filming locations, you can produce a serialized set of short 2D videos even with a limited budget.
Bringing your business to life can be a lot of fun, and seeing it represented in video format is an enriching experience. You just need to be clear on what it is you are looking to achieve with your videos, and plan your requirements and budget accordingly.
But investing a little time upfront of making your selection for a video production partner is an essential aspect of making sure you are happy with the end product.
