Introduction
Welcome to the fascinating world of animated training videos, a powerful and engaging tool in today’s digital age. These visually rich resources have proven highly effective for employee education and development across various industries, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of animated instructionals – including improved engagement, cost-effectiveness and personalisation – along with practical applications and best practices.
Key Takeaways
- Animated training videos simplify complex information and engage learners, making them a highly effective tool for employee education and development.
- Using animated instructional videos can provide cost – effective, scalable, personalized, and visually appealing learning experiences while improving engagement and retention rates.
- Animated training videos are suitable for various applications such as product/service education, corporate communication/branding, sales/marketing presentations, online courses/e-learning. Adopting this approach to training could significantly benefit businesses across different industries.
Understanding Animated Training Videos
Animation plays a vital role in training as it simplifies complex information and engages learners; for example, explainer videos and instructional videos.
Defining Animation And Its Role In Training
Animation in training refers to the use of dynamic, visual content to illustrate complex concepts and assist learners in better understanding the material being presented.
The role of animation in training goes beyond just making lessons visually entertaining; they also facilitate greater comprehension and retention among learners.
Research has shown that dynamic visualisations are far more effective at enhancing learning than static pictures alone. For example, a study on Fortune 500 companies revealed that their employees experienced increased knowledge retention when undertaking professional development courses with animated video elements compared to traditional text-based resources.
Examples Of Animated Instructional Videos
There are numerous examples of animated instructional videos that have garnered success and acclaim in recent years. Here is a list of some outstanding examples, which showcase the potential of animation in training and educational contexts:
- Duolingo’s language learning lessons – incorporating charming animated characters to teach new vocabulary and grammar concepts.
- TED – Ed educational animations – explaining complex ideas through visually engaging animations designed for various age groups.
- Google Analytics tutorial video – simplifying the usage and benefits of this tool with a clear and concise animated explainer video.
- Apple’s iPhone user guide animations – focused on helping users understand essential features and functionalities of their devices.
- Siemens’ product demonstration videos – leveraging 3D animation to showcase the technical aspects and applications of their industrial products.
- The Khan Academy’s engaging math lessons – offering students an accessible way to learn complex mathematical concepts through well-designed animations.
- IBM’s cybersecurity awareness video series – featuring relatable scenarios to create a sense of urgency in protecting valuable digital assets.
- HubSpot Academy e – learning courses – utilising animated videos to teach inbound marketing strategies in an easily digestible format.
- Slack’s product tutorial videos – combining voice – over with simple animation to improve understanding and adoption of the platform by new users.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) explainer videos – presenting technical cloud infrastructure solutions in a visually appealing manner, making it easier for clients to grasp critical concepts.
These examples demonstrate how businesses can intelligently use animated instructional videos to educate, inform, or train their target audience while maintaining a professional tone suitable for business owners’ needs.
Benefits Of Using Animated Training Videos
Using animated training videos not only improves engagement and retention but also provides cost-effective, scalable, personalised and visually appealing learning experiences.
Improved Engagement And Retention
Incorporating animated training videos in your business can substantially enhance employee engagement and retention of information. The visually appealing nature of animation not only captures the viewer’s interest but also helps to break down complex ideas, making it easier to comprehend.
Moreover, integrating relatable characters and storytelling into animated training materials fosters emotional connections with the intended audience. This aids in ensuring employees remain attentive throughout their learning journey and are more likely to apply new knowledge effectively within the workplace.
In a case study by Fortune 500 company McKesson Corporation, introducing animated explainer videos resulted in a remarkable increase of 60% completion rate among learners when compared to traditional learning methods.
Cost-Effective Training
Animated training videos are a cost-effective method of providing high-quality training to employees, without the need for costly in-person sessions and resources.
With animations, you can create engaging content that is scalable and consistent across all learners, ensuring that everyone receives the same level of education no matter their role or location.
