Author: Digital Solutions

Why Animated Videos are one of The Best Strategies for Your Social Media

Animated videos are an engaging instrument that can be very helpful to tell your story much more comprehensively. 65% of us are visual learners, and 90% of the information that is transmitted to the brain is visual. Vision is your most dominant sense, according to molecular biologist John Medina, it takes up half of our brains resources. Visual information is said to be processed 60 000 times faster than text.

For these reasons, there has been quite a shift towards visual content on social media platforms. Only last year, the number of video posts per person has gone up by 94% in the United States alone. At the moment, Facebook is averaging on more than 4 billion video streams each day. Then there is also the picture superiority effect in which both pictures and images are much more likely to be remembered than text.

Below are some statistics that will help you understand why you should be using more video in your marketing campaigns.

• After watching a video, an average of 64% of users are more likely to purchase a product online
• Y including a video on your landing page, you can increase conversions by up to 80%
• 1/3 of all activity online is spent watching videos
• According to YouTube, people who use YouTube watch more than 3 billion hours of video each month
• About 50% of executives will look for more information after watching a video on a product or service

If you have not yet started using video as part of your content marketing strategy, the time for you to start is definitely now.

This is all-great but why use animated videos?

With so many different videos out there, all trying to get viewers attention, it starts to get a bit tough for companies to cut through the noise. Having another talking head, bland tutorial, or boring explainer video is just not going to make the cut. Your video will need engagement, which is exactly what an animated video will help you get.

Most of the consumers out there usually prefer video content to read. Consumer preference will help you get to video explosion in content marketing. Video content will be used more for lead generation and converting. Many of the potential buyers out there are not interested in talking to a salesperson. Right at the bottom of the funnel is where your animations and videos are able to influence sales in later stages. There is a lot of experimenting involved in order to find out what type of videos work in different situations. Talking heads, animation, CGI, actors. How to present hooks, introductions, and call-to-action in videos. However, with animation, you get staying power in this mix.

There are a few factors as to why an animation video can work better than other types of visuals:

An animation video keeps a viewer’s attention

Most of us internet users have quite a short attention span and we generally only spend a certain amount of time on an article or video. With animation videos, they evoke emotions that resonate with the viewers. It can help spark conversations and makes your audience want to keep following the story.

In addition, these days’ people are much more used to the more intrusive marketing ads. Often they just see right through all of the white noise that the ads create. But with an animation, it is much less known to be a marketing instrument. Which makes people more likely to pay more attention to it.

A great example of this is Google Doodles. These quirky animations just get us feeling like we want to click on them.

An animation can simplify complex topics

Animated videos bring certain concepts to life that live videos or text just cannot. If you think about it, you have the freedom of making your characters talk as much as you like, travel in time and even fly. With a good animation, you can show how processes and mechanisms work. A great example of making use of an animation video for explanation is Ted-Ed. If you have not yet signed up to their channel, it is definitely about time you did. The channel has more than 3 million subscribers and it is also one of the most popular educational channels on YouTube. Most videos created by the Ted-Ed team are animations. It helps simplify otherwise difficult topics like the physics of the “most difficult” move-in ballet or how the food you choose to eat can affect your brain health.

Have a look at these essential tips and examples of the best practices on how you should make a product demo video.

Animations can bring back old memories

Most people generally associate cartoons with good times in their childhood. Animation has the ability to make us nostalgic, which is one of the most powerful emotions. Nostalgia has the power to filter out any negative emotions as well as fight depression, according to studies.

Animation videos are fun

People like to be entertained, even if they are being educated or talk business. The more entertaining you make your video on Facebook, YouTube, or any other social media platforms, the more people will view and share it. Animation gives you an extra 10 point on the entertainment factor.

Animation videos fit in just about any category

An animation video can work perfectly well for just about any marketing need. Whether it be infographics, product explainer videos, or release announcements. Many marketers who work at prominent companies have recognized this trend. This helps explain why out of 50 best explainer videos collected by Video Brewery, HubSpot, and Switch Video, only seven of them are not animations.

