by Lauren Cunningham, Executive Account Strategist, Killer Visual Strategies
Motion graphics combine elements of animation, short-form text, voiceover, music, and sound design to deliver your message to your target audience. The graphics often serve as the primary piece of content within a larger visual campaign, allowing viewers to watch your brand’s story unfold on screen, guiding your audience to a key idea or conclusion.
The ROI of motion graphic content in terms of conversions and revenue is impressive.
Motion graphics can be incorporated into all strategic marketing initiatives, but it’s important to work with concepts that speak clearly to your audience while maintaining your brand’s identity.
While there is no limit to the diversity of creative direction for motion graphics, most generally fall within 3 primary categories:
Explainer: A motion graphic used to explain something, whether it be a process, product, or concept.
Promotional: A motion graphic used to promote something, such as a product, initiative, or service.
Emotive: A motion graphic used to motivate to action, or elicit a specific emotional response from the audience.
With an Explainer Motion Graphic you’ll want to walk viewers through a “how to” of using a product or service. Enumerate the benefits or specific details of an event, product or service. Provide clarity on complicated internal or consumer-facing processes. Typical target audience: B2B, decision makers, budget controllers
With a Promotional Motion Graphic you can generate excitement for an upcoming launch or event to niche segments of consumers, both B2C and B2B, and the general public
With an Emotive Motion Graphic your goal is to stir emotions, inspire viewers to share your content with their social networks and drive towards a desired action.
What is the right motion graphic for you? To select the right category of motion graphic for your initiative, you need to consider 3 key questions:
What is your goal? Who is your audience? What do you want your audience to do?
The key to deciding on the correct motion graphic type for your initiative is to consider how your goals align with your audience every step of the way. With every creative choice you make, always consider your goal, audience, and intended outcome. Every creative decision must address those 3 key questions.
For example, an Explainer motion graphic might explore the history of vaccines, explain how they function, and examine the anti-vaccine movement.
For years, Killer Visual Strategies has partnered with Carrington College on a variety of projects to help drive attention to their various educational programs while also growing their thought leadership. After primarily working on static infographics with us, they decided they wanted to test the impact a motion graphic might have on their content marketing goals. They were looking for a compelling concept that would position Carrington College as a thought leader, generating interest and attracting new generations of students to their medical programs.
We knew that we had to approach the content with a thorough overview, so we chose to make the motion graphic just over three minutes in length; double the length we would normally suggest. To connect with the audience while ensuring accurate reporting on the topic, we needed to strike the right balance between scientific vernacular and everyday language. The end result is an informative — yet informal — story that garnered much attention online, including a repost by Upworthy that led to nearly 1 million views in the first few weeks following the launch of this motion graphic.
A Promotional motion graphic might promote a particular platform, say in healthcare, while generating excitement for the gig economy in healthcare.
As an example, Killer Visual Strategies assisted MyConsultQ was undergoing a transition from a traditional consulting model to a more on-demand approach. To best demonstrate the value of this new opportunity with potential users, they needed to both explain how this gig economy works within healthcare and showcase their key value propositions, instilling confidence and generating excitement with their base.
Our efforts focused on developing a visual language that would pull trade show attendees into their booth, where MyConsultQ’s expert sales team could then close deals. Because the motion graphic would most often be viewed in a trade show setting — without sound — we knew we couldn’t rely on any audio cues to carry the narrative; this meant we’d be relying entirely on visuals. By shortening the narrative and developing abstract imagery we effectively simplified and communicated MyConsultQ’s complex on-demand healthcare staffing solution.
Keep in mind, while there are 3 main categories of motion graphic, that doesn’t mean that every video will fall under a single umbrella. There is no one-size- fits-all solution — indeed, exploring the intersections of these categories can yield exciting results.
Success requires an intimate understanding of your brand/product/cause as well as your audience. How can you speak most clearly to the people who matter most? Motion Graphics could be your solution! [24×7]
Lauren Cunningham is an Executive Account Strategist with Killer Visual Strategies. The Seattle-based visual communication agency provides end-to-end service including ideation and content in tandem with the creation of visual campaigns, infographics, motion graphics, interactive designs, and multimedia experiences that seek out new frontiers of visual narrative. Since it was founded in 2010, Killer has spearheaded the use of visual communication on an international scale and across platforms towards a common goal to delight, inspire, and connect with any audience in the most visually stimulating and engaging ways possible.
