6 great ways to use motion design in your marketing [With examples]
Motion design is a great way to communicate your message through the use of animation and design while standing out from the crowd with fun and engaging content.
They can simplify complex concepts and clarify your offering which is especially useful if your product is highly innovative like it may often happen in the tech and SaaS Industries.
But how to get started? Are explainer videos the only way to utilize motion graphics in your business? In what other ways could you use motion design instead of just sticking to traditional live video?
That's what we will answer in this article, we will explore 6 different ways you can implement motion design in your marketing pipeline as well as examples of content that fit those use cases.
If you are not yet familiar with what is motion design feel free to check out this quick article that dives deeper into the concept and why it matters in today's crowded digital market.
1) Animated Explainer Videos
According to the 2022 Industry Trends report by the School of Motion, Explainer videos are one of the most popular uses of motion design in the industry as of now, this is usually what people think of when they think motion design.
Explainer videos are short animated clips that educate the audience on a complex topic by simplifying the concept and relying on storytelling principles like the use of metaphors and comparisons to help the viewers understand the message clearly.
Explainer videos are flexible and adaptable, they can be done in a variety of styles for different use cases, they work especially well for tech and SaaS companies, where innovation and tackling new problems and opportunities is key to success, using explainers you can distill a complex problem or piece of software into a fun lesson that even a kid will understand.
You can take advantage of explainers for every part of the customer's journey.
For example, a video covering the importance of internet security could help educate viewers that don't know you yet, then an animation on different methods to keep your information safe could appeal to people considering different solutions for their problem. Finally, a landing page with an explainer going over the benefits of your password manager application, presenting it as the solution in your customer's hero's journey could help close the deal once your customer is in their decision phase.
2) Social media content
If there is one channel where it has gotten increasingly difficult to stand out, it's social media, with our short attention spans in this internet era marketers are looking for ways to create "thump-stopping" content that can catch people's attention to deliver their message.
Video is highly effective on social media platforms, and where video succeeds, motion design exceeds, our eyes are naturally drone to moving, living graphics, that stand out among the piles of static images and text-heavy posts.
Animated social spots can be made as brand awareness & nurturing like these, or made as informative bite-size pieces of content that position you as an expert, you can also repurpose longer motion design pieces like explainer videos into smaller pieces to keep up your content marketing pipeline.
3) Digital advertising
Motion designers are adept at guiding people's eyes through movement, engaging them with sound, color, and cinematography, while also delivering the message through storytelling, this makes good animated videos entertaining to watch, and great at staying top of mind.
A great example of how graphic design and film come together to bring excitement to a tech product that would normally be perceived as boring & dull.
When you need to make every advertising $ count, motion design can help make people stay and pay attention to your message, then remember it by visually learning what you are communicating. Especially on video platforms like YouTube.
4) Visual branding packages
Are you already implementing live video in your business? Creating talking heads or video presentations? Looking to start your own YouTube channel? You can create animated elements that can help enhance your production value and make your videos more engaging.
These can be lower thirds to present information to the viewer, logo animations for brand recognition, animated backgrounds for podcasts and interviews, animated call-outs to indicate information like addresses or the specs of a new product or call to action at the end of a video.
In most cases these can be made as reusable templates that you can repurpose for every video you produce, creating animated branded elements can be a great way to make your video content more unique without breaking the bank.
5) Product tutorials & "How to" videos
How about helping your customers get started with your product or software? Creating an animated piece that goes over the features of your product on how to best take advantage of them could be a great way to improve your user experience and turn your current customers into raving fans, especially in the tech and SaaS industries where your products are mostly digital.
You could create an entire video series for different use cases of your product and these could even function as product demos, so you could be killing 2 birds with one stone by helping both your current customers and those that are interested but wanna see it in action before they decide.
You could even cut portions of these videos and promote them on social media to help your content marketing! Talk about value!
6) Brand films & Trailers
What if you are not looking to communicate a specific message but instead just want to improve the perception of your brand or generate hype for the launch of a new product or feature?
You could do so by creating a brand film that showcases your brand's voice, with motion design you can control the look and feel of your videos down to the pixel, allowing you to show the world what your brand looks, sounds, and moves like.
Maybe If the perception around your product or service is a bit on the dull side, creating an awesome fun video to celebrate what it's truly about could help change the way people perceive it and get their eyeballs to notice you.
In conclusion
Overall, motion design can be a great asset for every stage of your marketing pipeline, it is very easy to repurpose and adapt into different uses and platforms, and with how easy it can achieve unique looks and the personality of its animation it can truly help your content stand out from the crowd.
Wanna get started on implementing motion design in your business? How about some tips and tricks on what to look out for when working with creative agencies and contractors? Check out the full article here.
Not sure if motion design can be useful to you? Here on Zetanimo, I specialize in creating motion design pieces like these to support businesses with their inbound marketing, let's connect and figure out what we could get done for you!
