by Ydraw | Feb 14, 2013 | Whiteboard Video
Video Abandonment and How To Stop It
The length of your online marketing video is a very important key for success; second only to creating great content. If this is surprising, you haven’t spent enough time on the web. On the internet, attention is the new currency. If you want to boost sales and watch your business grow, you need to figure out how to get people to pay attention to your company. The easiest and most convenient way for consumers to learn about your company is through video, but in order to best utilize this tool, you need to know about human online-viewing habits.
Where’d Everybody Go?
The internet has all but wiped out our patience as a species. With faster and faster internet speeds, there is no reason to wait or sit through anything when it comes to the web. There is a direct correlation between the length of a video and the abandonment rate; the longer the video the higher the drop-off rate. In a study done by the University of Massachusetts, researchers discovered that after clicking ‘play,’ roughly 6% of the audience departs every second. After only five to ten seconds a mere 80% of viewers remained. This means you’ve got less than five seconds to capture a person’s attention if you want them to hear your full message.
But wait – there’s more:
Most viewers decide quickly whether or not they want to watch, and once they’ve made their decision, usually stick around until the end. However, this varies dramatically with the length of the video. Halfway through a 30 second video, 80-90% of your viewers are still sticking around – whereas 50% of the way through a ten minute video, you’ve only retained about 30% of your audience. 
So with statistics as alarming as these, you want to do everything you can to ensure your company produces an interesting video that people will want to watch. Ideally, you would be able to pack your entire message into a brilliant, captivating, twenty second video – but let’s get real; what else we got?
Your Options
The type of video carrying your message has a large impact on viewer abandonment rates. The graphs and statistics above are generalized and include all types of video formats. Let’s look at the main types of videos in those averages and see what we’re dealing with:
Pre-roll ads – If you’re thinking about launching your video as a pre-roll ad feeding off the views of a more popular video, just know that pre-roll ads have abandonment rates as high as 70%, and that’s for a video only thirty seconds long. If you want to let people know about your company and want to better your chances of people listening to your entire message, this is not the route for you.
Live action ads – The statistics for live action ads, for the most part, parallel the graphs above. They average 6-7% drop per second viewed. This isn’t terrible, it’s the same as most videos, and if you create unique content you have a shot at your video being above average – but there is something better.
Whiteboard animation ads – Whiteboard animation is the most interactive form of online advertising. It has been proven to catch consumers’ attention quicker and keep them watching for longer. Feast your eyes on some of the statistics we’ve found specifically for whiteboard animation videos. We even put in the screen shot of our live video stats so you can see a comparison.
Live Video Drop Off Rate Is 50%
While the video engagement rate drops to 80% after 30 seconds on the average marketing video, whiteboard animation videos don’t reach that level until after the one minute mark. Viewer retention is still above 75% even after two and a half minutes.
To get a better idea of the averages we took our four most viewed videos and put the collected data into this graph:
As always, viewer retention varies with the length of the video, but on average whiteboard animation hooks viewers faster and keeps them for longer. The graph below shows the average of the combined four videos:
Whiteboard videos have a drop of 25% over two minutes of video; unlike the other types of marketing videos that see a 35-55% drop in viewers. As a matter of fact, while the average video struggles to retain viewers as length increases, we’ve found that the longer the whiteboard animation video, the better our retention rates were. Meaning a lot more people were willing to watch for a lot longer.
If you’ve got a message you just can’t squeeze into thirty seconds and feel every word is important for your target audience to hear, you need a whiteboard video. It’s your best chance to get your product or service out there without people disregarding it because of boredom or impatience. Whiteboard videos are incredibly engaging – watching an illustration materialize before your eyes is hypnotizing. It is easy to get caught up in the artwork and feel as if you are right there with the artist.
Not only are the viewer statistics above average, whiteboard animation is also very affordable. If you want your video to have the best chance of being seen without breaking your budget, you need to get in touch with us. In this world of ever-competitive internet global marketing, why wouldn’t you take advantage of all the ways available to give your company the edge?
+Jace Vernon
Video Abandonment-How to Stop It!
by Ydraw | Feb 8, 2013 | video
5 Unfunny Video Marketing Bloopers
Video marketing isn’t an exact science – it’s almost impossible to predict which videos might go viral and which are just going to stink no matter what you do. But by avoiding these video marketing mistakes, there’s a good chance your company’s video will gain a positive following and really boost sales.
Overly Promotional
You shouldn’t be surprised when you discover people don’t necessarily want to watch your video sales pitch. Consumers don’t visit websites to watch ads, and since they are not a captive audience, can choose to exit out at any time and browse around elsewhere. It is important to effectively promote your product or service, but don’t get too wrapped up in promoting features of your product without tying them to an emotional benefit. Treat viewers as intelligent people; focus on entertaining and education while still presenting the information on your product. Also, be careful you don’t become so focused on entertainment that you leave viewers wondering what exactly your company does. Your video needs to quickly demonstrate the product or service and lead viewers to make a purchase.
