Having a great 2D & 3D animated video made by a professional video production company is only half the job, because if no one is going to see it, the animated video won’t have any effect.
Now, you have to ensure that your animated video is optimized for social media. Without social media optimization, you are likely to find that not a lot of people are seeing the video, the engagement is poor and watch time is low. However, by ensuring that every aspect of the 2D & 3D animated video is considered and optimized, you are significantly increasing the chances your video will work in the way a 2D & 3D animated video is meant to work.
Why is Using Social Media So Important?
Once you have made your 2D & 3D animated video and you’re ready to share it with your audiences, the best way to do it is via social media. You can quickly reach all of your focus groups, find old and new customers, and grab the attention of future prospects. Social media is a prevalent part of our everyday lives, and you need to utilize its benefits to help your brand. Whether you’re focusing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or another platform, social media is an important and necessary step on your way to success.
So, how do you optimize videos for social media?
Here, you can find 19 different tips you can use to ensure your animated video is fully optimized and ready for social media.
1. Optimize for Search
You should always have search engine optimization in the back of your head no matter what your business is posting. With social media sites becoming increasingly more like search engines, optimization can make all the difference when it comes to relevant users finding you and your animated video.
While the text and dialogue that show up in your video won’t register in searches, the headline and descriptions you post with your animated video surely will. Add keywords or key phrases to help users find your content on all platforms and add relevant hashtags on Twitter and Instagram to boost search results. YouTube also allows you to tag your animated videos, which helps users find your content.
2. Optimize for Autoplay
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram offer Autoplay as a feature. When users scroll through their news feeds, your animated video automatically plays as it passes over their screen. This encourages users to watch your animated video, simply because it’s already playing.
Autoplay helps increase views when Facebook and Twitter users have it enabled. Users are sometimes more likely to turn off Autoplay on their mobile devices to reign in unwanted data charges.
3. Add Subtitles
If your animated video contains a lot of talking or is based on detailed explanations, consider adding subtitles. This way, even the non-native speakers won’t have any difficulties understanding, and all the viewers will be able to follow the narrative easily. Subtitles will allow the viewers to even watch the video without sound and still get the essential information, this will come in handy for any situation where people might not be able to play the accompanying sound. As result, subtitles will increase the number of people who are able to understand and watch the video, which means they will increase your audience reach.
4. Post Native Video
As social media animated videos boom in popularity, social platforms are increasingly offering native video uploads. Whereas before you might have posted 2D & 3D animated videos to YouTube and then shared the link on Facebook and Twitter, you can now just drag and drop videos directly to sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Statistics show that native animated videos are prioritized in Facebook’s algorithm and seem to perform better on most other platforms than non-native videos. You can also use native videos for on-platform features, like Facebook’s Featured Videos. One exception is Pinterest, which doesn’t feature native videos (although you can pin YouTube videos to Pinterest for great results). The opposite is true for Instagram, which doesn’t allow shared links for regular posts (only native videos can be posted).
5. Add a Featured Video on Facebook
The featured video option on Facebook is a great opportunity to show your 2D & 3D animated video to your page visitors. The first thing visitors see when they land on your Facebook business page are some of your posts and the “About” section. In addition, they can see a featured video which can be placed just below the profile picture and “people who like this page” box.
With an animated video as your featured video, you make a lasting first impression with your clients and visitors. Overviews are great, but your featured animated video can highlight a new product or tell a story that resonates with your audience.
To add a featured animated video to your page, click on your page’s Videos tab. From there, select the option that says Feature a Video on Your Page. Choose a video from your library, press Enter, and you’re all set.
6. Run Video Ads
You can share 2D & 3D animated video ads with targeted audiences, including relevant users whom you haven’t already connected with on social media. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all have ad objectives that focus on increasing video views and engagement. In contrast, Pinterest’s promoted pins don’t have a Video views objective, but you can promote a video pin to increase visibility.
