If you own a startup or are working in one, the chances are that you have got a slightly complex idea that you need to cater to people in an easy to understand way. How to do it, is often a struggle faced by many entrepreneurs. Animated videos are an option that has gained popularity over the past few years. The aim of an animated marketing video is to capture people’s attention at the right moment in their customer journey with the right content. For startups, this is an opportunity they should not miss in order to get ahead of their competition.

An explainer video tells the customer the essence of your business, what your story is about, and what you can offer to your target audience. Animation gives you the freedom to show things that might not work well in live-action, such as integrating symbols or text to help simplify complex ideas to better engage your audience without them losing their focus and interest. Explainer videos do very well in social media because of their entertaining and educational style. When done right, the video shouldn’t feel like a sales pitch, but an informative and fun thing to watch. If your audience feels that they would like to be part of your story, they will be motivated to share your video with others as well. In fact, social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined.

In marketing, an important difference between the sales funnel and the buyer’s journey is that the buyer’s journey represents the customer’s perspective. In visual content, not understanding the difference can lead to telling a story that is too business oriented and not enough about the customer’s needs and wants. Think first about your audience’s goals as a way to produce engaging video that will in turn fulfill your marketing goals. For example, your first instinct might be to show off your new stunning app or product, but the customer needs to actually know what can this thing offer to them personally. One of the most powerful methods you can use for video marketing is to educate your audience. And the great thing is that education comes in many forms.

Most likely, your potential customers have a lot of other salespeople trying to get their attention. They are constantly surrounded by white papers, sales pitches, infographics, or free trials – all of which take time to read and are rarely enjoyable. Successful marketers create content which has value and is interesting, which makes video the perfect medium for that. Digital marketing expert, James McQuivey, estimates that a single minute of video content is the equivalent of 1.8 million words. Video enables you to tell your story quickly, efficiently, and you can actually connect to the viewer. Many startups have risen from the crowd with the use of a great video and you could be one of them!