5 Reasons Why Animated Explainer Videos Could Boost Your Social Media Campaigns

Animated videos are everywhere! The reason why is that consumers can easily become entranced by a short animated video (who doesn’t love a good cartoon, right?). And businesses are using videos to their full advantage on their social media marketing campaigns.

If you want to create a memorable and effective video that will dazzle your online followers, then hiring an animated video production company might be the way to go. Social media platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube, are the places where people gain information on just about anything.

People enjoy the fact that they can keep themselves entertained when they are feeling bored and/or want to lighten their moods. Plus, they get to connect with their friends and loved ones by sharing and messaging.

Consumers share original animated videos because such videos are informative, creative, engaging, and even inspiring. On the other hand, businesses also share these videos for a variety of purposes.

These purposes include marketing in an engaging and unique way and making sales presentations to prospective customers. Animated explainer videos make an excellent choice for a business’s content marketing strategy because of their emotional and psychological appeal.

In the social media generation, video has turned into the easiest online content to share. On Facebook, people like photos twice as much as they like text. But they share videos 12 times more than links and text combined. And on Twitter, users share 700 videos every minute. Now that’s amazing!

Thus, video posting, watching, and sharing is now defining a new era of internet users. Both big and small online companies are turning their efforts to online video production. And that’s where animated explainer videos are playing their main role. Online, these videos effectively reach out to potential customers by demonstrating a product or service in less than two minutes.

Here are 5 reasons why animated explainer videos (or AEVs) could boost your social media campaigns and drive more sales.

1. AEVs are the most cost-effective and engaging online content

More and more every day, internet and social media networks are turning to visual, emotional and quickly engaging media. An animated explainer video combines all three aspects in the most cost-effective way. And it does so while describing your product or service better than any other online content, such as an infographic.

You can use animated explainer videos to deliver complex ideas in a simple way. You can create engaging visual metaphors by combining those ideas. At the same time, you can present enticing experiences on an emotional level.

Plus, your explanatory and effective content can cause people to share your video. Video has the potential to grow conversions by up to 60% on average because of its visuals, attractive storytelling, and even its lovable characters.

2. AEVs are mobile-friendly

As you might already know, mobile devices are influencing the sharing of video content on social media. With the advent of cartoons and animations on mobile devices and the transition of mobile networks, people can’t seem to get enough of videos.

Today, the latest smartphones have the capacity to display videos, photos, and other rich content in HD quality. And the use of OTT messaging/sharing applications such as Whatsapp and Viber has become widespread.

Currently, video makes up 50% of all mobile online traffic, and this traffic is expected to grow by 61% in the next 2 years (Cisco). Simultaneously, iPhones and smartphones make up 40% of YouTube’s global watch time. As this trend continues, it is in every business’s best interest to focus on creating mobile-friendly videos so they don’t lose that market.

3. AEVs are easy for you to measure

All marketing specialists are aware that their efforts must be measurable in order to know the true reach and success of their campaigns. It can be easier and more effective to measure your video’s social media performance than to measure any other online content.

On YouTube, for instance, you can track and analyze the exact time when your video was viewed. You can also see how many times it was shared and if it was played all the way through. YouTube also allows you to analyse your audience’s demographics, such as gender and age groups.

Apart from free basic metrics like the ones on YouTube and Vimeo, you can opt to use more complex leased services, such as VidYard or Wistia. These provide more in-depth information, including the amount of re-watches from the same user or the full viewership rates of your video.

4. AEVs could go viral

When any video goes viral, it genuinely generates free distribution and even free advertising. Your video has the potential to get thousands or even millions of views! However, people sharing your video is not the same as your video going viral. Going viral means there’s an enormous leap in the quantity of shares.

You also need to know that some videos have a greater likelihood to be viral while others do not. Although there’s no secret to viralization, we know for a fact that comedy (50%) and how-to videos (38%) are the most likely to become viral.

AEVs have both qualities because they explain the product or services in an engaging and perhaps funny way. As a result, they could easily go viral and eventually increase their marketing benefits for your business.

5. AEVs are useful on any marketing campaign

With just a single investment in an explainer video production company, you can boost every one of your marketing campaigns. This possibility is available through social media, mobile communication, email, your business presentations, and even your blog and website. The cool thing about animated marketing videos are that they’re visual, they’re emotional, and they’re effective, no matter where you put them.

AEVs can be your greatest business tool for providing a boost to your social media marketing. They’re also an affordable investment that generates branding and boosts conversions and sales. And the good news is that you can also use them in every kind of online marketing campaign.

The post 5 Reasons Why Animated Explainer Videos Could Boost Your Social Media Campaigns appeared first on Growmap.

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5 Reasons Why Animated Explainer Videos Could Boost Your Social Media Campaigns

A Much Wanted Impact: Best Social Media Practices for Blog Growth

Blogging has become a profession of its own, replacing “traditional” careers such as law.

Blogging isn’t a demanding career because it is flexible and it is easy to adapt it to your needs. You just need to create your own spot for writing (at home, the office, a café, etc.). Then prepare your mind to unleash your inner world. But you may ask: how can I live from something so personal?

The bright side of this challenge is that many people worldwide share the same interests as you. People are looking for inspiring stories that will make them get out of their chairs and start doing what they have always dreamed about. And if you can add a monetary value to that, that’s even better, right?

Today we are going to review the best practices you can apply to help your blog to develop. By doing so, you are also securing your path to success.

1 – Create your own niche

Even if you want to express every single idea that comes to your mind, that doesn’t mean your blog has to host posts ranging from gardening to photography or cover both motorsports and ballet. That’s madness and will certainly drive visitors away from your site.

