Animation: Captivating a Medical Marketing Audience
A message presented through animation captures attention, explains with clarity and often entertains. For certain situations, healthcare and hospital marketing can employ this unique creative approach to effective engagement and communications online.
Guest Post by Dr. Manroop Takhar
Let’s face it, communicating in the science-based world of medical marketing can sometimes be dry, clinical and tedious. To effectively tell your story, a new line of creativity may be a useful solution.
Have you considered animation?
The wide success of animated feature films and the popular use of animated marketing has long dispelled the myth that animation is just for kids. In fact, even though some of us may like to deny it, we can all be captivated by good animation that tells a story.
This initial captivation is key to getting any marketing message heard.
With so much medical information and news of healthcare establishments online, consumers can become unsure of where to focus their attention. The initial light-heartedness of animation can capture attention, help an audience feel at ease and educate.
By appealing to the senses with bright images, inspiring storytelling and an authoritative narration, animation can be a highly effective medium for communicating sophisticated or important healthcare messages.
Your medical marketing aims might include patient engagement, service line awareness, education about conditions, patient education and other purposes…and animation is a valuable instrument for achieving these goals.
One minute of video equates to the equivalent of 1.8 million words, according to Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research.
This ability to explain in detail is enhanced when a video is of high quality and engaging. Animation is great for keeping people’s attention for longer. Viewers won’t be overwhelmed by text, and will be more inclined to absorb information and enjoy the experience. This is particularly important when communicating complicated medical concepts or conditions.
Healthcare and medical particulars is an area where people are not always ready to give their full attention, so animation can make this more appealing.
Not only do images, music, special effects and narration help to reinforce your message, but they also appeal to different learning types. This means that an animated video can appeal to a wider audience.
Whiteboard animation is a particularly useful tool for taking your audience through the intricacies of a somewhat complex procedure, describing what your hospital, clinic or establishment has to offer, and explaining how you differ from others in the market.
The viewer can be guided step-by-step, whilst enjoying the abstract and creative elements of the experience.
Using animated video on your webpage and linking to social media platforms can be a means to enhance your brand and services and encourage click-through. They catch the visitor’s eye, can keep them engaged, and provide visual variety to the page.
In some situations, featuring your animated characters in various marketing vehicles can have added impact, particularly if the character, with associated values, has become synonymous with your brand. This, in turn, can promote brand loyalty.
Animation can be a highly useful marketing tool in the medical arena, helping to educate, attract business, and--when integrated across all channels--can be a creative means of differentiation.
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