by Jace Vernon | Sep 11, 2015 | Marketing, Writing a Script, Ydraw
Man, changing jobs is such a dang hassle.
First off, jobs are a curious thing.
There are a lot of people who make the best out of the career they thought they were going to enjoy. A lot of people hate their job but have to go everyday because they have no choice. Then there are the select few who are doing exactly what they want, happy as can be without complaint. They are what we call “imaginary.”
But we need to change our situation to get employment where we are happy. I’ve done that recently by getting myself hired at Ydraw. (Are the bosses reading? Okay, good.)
But changing your job around can be an incredible hassle. Let’s go through the list.
- CHANGING YOUR INSURANCE. This was the big one between my wife and I. At my old job I had incredible insurance that was set up for me and I didn’t really need to think about it. With my new job change, I’ve got to find and change my insurance myself. Not a huge challenge, just a huge hassle.
Now I need to vet about 200 health care companies for the best coverage at the best rate. Or trust my health to the government and get covered by the Affordable Care Act.
Good news though, I think I saw my favorite celebrity with “#getcovered” on a white piece of paper, so I’m pretty sure I won’t die.
- FALLOUT FROM YOUR FORMER EMPLOYER. My former employer was also my father-in-law. I don’t recommend doing that. There’s no separating your private life with your personal life.
For example, when I gave my two-week notice my wife got chewed out like she was 15 again, for an hour. I actually didn’t make the two weeks; I made it four days, from Tuesday to Friday.
I then was invited to start early if possible. It was possible and I jumped at the chance. I always wanted to write and Ydraw made that happen, why wouldn’t I go for it?
(“How do I computer?”)
- PRESSURE TO KEEP THE NEW JOB. Now that the fallout is as deep as the craters on Edward James Olmos’ face, you have the added pressure to keep the job you just got because you cannot go back to that old job.
That bridge is a smoldered wreck of brittle matchsticks, so you need to perform. There’s nothing worse than trying to perform with that sort of pressure to impress your new bosses while catching up with your company’s procedures.
Sure there’s a learning curve, but how obtuse is that curve? It’ll make your palms sweat.
- UNDERSTAND YOUR NEW COMPANY’S CULTURE. Every company has a different way of doing things. In my old job if the boss caught you taking a break when he walked up to the job site you would see his face melt as his eyes borrowed deep into your soul as his high piercing screeches destroyed your eardrums.
It’s not like that at Ydraw, it’s not like that at all. I haven’t been here long enough to know where everything stands just yet, but I’m sure there is some snags here and there I’ll learn, but for now, I’ll just lay low.
(pictured: how my life works now)
- THE CAR SITUATION. I had a company car and even though I couldn’t do much with it besides my work, it did get me around when I needed it. Now I’m down to one car. One 2010 Toyota Corolla (that’s right, ladies) with a wrecked backseat from two kids reenacting ‘Lord of the Flies’ during road trips. So my morning routine is as follows.
6:30am: Get up, get myself and kids ready for the day.
7:45am: leave with kids and wife.
8:05am: drop off kids at school.
8:25am: get dropped off by wife at work as she goes to school. Stay at work all day, stranded.
4:30pm: get picked up by wife with kids.
4:50pm: get home and stay home to let wife take car to school at night.
(Repeat)
So until I get another mode of transportation I’m just basically a toddler who’s gets dropped off at daycare everyday.
(update: I got a motorcycle and it’s super rad.)
(pictured: me not looking super rad)
As much as it is a hassle, I’m glad I’ve made the change. Writing has always been my passion and I’m here fulfilling that dream. There’s nothing that feels as nice.
(Pictured: not me.)
I guess changing your job isn’t that bad after all.
by Jace Vernon | Sep 8, 2015 | animated explainer video, Animated Whiteboard Videos, animation, Animation Production, Animation Video, Explainer Video, explanation animation, Video Marketing, video online marketing, Whiteboard animation, Whiteboard Video, Ydraw
Sometimes it doesn’t work to just tell your audience how your company can be essential to their business plan and how they need you so they can live a long and fruitful life. There are a lot of ads that are patronizing to the audience with incredibly dull narratives and poor acting. Perhaps by explaining what you do will persuade consumers better than any actor pretending to care about your company ever could. But here’s the problem, sitting and explaining your company is boring. It’s not engaging, it’s uninspired and it’s so very boring. Like, Jane Austen narrated by Ben Stein boring. So how do you balance out an entertaining video and explaining your company’s concepts and ideas?