For example, producing animated corporate training videos allow companies to save money on hiring instructors or trainers every time new employees join the organization. It also helps businesses save big bucks on employee travel expenses since there isn’t any need for face-to-face sessions.
Scalable And Consistent Training
Animated training videos offer a scalable and consistent way of delivering training to employees across the board. Whether your business has 10 or 1000 employees, a high-quality animated video will ensure that each employee receives the same level of information and understanding.
One example of how scalable and consistent training works is with onboarding new hires. Instead of having someone from HR onboard every new hire personally (which can be time-consuming), an animated onboarding video can provide an introduction to the company culture, mission statement, products/services offered, values, etc., so each new employee gets started on their first day with a solid understanding of what’s expected from them.
Personalisation And Customisation
Personalisation and customisation are essential elements of any successful animated training video. By tailoring the content to specific learners’ needs, businesses can significantly improve engagement and retention rates.
Custom animated videos are also an excellent way for businesses to enhance their brand recognition by using unique designs and recognisable characters associated with their company.
Moreover, personalised learning has numerous benefits over a one-size-fits-all approach, including increased motivation and enjoyment for learners. Therefore, it is critical to ensure that personalized video types differ from student to student based on their existing skills, knowledge gaps and preferred learning styles.
Visual Storytelling
Animated training videos are a powerful tool for visual storytelling. They help bring complex ideas and information to life in a way that is easy to understand and engaging for the viewer.
For example, suppose you’re creating an instructional video on product usage or service offering. In that case, visual storytelling can help simplify complicated concepts and processes into easily digestible parts while maintaining learners’ attention.
Moreover, using animation helps evoke emotions from viewers by enhancing learning retention rates of up to 65%, making them remember what was taught even weeks after watching the videos.
How To Use Animated Training Videos?
Animated training videos can be used for employee training and onboarding, product and service education, corporate communication and branding, sales and marketing presentations, online courses, and e-learning.
Employee Training And Onboarding
Animated training videos are an effective way to train employees and onboard new ones. Here are some ways businesses can use animated training videos:
- Onboarding: Use an animated video to introduce the company and its values, give an overview of the employee’s role, and provide information about policies and procedures.
- Process Training: Animated explanations of complex processes like manufacturing or supply chain management can be much easier for employees to understand than traditional classroom lessons.
- Compliance Training: Use a video to ensure employees understand legal obligations, safety protocols, or any other compliance requirements.
- Upskilling: Help employees develop new skills through animated training that teaches software, sales techniques or customer service skills.
- Soft Skills Development: Animated training is also useful for teaching soft skills such as communication and teamwork.
- Mobile Learning: Employees can access animated training videos from anywhere on their mobile devices, making it easier for remote workers to access important information.
Animated employee training videos have been shown to improve engagement and retention rates among learners while reducing costs associated with in-person training sessions. It’s a win-win solution for both employers and employees!
Product And Service Education
Animated training videos can be an effective way to educate employees on using a company’s products and services. Here are some benefits of using animation for product and service education:
- Simplify complex ideas: Animated videos can help simplify complicated concepts, making it easier for viewers to understand how to use your products or services.
- Engage learners: Animation provides an engaging way to present information, helping keep learners engaged throughout the training process.
- Visual content: Including visual content in your training materials can provide a more immersive learning experience, allowing learners to better retain the information presented.
- Scalable training: Animated videos can be used for scalable and consistent training across multiple locations or departments without needing additional trainers.
- Consistent messaging: By using animated videos for product and service education, you can ensure that all employees receive consistent messaging about how to use your products or services.
- Cost-effective: Compared to live-action training videos, animated videos can be produced at a lower cost while still providing high-quality visuals.
By applying animation in product and service education, businesses can save money while providing consistent and engaging training for their employees.
