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Trying to find useful content on a topic you’re new to can be like finding a needle in a haystack. And when that topic is something as over-saturated as online video, suddenly the haystack becomes an overgrown hedge maze and the needle is a contact lens you lost three years ago which may or may not be entirely a figment of your imagination.

If you’ve ever considered getting an explainer video made for your brand you might find the amount of information available overwhelming. Luckily we’ve done the hard work already and compiled a handy list of seven video resources in three categories to get you started on your explainer video journey. You’re welcome!

Social media allows us to do two things with great efficiency: create and share content, and network with other users socially. Given how important both these tasks are in business networking it’s no wonder corporate presence is so ubiquitous across the social media landscape. These days if you’ve got something to share for your business, whether it’s a new product video or an exciting news release, social media is the place to do it.

But why do some businesses seem more savvy than others when it comes to social media, while others fail miserably using almost identical techniques? The truth is each popular sharing website has its own distinctive etiquette, there’s no one-size-fits-all method and what works for one site can get you positively ostracised from another. Knowing not only where your audience is but also how to not make a jerk of yourself when you get there is vital to making a good impression for your brand.

Luckily we’ve got a straightforward rundown on four of the most popular social media sites right now, and how they can work for promoting your brand and its video content.

Whenever I’m considering buying a new product, the first place I hit is Google. User reviews, forums, product descriptions and video tutorials combined usually give a pretty comprehensive idea of whether I’ll find the item useful. But when it comes to niche B2B services like corporate animation it can be harder to find such useful information ahead of purchase. What to look for, which style to choose and how to best promote your video once you’ve got it can often remain elusive.

That’s why today we’ve put together an elementary list of online resources to help boost your knowledge during, and after, the purchase of an animated video for your brand. From blog articles to inspiring video examples to promotional tools, this list is designed to help you and your brand get the most out of your corporate animation experience.

There’s a famous quote attributed to Groucho Marx that says: “You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.” As much as it’s useful (and secretly fun) to observe the mistakes of others, often we can learn even more by studying their successes.

Looking at the workflow of effective businesses makes it easier to develop effective business models in the future. Likewise, knowing what kind of advertising techniques worked in the past allows us to make wise decisions in future brand campaigns. Today we’re looking at four brands who successfully used animated video as the crux of their campaign, and why it was so effective in building their brand’s awareness.

Large, expensive mistakes are often more effective teachers than small, affordable ones. But at the end of the day, who wants to throw away their money and time on a poor decision? Nobody. And don’t be fooled when people tell you “nobody’s perfect”, because that ‘nobody’ guy really likes to talk himself up. He’s far from perfect. It’s a much greater mark of wisdom learn from the mistakes and experiences of others than to dive in unprepared and uneducated, all but begging for mistakes to come to you.

Corporate video is one such area where it’s easy to see your money disappearing without seeing a return in customer conversion. However, being aware of the biggest pitfalls in developing a corporate video will give you your best shot of creating a successful campaign. Let’s take a look at four of the most dastardly mistakes many corporate videos make.

Finding the right animation production house for your corporate video is a bit like managing a county fair pony. There can be a lot riding on it, and a ton of crap to sift through.

But wading through the piles of faceless animation studios can become faster, easier and less daunting when you’ve got a solid checklist of what to look for. You can safely assume the first step with any of these checklist items is to research and understand exactly what it is you’re looking to get out of your new animated video. Are you looking to increase sales of one particular product? Explain a complicated service in an easily digestible way? Create a more natural company image?

But once you’re clear on your ‘why’, it’s time to look at how any given animation house will work with your project. Today we’re revealing seven things you should look at to make sure you’re betting on the right pony.

What exactly is a startup? Everyone and their mother seems to have their own definition. Some define it as a new business designed for rapid growth, others consider technological innovation as key in identifying a startup, while others believe it describes the opening phases of what may become a larger company.

Whatever your definition, it’s fair to agree that startup companies come in many different forms. Lacking any best practice rules, it can be difficult to know how to advertise such an immeasurable type of business, let alone what type of advertising medium will work best. However, there are a few common features that most startups share when compared with other types of businesses.

Today we’re taking a look at four common startup features and determining how well animated advertising holds up against them.

From the layout of your website to the exact dimensions of a billboard to your employee’s shirt colour, branding decisions encompass almost every aspect of a business. More than ever we’re ‘meeting’ a brand in the virtual world long before ever stepping foot in a physical store. So when we talk about how to effectively represent a brand, it’s especially important to look at how a first (and lasting) impression is made through the brand’s online presence.

Statistically, conversion rates and visit times to company websites are increased significantly when the front page focusses on sharable, visual content. Video content is proven to extend the amount of time a visitor stays on a website by 2 minutes and increase the number of converting customers by a whopping 64 percent.

So given all the different media available, what’s the best way to take advantage of visual content across your brand’s website and social media platforms? While each medium has its own advantages, today we’ll be taking a look at one of the most sharable and visually distinctive forms, animation, and some the different ways we can utilise it through a visual brand campaign.

If you’ve ever produced a digital video of any kind, you’ll know the feeling of satisfaction you get from finally completing a great-looking film. And most likely, you’ll also know the feeling of intimidation, frustration and/or seething rage when first confronted with the huge selection of video render settings.

I hear you: ‘All I want is to get my video out of the editing program looking as good as it does inside the program so why do I need to know if it’s lossy or lossless and what’s a H.264 and why can’t I click a button and it just goes?’

Search for answers on online forums and the prevailing response will inevitably be along the lines of No single setting works best in all situations. And while this is indeed true, it’s about as helpful as a Slushie machine on the Titanic. Conversely, an in-depth description of every codec available in today’s technology would only confuse matters. That’s why today we’re taking a brief look at some of the more popular codecs and formats used in compressing digital video, and the recommended uses for each.

When it comes to the creative arts, popular techniques often become popular for a reason. Sometimes these techniques are proven to bring about a particular emotional response from an audience, or are known to work well with an efficient production pipeline—whatever the result, there is a solid reason they’re so commonly used in their field.

But in the fast-changing world of animation, telling the difference between standard practice and a passing fad can be tricky, and perfectly successful ideas can end up going to the wayside in favour of an ultimately forgettable trend. This is especially true in the field of corporate videos, where overused styles settle in like a cliched fungus in the name of looking like everyone else.

Today we’re looking at 4 tried-and-true techniques which are heinously underused in modern explainer animations, and how you can harness them to make your corporate video truly stand out from the pack.