Imagine a situation when you are shown a picture and an animation. Which one do you think will keep your attention longer? Would you prefer seeing 100 pictures one after the other or watching an animated series of pictures that last a couple of minutes?
Videos perform far better than pictures and text on social media because of this reason. While social media platforms provides an unparalleled reach for posts, the audience's attention span is short.
People skip as much content as they consume. It is not enough to create animated content; the key is to engage it. Content creators do not need artistic skills to make animations. There are tools available for this.
The Power of Social Media
The actual power of social media is its reach. The reach results in unparalleled influence. People are more open about how they want to express themselves on these platforms. They are also very particular about the kind of content they want to see and actively engage with it.
This ecosystem is a dream-come-true for marketers. They now have the power to target their audience precisely and hear from them directly. The key to reaping the benefits of social media posting is to create engaging posts. Animated posts are highly effective and fun.
Animations on themselves command greater attention and engagement. Imagine marrying this format with Social Media. There is no limit to how well the post can do if done well. To make the most of this sweet spot, make sure you have a clear idea of the storyline to be animated.
Once a storyline is ready, have a vision for the animation. Do that on your own or hire a designer. Experiment with styles and identify the best suited for your brand and the social media of choice.
Once the animated post is ready, unleash the power of social media. Identify your target audience. Use tags and hashtags to your advantage. Have an influencer promote the post. Encourage people to make it viral. All of this will be worth the effort of making a good animated social media post.
Animated Posts and Social Media
Animated posts have the power to galvanize marketing messages. They get the most views in the newsfeed and are the least skipped. Animation works the best if you are trying to create a specific persona for your brand.
Animation simplifies complex topics. Simplification is critical for informative posts. An example of this is how pain medicines advertise how they work to reduce pain. Without the animation, the content will be too academic for general consumption.
Computer-generated graphics and animation can be very memorable. Though not related to social media directly, remember the Doordarshan animation before the logo was shown? Remember the Nirma girl animation of twirling? Animation leaves a much longer-lasting impression than other content.
Tips to Create Animated Posts
If you want to learn how to make animated videos, you can follow these simple tips to put you on the right track:
1. Clarity
The resolution of animation determines its quality. Pixelated animation does not match the competition on social media platforms. When creating animated posts, pay attention to the resolution quality that is quick to load and looks professional.
One way of achieving clarity is by restricting the number of items per frame. Know what the hero of the post should be and make sure full focus is being drawn to it.
From a design perspective, the central subject of animation must be slightly higher than the center point of the frame. If you want to show the object moving from one end of the frame to the other, make sure to keep the canvas clean. These clarity tips will make the animated posts hold your audience's attention.
2. Movement
The best animation has small file sizes and great clarity. Frames per second show the fluidity of movement. Good animated posts have an optimal frame rate and are easy to view.
You can experiment with moving the animation faster than in real life. Our brain can perceive faster moments to an extent. The advantage of moving the animation fast is to fit more content within a certain time frame.
For example, a 20 seconds video on Instagram will make the platform pause. After pausing the video, Instagram shows a button to continue watching the video on Reels. This breaks the message, and you may lose the audience if they don't click to watch on Reels.
3. Colors
Consistent color themes in animations improve brand recall. Animations can include a vast number of colors. It has a much better recall if you restrict the colors to a certain color group. What colors come to your mind if you are asked to think of a Tom and Jerry cartoon? You will notice that colors played a big role in associating with the characters.
Similarly, do you notice that pharmaceutical animations use predominantly blue colors? That is because blue is a soothing color. It balances out the negative connotations we have about diseases and medicines. Keeping the color pallet to your business brand colors improves the way customers associate animation with your brand.
4. Less is More
Keep your animation images small and movement simple by using "cinemagraph" animation. Cinemagraph is a technique where only one part of the image is animated. Imagine a cup of hot coffee on a table. The only animated part is the steam coming out of the cup.
One practical tip for marketers and businesses building animated social media posts is to leave the design to the designers. Often, businesses get very involved in the design process moving away from established best practices. If businesses focus on the message and storyline, designers can focus on the best animation for social media posting.
5. Optimize
People view social media posts mostly on mobile phones. Optimize your animated images to show up in the best possible size and resolution on small screens. The best practice for mobiles is small file size, smooth movements, and sharp colors.
A common mistake in designing animations is to keep the subject and characters too small. Designing is usually done on a computer, but it is viewed on a mobile. Do a test preview on mobile before finalizing the animations. You will be surprised to see how much customization you need to optimize for a device.
Conclusion
You will find animated posts on social media easy to create. They are valuable as they have the most user engagement. Pick your area of interest, understand your strengths and limitations, know your budget, and choose the right tool. Notice the popularity of your social media posts because of these new animated posts.
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