Animations are not very expensive to produce

One of the biggest advantages you get when using an animation video for your social media platforms is that it will end up costing you a lot less than if you used a live video. The video production process would usually involve spending a lot of money. Trying to find the perfect actor, spokesperson, cutting and shooting the film. Instead of all of that, you just need to put in a fraction of this effort in order to create the perfect animated explainer video.

Just how popular and powerful will video marketing become?

In 2020 there is no telling just how much video traffic is going to grow, based on previous years and how it has continues to grow, it should be huge. Video will dominate the internet. Video is becoming the primary medium for how people using the internet will consume the information they want.

Below are a few animated video tools that may be helpful in getting you started

Animatron – This is an awesome online animation maker, and it’s free! The tool allows you to create your own animation from scratch. You are also given the option to pick from a very wide range of pre-animated objects, which are available in the market. One of the very cool features in Animatron is that it makes use of the cutting-edge HTML5 technology, which means that any animations you create with the tool will play on any of your devices and browsers.

Animoto – This is also a great tool for when you want to create videos from photos. The tool offers many different templates to choose from. All that is required of you is to choose a style and upload your pictures and text. Animoto will do the rest. Animoto packages start from R115 a month. There is also a free trial available.

How to use an animated video in your social media strategy

How to Use Animated Video for Your Social Media Strategy

By now, you should be more or less convinced to make use of more animations across your social media platforms. There a few important factors that you should keep in mind in order to make your video strategy successful.

Try to keep your animation short and sweet

You should try to keep your animation video short, especially when posting it on Facebook, since these are usually almost ten times shorter than those on YouTube. A great example of how shorter videos can do extremely well on Facebook is Tasty by BuzzFeed. What is their key to success? They are entertaining, short, and they suck the viewer in from the get-go. And even though they are not making use of an animation video, it would make a lot of sense to learn from their strategy. And at the end of the day, who would not want to have 30 million followers on Facebook?

Try to keep the Autoplay Function in mind

The videos that appear in your News Feed start playing automatically. Being a video creator, you should be able to create a video that grabs viewers’ attention from the start. You should also keep in mind that the videos that play in your News Feed play silently, which means that your video will also have to grab viewers’ attention without the help of sound. For this purpose, animations can be perfect.

Always make people feel good about themselves

When you are creating a video for social media, you should also keep in mind that people are going to be discovering your video next to a status update from their dad or a photo of their friends. If you want to get as many likes and shares as possible, ensure that your video is appealing to the audience. Let us face it; people often share things that make them look good to other people.

A great example of this is the friend’s anniversary videos that Facebook create for you. These videos fit perfectly into the context and they are about love and happiness.

Use different types of videos on different types of social media platforms

Facebook ads that personal touch, YouTube is more for education, Twitter works well for engagement and some would say Snapchat is for attention. In order to get the most out of your videos, you should try to use different types of videos for different social media platforms. With an animation video, it allows you to experiment and see exactly what type works best for your marketing strategy.

Try to animate other types of content

While most of us know that video is king, it should not always be the only visual that you share on your social media. A study by BuzzSumo has revealed that infographic, “Why” posts and lists are also very likely to get many shares.

You could attempt to make it an animated “Why” infographic on a topic that is trending at the moment that would include a list. There is a good chance that it will go viral in a few days.

To cut our long story short

Video is a very powerful marketing tool, and with animation, it is a trending video type that you definitely do not want to miss out on. Animation videos could be that one thing that your business is lacking and needs in order to get likes, views and shares. It appeals to your audience and helps market emotions. It also has many use cases and is quite simple to create.

At Digital Solutions, we create professional 2D animations. Our animations are ideal for company profiles, digital marketing content, products and services, and social media marketing.

Our animations include a logo animation, a backtrack, voice-over and 1080p HD quality. To find out more about our animations, contact us on 011 867 6380 or visit our website on www.digital-solution.co.

