Many animated videos look good. Few actually work.
And by "work", we mean the video does exactly what you need it to do. The kind of video that gets your audience nodding along and motivates them to take action.
How do you produce a video like this? You ask the right questions. Here are 3 deceptively simple questions that most overlook, but hold enormous power to shape your video.
Let's dive in.
Most people who come to us have already decided they need a video. They know how effective video can be, and naturally they want one. What they often don't know yet is how to make an effective one.
The first question gets to the heart of this.
What does the video need to do that nothing else can? At first, this question might silence your mind. No answer comes. That's actually great. It's a sign that we're poking in the right place.
It might help to think about it this way. You've decided you need a picture of your team on your about us page. Why? You could describe your team all day long, but it would never be able to replace the value a picture of your team brings.
So what does the video need to do that words and pictures simply can't?
For example, the video needs to tell a compelling story, whilst the visuals and motion give a flavour of your brand quality.
Maybe it needs to show how your SaaS product is ridiculously intuitive.
Or maybe it needs to explain something very complicated in an easy to understand way.
By understanding exactly what gap the video fills, you're giving the brief a solid foundation.
If you're working through this process, this checklist for marketers can help you map out the wider strategy.
Seems like an odd question to ask, doesn't it? The answer is obvious, surely? Yet, misaligning your video content with audience intent is a sure way to kill engagement.
Spending a few moments to get in the mind of the viewer can pay off hugely.
So let's walk through it with a SaaS brand.
Your prospect lands on your homepage. They're met with copy, pictures and a video. They click play. Why?
What motivated them to click?
They are likely hoping the video will help them answer a key question faster than reading through your copy — is this product worth my time?
If you create a three-minute story when they want a 60-second answer, you're working against them. And thus, you've unnecessarily created friction.
Look, we get it. You're likely paying a lot for an animated explainer video. You want to get your money's worth. But trust us… the saying "less is more" most definitely rings true here.
Our goal here is to give the viewer exactly what they want. In 60 seconds, we answer their question – yes, this is absolutely a product worth your time.
Of course, this applies to all types of video across all industries. The principles are exactly the same.
Is it challenging to do? Yes. A minute of animation equals roughly 140 words. That's not much. Every word matters.
So does the visuals you show, and how you animate them.
Every aspect of your video needs to be spot on and purpose driven, or it will hurt your engagement and water down your results.
But here's another way to frame things. By creating a compelling video, but leaving the viewer short on answers, we're creating a potent motivation.
"I want to find out more". And this is what drives ROI.
The right animated video production partner will guide you through this process.
This question rarely gets asked early enough, but for us it's key.
Knowing what success looks like shapes the way we approach the whole project. It informs the content that we should include, and the most effective narrative arc.
Let's take a few real examples:
Their goal was simple: get more people to report modern slavery. This success metric shaped everything.
Now we can ask questions like:"What signs of slavery are people most likely to encounter?""Why are they not reporting modern slavery now?""What would compel them to act?"
The answers to these questions then inform the script content and give us the foundation to create a compelling narrative.
For example, people weren't reporting modern slavery for two main reasons:
So we designed a narrative arc which revealed how big an issue modern slavery is today, and gave them simple signs to spot.
This SaaS company had invented something of a game-changer in an otherwise archaic industry. But their audience weren't looking for the solution they had created. Same old, same old — they just did things the way they always had. In other words, they didn't know there was another option.
Our goal was to increase brand exposure and strengthen brand positioning. How did this inform the video approach?
We positioned the video as a thought-leadership piece, with 80% of the video focused on the big picture and only 20% on the actual product.
This created a lot of buzz around the new product and desire to want to find out more about it.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we were approached by Wellcome Trust. They wanted a video that would bring immediacy to the topic of a world-wide pandemic.
Our goal was to persuade investors that a pandemic was not just possible, but likely inevitable.
We can start to see how this clear goal feeds into the content structure.
"Why are pandemics more likely today?""What beliefs do investors have about the likelihood of a pandemic?""What would make a pandemic feel not only possible, but highly likely?"
We then built a story that delivered the answers — backed by science, but told with emotion.
The video went on to win multiple awards, and raised millions in funding.
This is the difference between just making a video and making one that works. If you're interested in how to write a highly effective video script, check out our blog.
Video is a huge investment.
By asking these questions you're giving the video the best chance of success. You'll be surprised about how much even asking these questions will shape your video brief, content and ultimately the results you get.
So if you're about to kick off a video project, pause and ask:
These are exactly the kinds of conversations we have with clients day in, and day out. We'd be happy to chat.
Brief us, or download our guide.
