We’re all looking for something unique to add to our marketing strategy and incorporating animated content can be an innovative and dynamic way to do so!
Animation can appeal to everybody and its influence is global.
You may think that animation is just too lighthearted, silly or even childish for your brand, especially if you’re B2B. But the truth is, there are so many ways you can use this versatile content format in your marketing arsenal.
But how can you repurpose existing content into animations to boost your B2B content marketing?
And how can you repurpose animations?
Christine MacKay, founder and CEO of Salamandra, joins The Content 10x Podcast to discuss how animation could be great for your branding, how it can be repurposed and how it could help you stand out from the crowd.
Salamandra specialize in creating original animated content for marketing purposes, both internally and externally.
Christine is also the author of Destination Animation which focuses on how marketers can make their animated content memorable.
She revealed her tips and tricks and shared helpful examples of how brands have repurposed animation to great success.
Listen to the podcast episode here…
You can watch the interview highlights below or catch the full conversation on our Youtube channel.
Or read on for all the expert animation tips from Christine MacKay.
The biggest perks of animation in marketing
Incorporating animation into your content marketing comes with a whole host of benefits. It’s a common misconception that animation is for kids… but that’s a myth that Christine is dispelling!
Animation is an effective tool which can:
- Convey any emotion
- Remain ‘genderless’, ‘cultureless’ and universally understood
- Serve a multitude of purposes within your brand
- Add fun/creativity to your brand without making it too silly
- Explain complex/complicated concepts in a simple way
- Be reused/repurposed in countless ways
Animation is also useful as it can be continually changed and adapted for years and years to come. In our discussion, Christine used this brilliant analogy – if a car manufacturer produces a grand shoot for a new model in Italy and then the bumper design suddenly changes…they’re up the creek without a paddle.
Well, with animation, you never have that problem!
Edits and additions can be made to your animations whenever they are needed.
Another huge plus for content marketers is that animation and audio go hand-in-hand. You can add music or record voiceovers in different languages to help keep your product universal.
Christine noted that a client of hers asked Salamandra to create an avatar of him to help users navigate his company website – a bit like a modern-day Microsoft Paper Clip!
The possibilities really are endless.
Christine suggests that really understanding your target audience and identifying their pain points is a great way to begin to formulate what animation you need.
How to repurpose animations effectively
Many brands will use animation on their website as the core material, and from the animation they will create repurposed content.
Christine outlines a number of different ways you can repurpose animations across different platforms in order to make the most of them.
Here are a few of Christine’s excellent suggestions of how you can repurpose these…
- Sales presentations – why not liven up your presentations with animated features?
- Static images – standalone images can be taken from your animation too
- GIFs – everybody loves a GIF and animations provide us with opportunities for great ones
- Electronic white papers – invigorate your documents to make them stand out
- Inductions and training – engage new employees by adding a new dimension to their learning
As with any core piece of content, why not make the most of the endless possibilities your main animation has to offer?
Repurposing for TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms
Christine explains how animations can be reshaped and resized to fit the preferences of Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and any other social media platforms.
Establishing what calls-to-action they would work for is a brilliant idea too. An animation could further encourage someone to ‘visit your website’ or ‘follow you on Twitter’, for example. That way you can determine exactly what content you need.
One of Christine’s big recent projects with Salamandra was a huge multiscreen animation. Shown in Monaco, it involved 18 screens including ones on the ceiling, the stage, the walls and the floors!
AR and VR are also really effective in this post-COVID world. For example, if you can’t host a live event, you could invite VIP members along to a virtual one and send them VR headsets. You could use animation to create avatars of yourself or other members of your team for the event!
Like with any aspect of content marketing, establishing your repurposing plan before creating your core piece is key to repurposing effectively. Content repurposing and animation go hand-in-hand!
Repurposing other content into animation
Blog posts spring to mind as a piece of content made to be repurposed into an animation. Your instructional and informative written pieces could draw in a brand-new audience if repurposed into clever and compelling animations.
The visual learners among us could be more likely to watch these engaging videos so why not translate your written word into the moving image?
According to Buzzflick, explainer videos, many of which feature animation, are 64% more likely to convert a visitor than text alone! These explainer videos can then be used in the emails, be used as social videos and even as part of your training material. It just goes on and on and on, doesn’t it!
So why miss that opportunity?
The reach and appeal of animation is truly gargantuan!
Who does animation appeal to?
The short answer is…everyone!
We take in just 10% of what we read but a huge 90% of what we watch. Amazing, right?
Many of us were raised on cartoons like Mickey Mouse and Tom & Jerry and blockbuster animated movies such as Toy Story and Snow White. A large proportion of your audience will probably have a soft spot for animation. That makes a great start!
We are also more aware than ever that different people learn in different ways. Christine makes a point that the majority of people are visual learners so, using animation in your content strategy is a no-brainer.
We have an animated explainer video on our homepage, introducing visitors to exactly what it is we do in an eye-catching manner.
Animation for internal purposes
It works well to make your training content fun for new starters and could give those visual learners a better chance of getting a grasp of their new role more quickly.
Christine mentioned a family-friendly fire prevention company she works with that does this superbly. They repurpose animated content into helpful learning material for apprentices and new starters as well as for their website.
So you can see, animation doesn’t have to be childish or silly – it can be about a whole host of different, important topics.
Animation is an incredibly versatile tool and it can convey a wide variety of emotions. So, if your company’s brand is more serious or corporate, animation can still help you get your message across in a simple yet professional way.
Repurposing animation could add another string to your marketing bow
For more from Christine, go to the top of this page to listen to the podcast episode, connect with her on LinkedIn, visit the Salamandra website or check out her brilliant book Destination Animation.
Want to expand your marketing strategy but worried it might slow you down? Let us lighten your load. Content 10x offer bespoke content repurposing services so you can focus on perfecting your core pieces! Find out how we can help you.