You can test your animated videos on your current audience before you choose to run an ad campaign. If you get positive results after testing, you’ll be more likely to get positive results when you turn the animated video into a video ad campaign.
7. Keep it under 2 minutes
Social media users rely on quick access and short format information that they can go through within minutes, longer videos tend to be partially skipped or completely overlooked. The whole point of an animated video is to make it catchy, interesting and fun within a short time frame. If your animated video is too long, you risk losing your viewers and not getting your message across. Try to keep your videos under 2 minutes in length, if your animated video is longer you can consider editing it and cutting it down into smaller ‘mini’ videos and uploading them separately.
Before you get started creating or editing your video, you should know the maximum and recommended video lengths per platform. These include:
- Facebook: Maximum video length: 240 minutes. Optimal video length: 15 seconds to 2 minutes
- Instagram: Maximum video length: IG story: 15 seconds; Grid video: 60 seconds; IGTV: 10 minutes. Optimal video length: IG story: 1 – 7 slides; Grid video: 60 seconds or less IGTV: 2 to 5 minutes
- Twitter: Maximum video length: 140 seconds. Optimal video length: 43 – 45 seconds
- LinkedIn: Maximum video length: Native video: 10 minutes; Video ads: 30 minutes. Optimal video length: 30 seconds or less
- Pinterest: Maximum video length: 15 seconds. Optimal video length: 6 – 15 seconds
- TikTok: Maximum video length: 3 minutes. Optimal video length: 9 – 15 seconds
If you really want to get around the maximum video duration on social media platforms, you can post a link to a YouTube video, which will allow you to share longer content. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work on Instagram, where you can’t share links except in ad campaigns.
8. Grab Attention Early
It’s vital to grab your audience’s attention within the first few seconds of your 2D & 3D animated video. You need to capture the viewers’ interest in the first 10 seconds (or less) or they’ll stop watching and move on to something else. This means you have to be concise and get right to the point from the start.
This is where hooks come in. Hooks are an important part of grabbing attention because they explain why viewers should care or be interested in what you have to say. You should place your hooks within the first or second frame of the video, before users have a chance to scroll away.
9. Attract with No Sound
One study actually found that 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound. Even without audio you can still attract viewers’ attention. When your animated video autoplays as a user scrolls past, it needs to be visually captivating.
Use contrasting, bright colors; choose an image for the first frame that your followers will respond to; add captions after animated video starts; and don’t forget your hooks.
10. Include Only the Most Important Parts
The aim of 2D & 3D animated videos is not to provide a viewer with every single piece of information you have about your service or product. In fact, animated marketing video is much more effective if it just includes the most important and interesting things. Avoid bombarding viewers with long sentences and irrelevant details, simply stick to the essential things they need to know.
11. Share Big Developments and Updates
Whenever you make significant progress, hit an important landmark or just introduce changes in your service, you need to let your audience know. Sharing these important news on social media offers value to customers and keeps them in the loop. Make an animated video to let your followers know about the big developments and updates you have going on.
12. Feature Calls to Action
What is the goal of your 2D & 3D animated video? Results require some sort of user action, whether it’s getting people to visit your site, share your video, or purchase a product, the viewer is supposed to get clear instructions and take action. While viewers should already get the idea of what you want them to do just from the animated video, you should always have a clearly stated call to action (CTA).
The most effective way is to place CTAs at the end of an animated video. Even just a caption telling users that “you can help the cause by signing up at our site” or that they can “learn more at (insert URL),” may be all that’s necessary to motivate them to take your desired action.
The benefit of posting YouTube videos across social media is the clickable annotations, which can turn into clickable CTAs. To date, no other native videos have this feature unless you’re running paid ad campaigns.
13. Offer Brief Answers to a Few Essential Questions
Answering important or frequently asked questions is of instant value to your viewers. This way, you’re providing relevant content and important information you know they want. It is a great way to engage with users and establish credibility as a business.