Whiteboard explainer videos, of course! Let’s go through why.
- ILLUSTRATIONS CAN HELP CONVEY COMPLEX CONCEPTS EASIER. Visual concepts are a driving force that allows your audience to grasp your ideas easier. The perfect example are the before and after pictures of meth addicts, though grisly they may be. The before pictures shows a healthy person who doesn’t seem to have any effects of drug abuse. The after pictures show the devastating and shocking effect that meth has on the human body. It appears as though the life had been sucked out of them. Without having to go into detail on how the drug has this effect, or why the person started to take the drug, the story of how it destroys you is clearly presented instantly.
- WATCHING THE CREATION OF THE VISUALS IS CAPTIVATING. As the artist creates characters, environment and situations, the viewer is watching the story unfold in front of them. The simplicity of being able to watch that process pulls in the viewer and in turn they are keen on watching to see what comes next. Being able to see the illustration come to life adds a human touch to the video. Rather than having a polished animation from start to finish, the viewer gets to connect with the person behind the drawing. Knowing there is somebody behind that pen lets the viewer know there are people behind the drawing, just like there are people behind your company.
- SIMPLE AND AFFORDABLE. Without having to use a crowded infographic that can come across more complex than it intends to be, a whiteboard animation is simple and tells your story without having to assault your viewer with statistics and mission statements. Perhaps the thing that stops most people from using video for their company is the cost. Luckily whiteboard explainer videos are incredibly cost effective and can reach a large number of people quickly.
- USING NARRATIVE CAN PERSUADE AND MOTIVATE VIEWERS. Any parent knows the influence any kids TV show has on their children. Why when I was a lad, I too became a victim of Saturday morning television shows and for about 2 years straight dressed up like Pee Wee Herman…. EVERYDAY. It happened, deal with it. Just because the audience you have are now older and wiser doesn’t mean they can’t be persuaded by an engaging video. A study by LaMarre and Landreville in 2009 found that the difference of watching a film that reenacted a historical event and a documentary on the same subject had similar levels of issue interest and engagement with the narrative presented. Fictional stories are as effective as factual stories in persuading and shifting ideas related to the narrative. Both can be engaging and compelling experience for the viewer.
- EASY TO DISTRIBUTE. Distribution of digital video is incredibly simple. A video can be uploaded to a many platforms an infinite amount of times. It can be sent in an email to consumers or link to your YouTube account. The entire world can take part of your company and the video can work its magic every hour of every day. Reaching your audience has been easier than ever.
A promotional video using whiteboard animation can present a complex subject matter into something that can be easily understood while being entertaining. That entertaining video can retain a high engagement rate and rack up views to direct consumers to your company. It’s simple, affordable, it’s easy to distribute to your clients and perhaps you’ll be able to have some free time to catch some Pee Wee Herman yourself. If that’s your thing, it’s certainly mine.
by Jace Vernon | Aug 31, 2015 | Creative Marketing, Marketing, Memory, video, Video Marketing, video online marketing, Ydraw
Today businesses are struggling to raise brand awareness and achieve monthly sales. Without an online presence those goals are not easily reached, if they are reached at all. 90% of online shoppers said they found a video helped in making and buying decisions, 80% of internet users recall watching a video ad on a website in the past 30 days and 64% are more likely to make a purchase.
But why?
- THE HUMAN BRAIN CAN PROCESS VISUAL CONCEPTS QUICKER. In a study last year, scientists found that the human brain can process an image that has been seen for just 13 milliseconds. Which means that the brain can process visual information 60,000 times faster than the time it takes for the brain to process text. This is why visuals can be used as a strong communication tool to gather potential consumers. Even the earliest versions of man communicated with each other through cave paintings. Those evolved to pictures with full meanings, to written text and have ended on video, the collaboration of visual and sound sensory. These two senses are the most basic form of understanding and are still the most effective means to present ideas to consumers.
- IT WILL IMPACT LONG-TERM MEMORY RECALL. Reeling in your audience with stimulating images can lodge an idea inside the heads of consumers. That idea then calls the person to action. That action can manifest by a retrieval cue, based on an ad they saw before a YouTube video started, that stirs the consumers memory and redirects them to your website or your product on an online store. Video images are essentially being used as prompting that trigger the retrieval of long-term memory.