Long and Boring
Again, keep in mind you DO NOT have a captive audience; Facebook is usually only a tab away. Your video only has seconds to convince your audience to continue watching. Even if your video is unique and interesting, when it runs too long viewers will tend to gravitate toward other pages to pass the time while the video plays in the background. Keep your video around one or two minutes. Don’t pile on too much information – keep the message clear and direct, telling viewers only the things they really need to know. Try to imagine what your audience wants to see, not what you want to see.
Confusing/Alienating
It is important your video have a clear concept – some of the most successful marketing videos have revolved around a simple concept or storyline. You want your video to push buttons and create buzz, but be cautious what buttons are pushed. It’s one thing to poke fun at pop culture or age old arguments, but there is a line between funny and inappropriate. Avoid scenes of violence whether real or fake, keep it light. Stick to the rules of basic good taste. There’s always someone that is going to be offended (I can’t believe they’re walking all over that grass—each blade feels pain!), but you don’t have to actively drive away your audience.
Wrong Audience
Make a plan before you shoot; too often are videos based around an idea with little thought given to creating a script. Taking time to put together a storyboard will give your video direction and clarity. Acquaint yourself with your target audience, ask yourself what it is they require. Doing a little bit of research can be incredibly beneficial in producing well-received video content.
Limited Web Placement
What’s the point of spending money on a great marketing video that no one sees? Place your video on the home page, where it will be seen by the majority of visitors. Upload it to Youtube, but don’t stop there – there are several other social video platforms where your video belongs. By not uploading to all the video sharing sites available, you’re significantly restricting your reach. Optimize your video for search. Use keywords in the title, description, tags, categories, and in the transcript. Doing so will allow your video to be easily found by search engines and consequently by consumers who are already interested in your product or service.
by Ydraw | Jan 31, 2013 | animation
Video Animation for Business
If you want your business to have an online presence, you will need to use digital media. Video animation will help you get the word out about your goods and services. In today’s world people connect faster than ever and because of that are impatient and unwilling to sit through anything they don’t have to. Initially, consumers are only interested in the quickest way your business can convey information to them. But using animation for your business can pique the interest of viewers and keep their attention longer than any other means of advertisement.
Animation is a very effective and inexpensive way to boost business, and when used correctly will increase customer traffic and lead to a more established internet presence. Technology is constantly changing, and chances are your competitors are also looking for ways to keep up. Here are a few reasons why your business needs video animation and how it can set you apart from your competitors, but for check out this video.
People Don’t Have Time
In this day and age it’s all about instant gratification. Who can provide me with the most pertinent information, and quickly? Sure, your product is amazing and has the potential to help a lot of people, but your pages of descriptions, features, and testimonials just aren’t going to hold attention for long. Get your message across with a creative minute-long animated video that sparks their interest and captures their imagination.
Consumers Care to Share
…If it’s worth sharing—and the chance your fans will do your marketing for you is improved if your content is fun and unique. Animated videos are so easy to link to and embed in other websites; all it takes is one click and your business just got a whole slew of new online viewers.
Multi-purpose
Not only will your video serve as an effective marketing technique—you can use it in the office, at trade shows, load it onto a disc or flash drive and hand it out. Post it to Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc… Video is endlessly versatile and its reach is incredible.
Very Impressive
Statistics have proven that your business will benefit from animated advertising. When it comes to animated videos, viewers retain 58% more information than they do just viewing images among black and white text. This is because animation caters to both sides of the brain. The left turns thoughts into images, allowing animation to communicate to left-brain thinkers in a way that words from live-action actors can’t. The right side of the brain likes animation because it easily ignites emotion and feelings. Animation is also more entertaining to right-brain thinkers, and they tend to hold onto the memory for a long time. In simpler words: if you want your audience to remember your business, show them an animated video.
Set Yourself Apart
If you’re company is the best, makes the best products or provides the best service, let people know. Stand out from your competition! When you use animation for your business, not only can you showcase products and features, you have the ability to do so creatively and express your company’s unique character. While your competitors provide boring, dry and lifeless pages of text to sift through, you provide humor and entertainment. And perhaps the best part of animated videos is the ability to convey information about your business in a way that anyone can easily understand it; from five years old to ninety.
OK, You Need Video Animation for Your Business, Now What?
Animation video, in particular, has achieved much success in product promotion and providing information while being entertaining enough to grab and hold consumers’ attention. Alright, you get it; video marketing has become pertinent to getting your information in front of a massive audience. So you decide you’d like to invest in an animated video for your business, but before you start, here are a few tips:
Remember:
Video is versatile. Your animated video can (and should) live everywhere, including:
– On your website
– Social video sites i.e. Youtube, Vimeo
– In emails sent to clients
– On a big screen at a trade show
– On a computer during meetings
– On handheld devices such as tablets and smart phones
Video is a tool every company needs in the realm of online advertising. Video animation can be a huge boom to your business by allowing large amounts of information to be viewed and retained in a short amount of time.