Brief and concise answers to important questions is all you need. These videos are best kept short and to the point. At the end of the 2D & 3D animated video, let your viewers know where they can go for more great content and further information (your website, for example). This CTA can drive clicks to your site, since you’ve already proven your value in just a quick video on social media.
14. Choose the Right Headline
Animated video headline may be the first thing followers see. Ideally, write headlines that are specific while still making viewers curious enough to watch your animated video.
Your headline needs to be interesting and accurate and give users an idea of what the animated video will be about. When possible, place keywords in the headline to increase rankings in the site’s native search engines. Choose a title that appeals to all and makes the animated video seem as though it is something everyone needs to watch.
15. Add a Logo
Businesses should use every opportunity to promote their brand and social videos are no exception. However, when users share the animated video from your page or profile, some of their followers may not realize the video is from you.
You should add your logo to your animated video to provide instant brand recognition and make it easier for users to associate the content with your business. Choose a logo that is relatively small and place it in a corner where it won’t impede on the rest of the visuals.
16. Choose an Appealing Thumbnail
The thumbnail is the first thing users see when your animated video shows up in the news feeds. The right thumbnail can make a big difference in whether users hit the play button or not.
Choose a thumbnail that represents your animated video and is visually dynamic and interesting. This may be your only chance to get the viewers on board, so you don’t want to miss that.
Facebook, Instagram and YouTube let you choose from several different thumbnail options when you first load your animated video. You must choose the thumbnail before you post to Facebook or Instagram, but you can edit your thumbnail retroactively in YouTube. Twitter also allows you to choose a high-quality thumbnail to represent your animated video.
17. Focus on One Message
Focus on one message or story per 2D & 3D animated video. This helps you keep it simple, and makes the video brief enough to perform well on social media. You don’t want to clutter your video with too many stories, points of view or different messages.
Always remember to include the singular CTA at the end of your animated video. If you’re adding something to the video that doesn’t contribute directly to that CTA, delete it and add it to a different animated video later on.
18. Tell Stories
A good story is compelling to the viewer. Storytelling is a powerful tool, use it. A narrative that allows you to connect with your audience will resonate with the viewers and make a lasting impression. Stories, especially those about real people, give the viewers a concrete message from your business and leave them with something to remember.
2D & 3D animated videos are perfect for storytelling on social media. They’re the most dynamic form of media we have in our toolbox. Even a 30-second animated video lets you share a more thorough segment of information than a picture or regular post. Telling stories in animated videos also gives you more control in choosing what stories represent your business and how those stories get told.
19. Track Engagement, Views, and Clicks
Whether the posted videos are parts of paid campaigns or regular posts, it’s very important to track your animated video performance across platforms. Facebook’s Insights offer a screen devoted to detailed video analytics which shows you all the important results. You can see the number of video views your page has had, or the number of 10-second views your animated video had. You can also get insight into the reach, views, and average view completion rate for individual videos.
Twitter Analytics show your total animated video views for the past 28 days, as well as information on views and completion rate on individual videos and the average number of minutes your viewers watched per day.
YouTube’s Analytics has information on the number of animated video views, average view duration, estimated revenue, and specific engagement such as comments or likes/dislikes.
Instagram doesn’t currently have an analytics platform, but it’s coming soon. Metrics to evaluate video performance are likely to be included.
When possible, focus on the number of shares, the amount of engagement and the number of clicks to your site. Clicks can be measured on animated video ad campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, and can be evaluated on all YouTube videos if users click on an annotation via Google Analytics.
Conclusion
If you aren’t using 2D & 3D animated videos in your social media marketing yet, you should be. A third of all online activity is spent watching videos. And with 90% of users saying that they found product videos helpful when making buying decisions, you want to make sure your hat is in the social video ring.
OK, you realized that these 19 tips can help you increase engagement, conversion rates and brand promotion. Now what?