 

When you are considering the many different factors that go into building a business, creating a logo may not be at the top of your list, but it should be!

Do not listen to that little voice that says, “Maybe I won’t even need a logo”, and that voice is wrong. Your company logo is a crucial part of turning your brand into a success. Obviously, this is right up there with having great quality products, services, and positive referrals. If you are still on the fence about the importance of a logo, then the below may help you come to a decision.

 

1. Attention-Grabbing

These days most attention spans are pretty short, especially with consumers. As the moment, companies have more or less 2 seconds to convince potential customers to pay more attention to their product or services and that they are worth the consideration. This is also where your logo comes in. A good logo can quickly grab someone’s attention and help communicate a company’s core values in an interesting way. That short attention span that many of us have, the one that causes consumers to judge your business only on its appearance, well you can have this work to your advantage if you have a great logo to speak for your business.

2. Making a Strong First Impression

You usually only have once chance to get it right. A logo is, in essence, your company’s very first introduction to consumers. If your logo has been designed well, it can pique the interest of the public and in this way, invite them to learn more about your business and what you have to offer.

Your company’s first impression is your opportunity to immediately communicate ownership over the products or services you have to offer or the niche that you dominate. Is your financial advice especially helpful for solopreneurs? Does your store offer women’s basketballs with a better grip? Your logo helps you introduce your company as an authority in your professional space from the very beginning.

3. It is the foundation of your brand identity

A successful branding campaign is all about telling a story that will help you influence customers’ emotions. And while it is true that having your logo designed is just a part of a company’s brand, it also serves as the main foundation for your entire narrative on which your brand is built. Fonts, colours, tones – all of these factors are determined by the story you are telling to the public, and your logo will set the stage for the story. At a later stage, these elements will translate from your logo onto all of your other branding materials – business cards, letterheads, landing pages and so on. You will be creating a concrete brand identity that is marketable.

4. Visual equal memorable

Your logo is what leads your audience to your company. Your logo is your point of identification; it is the symbol that your customers will use to recognize your brand. Ideally, you will want people to connect the sight of your logo with a memory of what your business does straight away, and more importantly, how it will make them feel. Because having a good logo is also a visual, aesthetically pleasing element, it can trigger a positive recall about your brand that the name of your company alone may not. And, let’s be honest, many of your audience will most likely forget the name of your business, however, they will immediately associate your logo with the memories that have with your brand.

5. It will separate you from the competition

Do not be shy to be different when it comes to your logo, as it tells consumers exactly why your business is different and unique. So there might be another 20 coffee shops in your neighbourhood, but yours is the one that is completely committed to sustainability, and that green, earthy logo will help drive that message home.

Having a well-designed company logo can help you communicate everything from the company’s mission to the background, through to the perfect icon or font. So basically, your company’s logo is the forum to both convey exactly what your values are and also to show customers why you are not like the other competitors, you are better.

6. Fosters brand loyalty

Consumers crave consistency. As your brand is recognized and grows, your logo is going to become more familiar to many different consumers, and this familiarity will be what creates the perception of your business is accessible and trustworthy. Think about it, when you are out shopping for new gym clothes and you suddenly spot those Nike track pants, you are instantly ready to buy them, and this is because, with Nike, you know that you are in safe hands; Nike is a brand that you know well and can trust. Trust is built on a logo that has been well designed, and quick to follow after that is brand loyalty. Once consumers know and like you, they are going to seek you out again, and your logo is what they will keep an eye out for first.

7. Your audience will expect it

Your logo is the one thing that your audience will try to find when they see any communications from your specific brand. Your logo needs to be front and centre of all of your marketing materials like flyers, business cards, websites, advertisements etc. If you do not have that logo that jumps out at customers, you will be missing an opportunity to make your brand stick in the minds of your audience.