Animated videos get a higher click-through rate compared to other marketing videos, in turn giving you an increased return on investment, leading to a potential 85% increase in sales.
Forget:
To throw a snooze-fest—be imaginative. Using video animation to promote your business allows you to break through the boundaries of reality. The benefit of using animation over live action is the ability to create something that is unique, engaging, and high impact all while being within your budget.
To shoe-horn technical jargon and sales lingo into script. Your video should be entertaining and engaging. Use a storyline—introduce a problem (hit a hot-button issue) at the beginning and heroically provide the solution.
Power Point techniques. Avoid the urge to fill your video with text. Aim to entertain viewers with an eye-catching mix of moving imagery and sound. Use text only when necessary—highlight key points about your business but let the text flow with the overall design of animation.
If you’re looking to market your products or services online, your focus is on drawing people to your site while promoting your products. If you make sure the animated video for your business is educational, entertaining and informative, your online visitors will be likely to spread the word by sharing your video, and your site will experience a hefty boost in traffic.
To make a long article short, the reason you need video animation for your business is simply the fact that they lead to more views and more money. Online video has an infinite reach, widely distributing your content for a minimal investment. Technically speaking, it’s not the video your business needs, but the results that an animated video delivers.
+Jace Vernon
by Ydraw | Jan 15, 2013 | video
Don’t Forget!
Dealing with an audience is never as simple as it seems. We often take the things we know and have experienced and assume that the audience has experienced the same things. This can put up barriers of communication and can ruin any video. Complexity is the demise of corporations.
On December 4, 2012 I stopped in Vegas to get a little education at the SMX conference. I had just flown in from Dallas, where I had experienced a great workshop. The speakers were motivational. I left Dallas with a plan and some great ideas. When I arrived at the Aria in Vegas I saw an overwhelming crowd rushing into a conference room. I joined them and found myself sitting in the conference being held by Expedia, imagine that. How exciting for me to be able to listen in on a conference held by a huge corporation. I wasn’t an employee nor did I know anything about Expedia’s culture but I am a customer or should I say- I was a customer. My time in the conference room did not last. I was kicked out after the guy next to me saw I was taking notes on the speech of David Roche, the President of Hotwire.com. The reality is Expedia should have more customers sit in on their conferences. If they did, they just might change their message.
You see, I love seeing successful men get up and present in front of audiences it’s very inspiring. From what I could find on the internet, David Roche is a very successful business man. I set some high expectations for his speech and was looking to be moved. However, my expectations were quickly shut down. His speech was complicated and didn’t make much sense. Words like jargon, confusion, non-educational, and boring kept coming into my mind. He never mentioned one thing about me, the customer, nor did he mention anything about the employees. As the speech went on I became extremely bored, but I was not the only one. The audience, Expedia’s own, was yearning for entertainment and real education, which go hand in hand. He spoke nothing about making customers happy or the employees happy. He didn’t relate to them. No stories, no testimonials, no example- just plain confusion.
Remember that the audience isn’t always in on the story. Don’t make them feel like the third wheel with two friends who only speak with “inside jokes.” Speak to your audience in the way that you would want your product explained to you if it was the first time you’ve ever learned about it. Don’t be condescending either, just informative and patient. =)
by Ydraw | Dec 27, 2012 | video
78% of the the information taken into the brain enters through the eyes. The largest part of the brain is set aside just to deal with information taken in visually. Don’t believe me? How many images do you think the brain and eyes can process in a single glance? Go out and take a look around. You will see millions of images and that is just the beginning of what the eyes can process. With the eyes playing a significant role in the communication process, you’d be crazy not to use whiteboard videos every chance you get. They are nothing but a brain stimulation. If you choose to ignore the power of incorporating a whiteboard video you do so at your own risk. In fact you might as well send your clients to a blank page. Fail to stimulate the eyes, and the brain tunes out. That is just the way it is. Think about it the brain can take in information at 400 to 500 words per minute, yet people speak at only 125 words per minute. We can take in a lot more than we are given in a normal conversation or even a lecture if we can stay present. A whiteboard video keeps the eyes busy and, therefore, keeps the brain more active and alert to learn the information you are presenting.
Stories
Whiteboard videos enable you to tell more of a story in the same period of time. They can communicate more information, with more impact. Stories are a must when presenting a service or product. They will help engage your audience. You will be so much closer to closing the deal when your prospect is in the state of mind as opposed to half asleep and wondering when they can move one to something more interesting.
And there you have it.