- ONLINE VIEWING IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH. The number of video content posts from companies and individuals has risen by 94% in the United States and the average viewing session on YouTube is now 40 minutes and watch time on mobile devices have more than doubled since last year. 89 Million people in the United States alone with watch 1.2 billion online videos today and 52% of them say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchases. Any device that connects to the Internet now allows companies, large and small; to promote themselves in creative ways and let untapped revenue streams flow into their company.
- VIDEOS ARE IDEAL FOR SOCIAL MEDIA. Videos are ready made to engage consumers and get them to click through to your website. In 2010 a marketing survey found that when marketers included an explainer video in an email, the click-through rate increased by 200% to 300%. Those numbers only multiply when applied to Facebook and Twitter. Videos are easy to share and easy to engage your key demographic.
There are many other statistics on video content and it’s effectiveness online and they further prove this point; an online presence is critical in today’s market, but that presence needs something to push and prod the consumer towards your company. Utilizing video to quickly explain to and easily share with consumers can dramatically increase the draw to your company and allow you to grow. Don’t be left behind as the online market changes the way consumers pay attention to companies and their products. Change with the market and get ahead of your competitors.
Sources:
http://www.videobrewery.com/blog/18-video-marketing-statistics
http://www.livescience.com/42666-human-brain-sees-images-record-speed.html
http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/important-stats-need-know-visual-content-marketing-01147752
http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/memory_retrival.htm
http://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-video-watch-time-grew-60-2015-7
http://digiday.com/brands/celtra-15-must-know-stats-for-online-video/
http://www.videobrewery.com/blog/18-video-marketing-statistics
by Jace Vernon | Oct 21, 2013 | Video Marketing
The Skinny on Making a Big Fat Profit: Mobile Advertising
This article was posted on Business2Community.com by Jessica Anderson
You’ve just sat down to watch TV, and instinctively you search your pockets for your cell phone or your surroundings for your tablet. Sound like a familiar scenario? While TV viewership is on the decline, video viewing on mobile devices is on the rise. According to a survey by YuMe, aside from eating, the biggest distraction from TV watching is web browsing. This means that a large chunk of consumers are just begging to be advertised to while they’re being advertised to! And if your business has been slow to jump on the mobile advertisement train, you’re potentially only grabbing up about half of the audience’s attention. Here are some stats that prove that mobile advertising is the way to go:
Where & How
When it comes to where mobile users watch video, 100% watch from the comfort of their own home. 66% watch mobile video while on vacation, 36% while at a friend’s place, 22% while commuting or at work and 13% while eating at a restaurant. Of these mobile viewers, 65% spend over an hour per day watching video. If you’re not good at math, that’s over 7 hours per week; and if you’re still trying to catch up, that’s almost one third of a whole day! Cue the “I can remember when we used to spend all our free time outside” and all that jazz – but the point is, you desperately need to make your advertising compatible with smartphones and tablets.
Read more…
Thanks for checking out Ydraw’s blog. Let us know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns for us here at Ydraw. We love hearing from our audience, so drop us a line. You know you want to, and we want you to too!
by Jace Vernon | Sep 20, 2013 | video
What it Takes to be a Successful Blogger
This post was originally featured on Business2community.com
By Jessica Anderson, Published September 19, 2013
The great thing about the internet is also a blogger’s biggest obstacle: there is information out there on literally any and every topic in the world – so it’s hard to carve out your own little niche in the blogosphere and start making some money a difference in the world. But here are a few key ingredients to the Amateur Blogger’s Soufflé of Success:
Hard Work
Yes, blogging is hard, no matter what your extended families’ raised brows and subtle eyerolls suggest. Blogging is the kind of hard where you give and give and give and maybe after a year or more you start to see a little something coming your way in return. Unless you’re one of the lucky ones who are raking in the ad revenue mere weeks after starting a blog – but remember that’s the exception, not the rule. A successful blogger usually follows a strict regimen of posting on a frequent schedule, coming up with varying topics, and making an effort to connect with their first few stalwart followers in order to keep them coming back. Bloggers with the greatest potential know they have to keep blogging, even when they’re in the depths of despair thinking they will never make a career out of writing thought provoking posts on their home computer in their underwear. Don’t get frustrated, just remember that when it comes to blogging: the more you put into it the more you can eventually get out of it.
Read More…
+Jessica Anderson
Feel free to contact Ydraw with any questions or comments that you may have about whiteboard videos, or blogging. As you can probably tell, we are experts at blogging here.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!
