Sometimes Less Explanation Takes More Time to Create

Sometimes the amount of time you are given to explain something can have a big impact on how much time is required to create the explanation. Ironically, it often takes more thought and energy to craft a short and succinct story than it does to produce a long and detailed one. The following is a famous quote from a biography of Woodrow Wilson (1946, The Wilson Era: Years of War and After 1917-1923 by Josephus Daniels, Quote Page 624,The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.) about time preparation for speeches of various lengths.

A member of the Cabinet congratulated Wilson on introducing the vogue of short speeches and asked him about the time it took him to prepare his speeches. He said:

“It depends. If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now.”

Online marketers run into these inversely proportional time challenges all the time. Think about the time and expense that goes into creating an award winning 30-second TV commercial. We are often faced with the necessary evil of trying to pack a large suitcase of features and benefits into a small carry-on bag.

The amount of time you have allotted for your explanation also determines the type of online motion media you can use. If you believe your visual explanation goals can be reached in 10 seconds, then using an animated explainer gif to present your story may be effective. If you think you can fit your message into about 90 seconds, then an explainer video may be the way to go. If your explanation involves multiple segments and longer discourse, then you may want to publish an online course.

how-much-explanation-time-600a

Let’s look at three motion media formats (animated gif, explainer video and online course) that all attempt to explain the same thing — what is Pi?

Explainer Gif: What is Pi in 10 Seconds

Explainer gifs are not limited to 10 seconds, but that’s about the maximum amount of time you have before having to move to a longer video format. The following is a visual explanation that explains how Pi is calculated by John Reid and Arpad Horvath. The explanation delivers a lot of information in a very short time and space package.

pi-by-john-reid-arpad-horvath

Explainer Video: What is Pi in 90 Seconds

Like the explainer gif, the explainer video is not limited to 90 seconds, but that is a common time length target that balances the need to get your message across with the attention span tolerances of your audience. People are more likely to remember what you have to say if you are able to say it in concise and clear way. The following video by VAM!Physics provides more background information about Pi and how it is derived.

Online Course: What is Pi in Long Form

Finally, if your goal is a comprehensive explanation of a concept that includes details and context, then maybe a mini online video course is the best vehicle to serve your audience. The following is the Khan Academy course segment explaining how Pi fits into the scope of geometry.

We are not suggesting that it always follows the that shorter motion explanations take longer preparation time, but often it does take some disciplined creativity to fit a meaningful message into a smaller space. If you have any great stories about fitting longer messages into compact spaces we would love to hear about them.

Better Storytelling with Motion Content

Today, marketing is about telling stories that energize your audience… that causes them to nod their collective heads in agreement with the things you believe and say. Your stories must first get someone’s attention and then maintain that attention.

Motion Content

But in today’s fire hose content generation world, it’s getting harder to break through the noise and rise above. The key to success is to help your audience members achieve their goals — move them from their point A to their point B. You need to provide value in a way that transforms and builds trust.

One of the best ways to do that is with motion content. Motion content — essentially video and animation — has the power to both attract, communicate and connect with your web visitors… better than just words and static images on a page.

The marketer’s role today is more like what a TV show producer was thirty years ago. It’s about delivering your content in a way that creates an emotional connection and a curiosity to tune in again next week. It’s not about jamming a message down a viewer’s throat before they change the channel.

Motion content delivers both the explicit and implicit communication that will cause your audience to choose to consume your content. But most marketers end up generating eye candy that falls short of delivering on the efficiency potential — accelerated high impact in a small package. Smart marketers know the quality and helpfulness of their content communicate volumes about their brand and level of trust.

Over the coming months, Intellegy will be exploring and illustrating “best practices” for using motion and animation to make your web audience happy and returning to your site for more.