Below are some fascinating facts about world-famous logos:

From Nike to McDonald’s, the most iconic brand have successfully stood the test of time, as they do not need words to tell their story. Take inspiration from these logos and follow the advice of the experts. Maybe one day it will be your logo that we speak about.

Your brand is defined by your logo. It defines exactly what your company stands for and how a consumer can associate themselves with your brand. Companies spend a lot of money on the design of their logos so that they are able to have unique logos, which allow them to stand out from their competitors. We see logos everywhere, every day, but there are only a few that will stick in our minds. Perhaps it’s a hidden element that adds to the aesthetics or a specific colour in the logo. Here are some fascinating facts behind some world-famous logos.

1. In the FedEx logo, there is an internationally hidden white arrow in between the letters “E” and “x”, which was created by blending two different fonts together. This logo has won more than 40 awards and it is renowned for the best use of negative space.

 

The FedEx logo is one of the most recognised logos to date. The logo was designed by Lindon Leader in 1994. One of the legend logos when it comes to designs. When Lindon began designing the FedEx logo, the CEO, Fred Smith said two things, “You can make them pink and green for all I care; just give me a good reason why. My trucks are moving billboards. I better be able to see a FedEx truck loud and clear from five blocks away.” Lindon did not plan the white arrow, he saw a small arrow appear while designing the logo and went with it. He tried to mix the best qualities of two different fonts, Futura Bold and Univers, to make the arrow look natural and not forced. When he showcased the final designs to FedEx, the CEO was the first person to notice the hidden arrow, and everyone approved.

2. At some point surely we have all wondered what the traffic cone in VLC Media stands for. The person who created the VLC Media Player is the VisaRezo Association of the Ecole Centrale’s Networking Students Association. There were a few students from the association came back after a night of drinking with a traffic cone. They then started a traffic cone collection. When the VideoLAN project started developing the VLC Media Player, they decided on a traffic cone as their logo.

 

3. Domino’s Pizza was originally named DomNick’s, and it was a very small pizza store, which was bought by Tom Monaghan and his brother James. The brothers decided to both run the business and split their time. But James was not yet ready to leave his full-time job as a postman in order to run the pizza shop, so he resigned and sold his shares to his brother Tom. Tom then bought another two pizza shops and expanded the business by 1965. He wanted all three stores to have the same name and be a franchise. The original owner of DomNick’s would not allow him to use the original name, so Tom renamed the stores to Domino’s after one of his employees suggested it. At the time Tom decided to change the store’s name, there were only three stores, which is why he decided to add the three dots to the logo. His plan was to add a dot each time he expanded and opened another store but the business expanded so quickly that he had to drop that idea. If he stuck with the idea, the logo would have to have over 13 000 dots on it by now.

 

4. Despite what many believe, the Walt Disney logo is actually not based on Walt’s own signature. This logo is recognised worldwide, by people of all ages. The first logo had just the words “Walt Disney Presents.” It was at a much later stage that the image of the castle was added. Walt Disney’s log is actually a stylized version of Walt’s actual signature, which was created by a group of artists. As the company started to grow and expand, Walt did not have time to personally sign each piece of fan mail that was received. Some of his employees along with his secretary would take care of most of the fan mail and sign on his behalf. As a result of this, in the 1940s there existed more fake versions of Walt’s signature than real ones. The version that had been stylized started becoming increasingly popular and made it hard for Walt Disney to sign autographs himself. Over the years, Walt Disney had tried to change his own signature to better match the stylized version, but you are still able to see the difference.

Your company logo is the central point of your corporate identity, and it allows your customers to identify your specific brand, its offer and its values. Logos, letterheads and business cards give your brand the opportunity to put its best foot forward when engaging with potential clients, business partners and current clients. This is why you should not underestimate the power of a great logo.