Take two to three days and think carefully about what your very own passion is. After that, you can start writing about it, as well as topics related to your passion. You can even write about out-of-niche topics as long as you relate them to your blog’s theme.

If you find creative ways to gain an audience, then you certainly are going to secure loyal visitors.

2 – Engage your audience

Now that you started building your audience, it’s time to invite them to interact and to keep them anticipating what are you going to do next. In my personal opinion, there’s no better platform for this goal than Instagram.

Instagram allows us to communicate through images, which are immensely appealing and valuable. But also, given its latest updates, Instagram also helps us to dialogue with our so-called “followers.” And yes, people are following what you have to say, so keeping the one-post-a-day recipe is the first step to success.

By keeping an eye in your personal stats (follower count, post count, likes), you can determine the best strategy for maintaining and growing your fan base. Tools like Gramblast are indispensable for having an accurate knowledge of your follower count because Instagram doesn’t show the exact number after 10k followers.

Keep an eye on your image quality: avoid any kind of pixelated images! Nothing expresses the term “unprofessional” more than that.

3 – Get some extra help

Guest posting is a practice well-known by many bloggers. The idea behind guest posting is to use the reach of authority websites in your own niche to help you grow your visitor count.

How do you do that? First, you need to reach the authority site’s admin/editor and do a proper proposal. Many websites ask for a fee in exchange for sponsored posts or visual advertisements (some of them on a monthly basis!). Others require you to include advertisements from their sites or to give them a product you sell—in case you happen to host a store as well—in exchange for a spot on their site.

This is where you need to play your cards well: refrain from doing self-promoted posts. Both admins and users hate that. But do tell your story through the article you’re giving to the host site. Any links you include in your post should be natural and be educational to your readers.

You can learn more vital practices on how to pitch your guest blog post from this infographic by Infobrandz.

Infographic Courtesy Of Infobrandz.com

4 – Don’t post too often

As bad as it is to neglect a social media profile, doing the opposite is just as bad, if not worse. Those who post around four to five times per day on a platform such as Instagram or Facebook are only scaring off their audiences. Posting so often looks like an information bomb that has no unique content.

Keep an editorial schedule where you organize your blog posts, but also sort the blogs you post on places like Instagram and Facebook. Twitter works differently. You literally need to tweet your way through the ranks, and the more the merrier as long as your tweets are relevant and not spammy.

5 – Keep healthy SEO practices

From well-written titles and metas to adding tags to your images and posts, giving SEO the attention it deserves is crucial. SEO is the fastest way to grow your website’s authority. There are several guides around the net that summarize the essential elements of SEO, but overall follow these points:

• Naturally add keywords throughout the text
• Do interlinking (adding links in your blog to internal pages of the site on which you’re posting)
• Remove plugins that slow down your website and don’t upload large images—page load time is crucial
• Always fill in alt-tags for your images
• Link to authority sites

By following these tips, you are taking the first step towards becoming a blogging star. However, keep in mind that this is a step-by-step job, and you can’t expect success overnight. With time and dedication, your efforts will pay off. Good luck!

The post A Much Wanted Impact: Best Social Media Practices for Blog Growth appeared first on Growmap.

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A Much Wanted Impact: Best Social Media Practices for Blog Growth

Social Media Etiquette for Your Business

If you’re a business owner using social media these days to promote your brand, welcome to the group.

Millions of business owners around the globe use social media regularly in order to push their products and/or services, hoping that consumers answer the call.

That said properly using social media is of the utmost importance, especially if you want your brand’s online reputation to be a sound one.

So, would you consider you and your team well-versed on social media etiquette? If not, do you planning on learning more in how to go about being a good social media participant?

Being Socially Responsible

So that your brand can do its best when it comes to social media and your business, remember these important pointers:

• Message – For starters, what kind of message are you intending to send with social media? Some business owners simply use social media because their competitors are on it. While that is a decent enough reason to be active on sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and others, it certainly shouldn’t be your prime reason. First and foremost, you should be on social networking sites to deliver your brand’s message. That message should be as to why your products and/or services are superior to your competitors. Make sure each and every time that you go on a social site it has some purpose to it. Just casually using social media is fine for people with personal messages, but companies are best-served when they have a reason to use social sites on a daily basis;
• Messenger – Do you have a designated messenger or messengers to deliver your social message on a regular basis? Some companies opt to have one person in charge of their social efforts, while others have multiple people doing the job (including the owner at times). You need to decide which voice or voices will deliver your message, thereby allowing for a more consistent voice;
• Commitment – How committed will you and your team (if you run a company with employees) be to social media? Unfortunately, some business owners only dabble on occasion with social media, thereby missing out on some great opportunities to get their brand the recognition it needs to survive. Be sure to make social media one of your priorities as a business owner. Just coming and going on occasion is not going to be worth your time or that of those consumers doing or looking to do business with you.

Avoid Negative Social Media Experiences

• Positivity – Although you might be tempted to fire off a negative post every now and then, avoid it at all costs. It is one thing when you don’t run a business to engage in some tit-for-tat negativity on social media. It is an entirely different animal when you have a business reputation to nurture and ultimately protect. Yes, some consumers (including even longtime customers) might get under your skin every now and then, but avoid the temptation to strike back on social media. If you decide to respond to any negative comments, always do it in a professional manner;
• Growth – Finally, always be looking to grow your social media presence over time. While making money is and always should be your top priority (don’t forget customer service and its importance too), being relevant on social networking sites is all but a necessity these days. With millions and millions of consumers the globe over on social media, you would be foolish to think it can’t do some good for your business. That said take the time to craft a well thought out social media approach, one where your business shines daily.

As a business owner, how are you putting social media to work for your brand?

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

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Social Media Etiquette for Your Business