Corporate Communication And Branding
Animated training videos are not only limited to conducting training programs but can also be used for corporate communication and branding purposes. Here are ways businesses can utilize animated videos for their communication and branding needs:
- Enhancing Brand Awareness: Animated videos have the dynamism to seize the attention of customers, making them useful in strengthening brand awareness.
- Creating Engaging Promotional Materials: Videos are more engaging than textual content, and animated videos take it up a notch by providing visually striking content that is memorable.
- Sharing Corporate Values: Animated videos provide an opportunity to showcase corporate values and principles, which can help build a positive reputation.
- Simplifying Complex Ideas: Company information or ideas conveyed through text may not always be easy to understand, while animation provides an engaging way to simplify complicated concepts.
- Improving Internal Communication: In-house animated videos can explain company policies or organizational changes as well as inform staff on new product launches or services.
- Enhancing Online Presence: Adding animated explainer videos or product demos on websites and social media channels improves a business’s online presence, increasing customer engagement and sales.
By utilizing animated training videos for corporate communication and branding purposes, businesses can improve their visibility online while also reinforcing their brand identity with customers and employees alike.
Sales And Marketing Presentations
Animated training videos can be a game-changer for businesses, not only in terms of employee training and education but also in sales and marketing presentations. Here’s how:
- Animated videos can simplify complex ideas and help with product or service demonstrations.
- Visual aids and explanations provided by an animated video can enhance sales presentations and increase brand awareness.
- Animations can showcase the unique selling points of a product or service, making them more appealing to potential clients or customers.
- Animated videos are cost-effective compared to live-action videos, allowing businesses to create engaging content without breaking the bank.
- Whiteboard animations can be used in sales presentations to illustrate complex information in a way that is easy for viewers to understand.
By applying animation in sales and marketing presentations, companies can deliver their message effectively while keeping viewers engaged throughout the presentation. With the use of animated corporate training videos, teams are up-to-date with new skills, company culture and guidelines reducing time-consuming traditional classroom lessons.
Online Courses And E-learning
Online courses and e-learning are becoming increasingly popular for businesses in need of training their employees remotely. Animated training videos can be a great tool to enhance the effectiveness of these online courses. Here are some ways animated training videos can be used:
- To teach complex concepts: Animation can visualize and simplify even the most complicated ideas, making it easier for learners to understand.
- To demonstrate product usage: Animation is an effective way to showcase how your product or service works, without needing a live-action video shoot.
- To engage learners: Animated characters and scenarios can keep viewers engaged in the course material, improving retention rates.
- To personalize the learning experience: Using animation allows for customized content, tailored to the needs of individual learners.
- To provide scalable training solutions: E-learning with animated videos can offer consistent training across multiple locations and departments.
Overall, employing animated training videos in e-learning programs is an innovative approach that makes learning entertaining while delivering knowledge effectively. Studies indicate that participants who learn with animated videos tend to have higher retention rates than those using traditional teaching approaches.
Examples Of Animated Training Videos
Animated training videos are a versatile type of video content that can be used for various purposes. Here are some examples of how businesses can use animated training videos to benefit their employees and customers:
- Employee Training and Onboarding: Animated training videos can help new hires understand policies, procedures, and work processes, as well as assist with ongoing employee training.
- Product and Service Education: Animated training videos can help educate customers about a company’s products or services in an engaging way.
- Corporate Communication and Branding: Animated corporate videos can inform and inspire employees by showcasing the company’s values, mission statement, or upcoming events.
- Sales and Marketing Presentations: Animated explainer videos can showcase a product or service in an exciting way through storytelling.
- Online Courses and E-learning: Animated instructional videos can simplify complicated concepts into an easy-to-understand format for learners engaged in e-learning.
By incorporating animation into your business’s training efforts, you can create visually compelling content that will captivate viewers’ attention while effectively relaying information.
Best Practices For Successful Animated Training Videos
Keep your animated training videos concise and relevant to the topic. Use high-quality graphics and animations to convey complex information in a simplified way. Incorporate real-life scenarios and examples to make it more engaging for learners.