 

5. Ericsson decided to name their revolutionary technology “Bluetooth” after Harald Bluetooth who was ruling Denmark as King between 958 and 986 CE. During Harald’s rule, he introduced Christianity to Denmark and Norway and he also contributed to the unification of many different Danish tribes under one kingdom. This analogy was being used while naming the wireless technology Bluetooth because, just as the king was uniting people, the technology was also enabling the unification of different devices and helped make communication easier.

The Bluetooth logo was designed using bind rune. Bindrune is a combination of letter or runes which were used to write Germanic languages before Latin letters were adopted.

At Digital Solutions, we have a great team of professional and specialised graphic designers who have the ability to produce company logos, letterheads and business cards of the highest quality.

At Digital Solutions we work closely with each of our clients to design the perfect logo that best suits their needs, vision and identity.

To find out more about what Digital Solutions have to offer, visit our website on www.digital-solution.co.

We understand the temptation of cutting costs when it comes to marketing. Marketing makes up the bulk of most business’ budgets and for many, it seems like a cost they could do without. We have advised against too many clients who opt to have graphics, websites or content created by friends or relatives at a lower cost; have seen the results of cutting corners far too many times.

The fact of the matter is that marketing is tricky and requires a set of refined skills, the kind you can only really find in a digital marketing agency.

Don’t believe us?

Here are a few reasons why you should:

An Understanding of Best Practices

Agencies that deal with Google products on a daily basis understand and stick to their best practices for advertising. This goes the same for online platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. This not only ensures that you get the best use out of these platforms when marketing on them but also helps you to get the best returns on your marketing investment.

Professionals Work from Experience

Agencies are where they are thanks to extensive experience, research and experimentation that has allowed them to further develop the most effective techniques, while also understanding what doesn’t work in certain campaigns, and why.

This kind of homework doesn’t come easily, or at a small cost for that matter. Your business has other obligations to see to. You likely don’t have the time or capital to conduct A-B testing to find the best results for SEO or pay-per-click advertising.

It is far better to use an agency that has likely already done all of this and learned a great deal in the process.

Mistakes can be Costly

Mistakes in pay-per-click marketing can be very expensive, you could end up being charged hefty sums of money for an erroneous click of a button.

Agencies generally have the experience required to effectively operate these platforms and are far less likely to make any mistakes. Just one more reason to opt for a professional service over doing it yourself.

Contact Digital Solutions for Details

Looking for assistance from a digital marketing agency with the experience and skillset to offer you the best results? Contact a representative from Digital Solutions today, or visit our website for details.

If you are running an e-commerce website, then you are likely no stranger to the consistent work and development that it takes to keep on offering your consumers (and potential consumers) what they want from your site.

You need to constantly be improving on your SEO efforts, using pay-per-click advertising to get your brand and products into the public eye, while also taking to social media to ensure that your online store is constantly engaging with potential and existing customers.

However, regardless of what your efforts have been throughout the year, now is the time to up your game, since this is the time that the bulk of your consumers will be looking to start shopping, and they will also want to be doing it away from the mad rush of masses all with the same idea.

Black Friday: A Not-So American Event

Black Friday (however you feel about it) is around the corner, and if you run an e-commerce website, this particular day probably marks an opportunity to outdo yourself. Many online retailers count on Black Friday alone to make up the bulk of their annual sales, and this year will prove to be no different.

You do, however, need to prepare for this, and there is a lot to consider. For starters, you need to make sure that your site and its offered products are visible to those to whom you want to sell. For this, optimization isn’t quite enough, you will also need to do some thorough social media marketing to ensure that people are engaging with your offers, even if you aren’t planning on converting them until Black Friday hits.

Readying for the Festive Season

Once the hype around Black Friday dies down, you need to consider sales over the festive season, which will also account for much of your annual profits if you do it right. Still, the same rules for marketing apply since competition for online stores will be fierce, with a number of big contenders to stand against.

Online stores stand to benefit here by using platforms like Google Ad’s display ads which will show your offers in image format to those who might be interested in them. Even if they aren’t planning on purchasing those items just yet, by the time festive season shopping comes around, they will know to get these offers from your online store.

