Animated videos can be fun to watch and fun to produce. If you really, really don’t want to be in front of the camera, a quick draw or animated video is one way to get online video working for you while you stay incognito.
I would not make all my videos animated. Video variety is a good thing to engage different viewers in different ways. And I still believe you’ll want to put a human face on your business, appearing in video at some point, since people want to do business with real people. But we can talk about that another time.
To me, the most important part and the part you should spend the most time planning for, is the storytelling in your video. You’ve got to keep it very simple but also make it visually interesting. Story, Story, Story is the key!
Write out about one minute or so of copy, get your best message right up front (since people click away from online videos fast), focus on one character to tell a story! (I’d suggest the problem – solution structure)
Here’s a quick very short story example I made up to give you the idea:
“Media-phobe Mary couldn’t find any way to get the word out about her new business. That is, until she discovered “Presto Press Release software.” That tool turned her into Media Savvy Mary and put her business on the map! Now Mary’s online press releases are seen everywhere and the response has been tremendous. Thanks to “Presto Press Release software,” Mary and her business are getting all the attention…and sales… she could ask for.”
There are pro tools for making great animations like Adobe After Effects and Toon Boom and you can find pros who know how to use them. Look for someone to hire at odesk, fiverr and elsewhere who will write the script and create animation videos for you at various price points.
You can make Powerpoint or Keynote slides and convert them to "video" presentations.
There are also DIY online tools for you to try your hand at animation using templates and stock images. Here are a few choices to explore. Some are paid, some free, some have been around awhile, some are in beta:
A quick online search will certainly find more, but these tools can give you a good overview of the field.
What's your story? Have you used animation videos? Leave a comment about your experience.