Keeping The Video Concise And Relevant
To make the most out of your animated training video, it’s important to keep it concise and relevant. Research shows that viewers’ attention span drops off after about 5-6 minutes, so it’s crucial to keep your video short and sweet – focus on communicating only the most essential information.
Many videos tend to get bogged down with excess details or jargon, which can confuse or overwhelm learners.
One way to streamline your message is by applying animation effectively. By using engaging visuals such as animated characters or 2D motion graphics, you can simplify even complicated concepts into an easy-to-digest format while keeping learners engaged.
You could also consider incorporating real-life scenarios and examples that apply directly to the learner’s existing skills or job functions – this not only makes the video more relatable but also helps reinforce knowledge retention in a meaningful way.
Using High-Quality Graphics And Animations
One essential aspect of creating effective animated training videos is using high-quality graphics and animations. These are necessary to ensure that the video can hold the attention of viewers and achieve its intended purpose.
Consider incorporating motion graphics, 2D or 3D animation, and engaging visuals to make your video come alive. Graphics that are not up to par will leave a negative impression on viewers.
Using high-quality images and animations give you more flexibility in delivering information in a visually appealing manner. With advanced technology today, it’s relatively easy for anyone to create polished-looking graphics without breaking their budget or needing an expensive video production team.
Incorporating Real-Life Scenarios And Examples
To make your animated training videos relatable to your employees, it’s important to incorporate real-life scenarios and examples. This helps them connect better with the content being presented and understand how they can apply their learning in practical situations.
Real-life scenarios also provide an opportunity for learners to practice decision-making and problem-solving skills by presenting them with challenging situations that they may encounter in their day-to-day work.
This approach enhances engagement levels and ensures that the knowledge learned is easily transferable to real-world scenarios.
Measuring And Analysing The Impact Of The Training Video
Once you’ve created an animated training video, it’s essential to measure its impact to determine whether it has achieved its objectives. One of the most effective ways to do this is by using learning analytics, which can provide insights into how learners engage with your content and what they take away from it.
You could track metrics such as video completion rates, time spent on specific modules or sections, assessments taken before and after viewing the video and feedback from employees.
Additionally, measuring the effectiveness of your animated training videos will also enable you to demonstrate ROI and justify investing in future projects. For instance, if your video helped boost sales by 10%, that would be a compelling argument for creating more similar videos in the future.
Research shows that animations improve learning outcomes significantly compared to live-action videos not containing animation (meta-analysis of controlled experiments).
Conclusion
In conclusion, animated training videos are a highly effective way to educate employees and improve retention rates. By simplifying complex ideas and incorporating real-life scenarios, these videos engage learners in a fun and interactive way.
With their cost-effective nature and scalability, they have become an increasingly popular choice for corporate training across various industries.
By following best practices such as keeping the video concise and using high-quality graphics, businesses can create successful animated instructional videos that improve learning outcomes.
FAQs:
1. What is an animated training video?
An animated training video is an educational piece of media that uses animation to communicate information in a dynamic and engaging way. This type of video can cover a variety of subjects, from workplace safety protocols to software tutorials.
2. What are the benefits of using an animated training video?
Animated training videos offer several advantages over traditional training methods, including increased engagement and retention rates among learners, the ability to illustrate complex concepts more effectively, and greater flexibility in terms of delivery format (e.g., online or offline).
3. How long should an animated training video be?
The ideal length for an animated training video will depend on a number of factors, such as the complexity of the subject matter and the attention span of your target audience. As a general rule, most experts recommend keeping these types of videos between three and six minutes in length.
4. Can I create my own animated training videos?
While it’s certainly possible to create your own animated training videos using basic tools like PowerPoint or Keynote, for best results it’s usually recommended that you work with a professional animator or design agency who has experience creating high-quality multimedia content specifically geared toward instructional purposes.
