Have you ever seen the short, animated videos for companies on social media or been browsing the web and wondered how they were made? Those explainer videos are an extremely effective video marketing tool that is unique, but very detailed in the process. There are many varieties of explainer videos, and if you prefer not to use a whiteboard drawing video, you can go with a 2D animation video or a live action video. If you are not sure which one to choose from, there are even mixed media videos! At CIM, we have been planning, creating and using explainer video content for years.

This form of video marketing has proven to be extremely effective for clients we have worked with. The process begins with defining the project: What’s the topic and purpose? How long of a video are we planning? What’s the specific content? What’s the call to action? The process from start to finish requires a lot of clear communication and precise details (including creating a storyboard outlining the flow of content and visuals). We generally aim to create a “main” video, one that may run 60 to 120 seconds. We then plan to make additional shorter versions (say, 15 or 30 seconds) for other uses.

Here are a few examples of explainer videos we have previously done for clients.

These animated doodle videos have an extremely high ROI, as clients couldn’t express enough to us how powerful these videos have been to drive traffic to their businesses. This style of video can be very engaging with an educational feel, which is why we recommend considering animated videos to promote general branding or specific services that may seem overwhelming, but can be simplified with an animated video.

You may ask, what are the costs? Typically, a one-minute video can run about $6,000. While not inexpensive, that investment becomes less expensive when multiple length videos are also created. Clients have a collection of videos for their website, for social media paid advertising, for Over The Top (OTT) advertising on streaming channels (like Hulu), etc. These videos are an investment in engaging, educational content that can attract and direct clients to a business.

At CIM, we truly believe brand is everything, and these animated videos are powerful for branding efforts. If your company is considering an animated video, don’t hesitate to reach out and our team would be more than happy to explain the process more in detail.

“Video marketing is a powerful tool because videos can be repurposed over and over again to attract endless amounts of organic, social, and paid search traffic. A single video can be transformed into an audio podcast, blog post, infographic, slideshow, lead magnet, Facebook ad, email newsletter, Twitter post, landing page content, and more.”

~Stephen Hockman