I’ve been digging on whiteboarding videos and animated pieces for some time now. They’re fun to look at. For a real treat, check out these guys’ portfolio. Or here’s a great whiteboard example.

I think animated video(AV) is hands down one of the best communication tools for new startups, especially inventive ones breaking new ground. The more complex the idea, the more AV shines.

Here’s the 3 reasons animated video (regardless of the style) should be part of your overall go-to-market strategy:

1) Animated videos are less distracting: humans are easily distracted by other humans. Real people in video, regardless of how attractive they are, distract from the orientation message. Whether it’s a chiseled jaw line, beautiful blue eyes, the Clooney beard, the British accent, or the Jolie lips, we lock in on the messenger, not the message. Especially when it’s under 2 minutes.

Animated video doesn’t suffer from this. The animation IS the message.

2) Animation is awesome for illustrating and explaining complex concepts in a short period of time. If you haven’t watched the Dropbox video, head over there and give it a look. It’s a masterpiece. (You’ll likely have to log out to see the virgin homepage where the video lives)

The ta da moment happens when the file displays on all three devices. You just get it. Now it’s all second nature to us, but when Dropbox was first emerging, we didn’t really get the “Cloud”.

3) You can control your message. If you’re depending on your about page to sell your product, or counting on your followers to just “get it” and evangelize their friends, you’re probably in for a rude awakening.

The old game of Telephone comes to mind. Everyone’s going to have their own interpretation of how your product works, and the message degrades with each person that talk to about it. That’s going to happen regardless, but animated video is a great medium for carefully sharing your concept in a format that can easily be shared- and your message remains intact.

Have you seen any great product videos lately? Drop a link here. Why do you think it works?

Was talking with a buddy earlier today. He was depressed and angry. I poked around a bit, trying to help process, asked a few questions.

Read the whole article »

Often, after I’ve spoken to a group of students or business owners, I’ll get a followup email or phone call asking me about a book I mentioned during my talk. Here’s my current list of the most formative, and my most often quoted books in my stack. (In no particular order)

Read the whole article »

I spent my morning in a bank, setting up a new business checking account for a project I’m working on. It didn’t go well.

Read the whole article »

5 years ago I saw a revolution beginning. Social networking adoption was exploding, and a new culture of transparency and authenticity appeared to be emerging. I became a zealot.

Read the whole article »

Here’s the 5 Blogs that I find consistently meaningful to the work I do, and why

Read the whole article »

Tracking and improving your customer’s experience is a very real and important part of your overall brand strategy. Perhaps more than ever.

Read the whole article »

Most average or mediocre massages could be awesome with a few simple tweaks to the customer experience. Here they are:

Read the whole article »

White papers can be a great marketing tool for a brand.

What is a white paper?- It’s an informational or persuasive article written by a subject-matter expert, on a single topic.

Read the whole article »

Facebook ads can be really terrible, but occasionally a company get’s it right. Enter Bonobos. A brilliant example of site retargeting.

Read the whole article »