Contact Digital Solutions for Details

There is a lot that goes into fostering a healthy ecosystem for online marketing, which is why many companies prefer to outsource these efforts to digital marketing specialists with the experience and resources to get the most out of returns on investment.

If you would like to know about our offers on digital marketing, be sure to get into contact with a representative from Digital Solutions today.

Digital marketing, search engine optimisation, content is king, social marketing, influencers, big data, targeted marketing… these are all words that have been thrown around during our digital age.

If you haven’t heard of them, it’s time to get a connection to the internet and come out from under that rock. If you run a business, the need to engage with these marketing channels is all the more important.

But understanding what efforts to take in your digital marketing campaign also requires an understanding of your business and its audience, and how they tend to look for products and services like yours.

Who is Searching for You?

Reigning in those customers who are actively searching for your offers forms the cornerstone of most online marketing activities. This is where SEO and paid search are essential.

Search engine optimisation whereby websites, keywords, meta descriptions and content are optimised to improve your rankings on search engines.

Paid search advertising, such as campaigns conducted on Google Ads is also a powerful way to get your brand on the front page of search engines with specific targeting tools and measurable results.

How Social is Your Brand?

Social media is not just about sharing unpopular opinions, shaming animal hunters and telling everyone about each gruelling detail of your life or lunch, it also offers an unimaginably powerful way to interact with prospective clients, and get your brand in their headspace.

If a Picture Says 1000 Words…

The communicative power of images is nothing new to marketing, and in the digital age, video provides a far more effective way to keep your prospective clients engaged, interested and involved with your brand. Platforms like YouTube even have their own approach to video search engine optimisation, which ensures that your creative genius gets put in front of the right people.

I’m Sure there’s an App for That

Mobile applications represent a little more of an investment than the other approaches mentioned above, but can result in incredible returns. Mobile apps can be easily distributed via app stores, are remarkably interactive and always give your audience a little something new (especially where AR and VR are concerned).

Taking the Holistic Approach

Of course, the best approaches to marketing are those that are all-encompassing and well-rounded. Efforts that make use of a mixture of the abovementioned channels, and allow them to leverage off of one another can be complicated, but are always the most effective.

Contact Digital Solutions for Details

If you would like to know more about using an experienced digital agency to handle your online marketing campaign, contact a representative from Digital Solutions today.

With so many approaches to advertising, and with so many different forms of media to choose from, it can be difficult knowing which channel would be the best for your business to advertise on. You could opt for a website or mobile app, take to social media platforms, deliver television and radio ads or plaster your brand on a billboard, but which approach would be best for your business and the results it is looking to generate from its approach to marketing.

Cross-channel marketing, where viable, is a great approach that merges a number of these abovementioned channels into one to give your brand the best exposure for the most positive results, so let’s explore it in a little more detail here.

Cross-Channel Marketing in a Nutshell

Cross-channel, or multichannel marketing blends a number of advertising disciplines into a single, complex but coherent campaign. It utilises a number of promotional channels at once and in unison to attract and communicate with audience members. To accomplish this, cross channel marketing may make use of digital media such as websites and email campaigns in conjunction with one another as well as more traditional forms such as print, radio and television, all at once.

What are the Benefits?

Cross channel marketing may be a more expensive approach to advertising since many of the channels you will be using can be costly. However it does hold a number of unique advantages when compared to other approaches, which ensures a favourable return on investment:

• Connect with consumers on channels that they are actively engaged with;
• Increase consumer engagement and conversions over a multitude of channels;
• Increase brand awareness and customer base;
• Make data-driven decisions across all of your marketing channels;
• Build long-lasting relationships with potential and existing customers by keeping your brand in their head-spaces.

Contact Digital Solutions to Expand Your Approach to Marketing

If you would like the digital aspects of your cross-channel marketing campaign seen to by a digital marketing agency that works with passion, experience and integrity, be sure to get into contact with a representative from Digital Solutions today.