by Ydraw | Mar 7, 2014 | video
Hello customers, new customers, and future customers. Many of you may not know the humble beginnings of Ydraw. It was started by a financial guru and a cement worker. People thought we were a bit crazy until we launched our first video on YouTube. Our simple company was started because of a YouTube video and I am going to show you the steps we took to create it.
I know many of you are wondering what you can do with your video or why you should get a video in the first place. So I am going to give you a couple ideas, methods, and techniques we are currently using. I don’t want to bombard you with info, so I am going to give you 2 simple techniques to drive more customers and business to your company.
I know most of you like data, so here are some 2013 video stats.
• After watching an explainer video, 68% of people are more inclined to purchase the product or service.
• After watching a video online, 60% will click through to your website.
• 55% would rather watch video than read text.
• 75% of corporations and marketers are planning on increasing their budget for YouTube marketing in 2014.
• Mobile users want to watch video; not read text.
Let’s first talk about YouTube. Are you using it? YouTube is still the world’s second-largest search engine. It can really provide you with a lot of amazing traffic. It is so much easier to get a video on the first page of Google than it is to get a blog post or home page, that is why Youtube is so useful. The other day I was at a business expo and met up with some businesses who were solely using YouTube videos for all their marketing needs. They are killing it!
You can do a simple search on Google and see how powerful the video snippet can be. Take a look at a couple of screen shots below.
Video Marketing Guide
How to Use YouTube
- Get a video and open up a YouTube account. To make sure that your content gets discovered and the video is indexed, you have to optimize your metadata with captivating titles, descriptions, and tags. In the description area you can put something short and sweet or you can write a novel. I like to have about 200+ words with my keyword mentioned 3 to 6 times. Start with your keyword and try to end with the keyword word in the last sentence. I hope that makes sense. https://www.youtube.com/yt/playbook/optimization.html
- Use YouTube annotations to link to certain landing pages on your site. It is best to start these about 5 seconds into the video. The goal of annotations and links are to give people a reason to leave YouTube and head to your website. You can read about YouTube annotations here or for an example, check out the video below. Finally, this link will supply you with a bunch of common uses for annotations. https://www.youtube.com/yt/playbook/annotations.html
- Push Push Push. You have to get your video out among the peasants. 🙂 Video does not climb to the top of search engines without any labor. Work at it and get some high quality backlinks. [YouTube Video Checklist]
How to Use Video Ads on Facebook
Are you using video on Facebook? If not, you should be. I have been pretty skeptical about FB marketing up until the last couple months. They are getting better and the ROI is fantastic. So here are a couple steps to get you started.
- Create an ad account on Facebook.
- Upload your video and create an audience. You can also read more about Facebook ads by jumping over to Facebook Marketing by Yinc http://yincmarketing.com/facebook/facebook-retargeting-finally-arrived-facebook-ads/
- Writing a compelling headline and also make sure you have an enticing thumbnail is a must. Some businesses live and die by the headlines they create. Here are a couple examples to help. This is great stuff, so use it. I got this from Neil Patel.
Example: The naysayers said this wouldn’t make them money. They forgot that traffic means money.
The Formula: (assumption everyone was making), and then (unexpected surprise opposite, stated without too many specifics, to intrigue readers)
Start with these two steps and look for some more great blogs in the future. If you like what you read, we would appreciate a little bit of love. Share it!
Have a great day and good luck on your video marketing.
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by Ydraw | Feb 3, 2014 | video
I know many of you have been waiting to see our new 2D and 3D animation videos. Well your wait is over! You can check them out below.
3D animation pros and cons
Up until now, 3D animation videos have been way out of budget for most companies. We have since found a way to produce them for a lot less.
Pro:
- Unique and very fun to watch.
- Full movement and animation.
- You can bet your competitors will not have one. At least not yet.
- There retention rate is pretty good.
- They are amazing.
Con:
- They take about 45 days to create
- They are not the cheapest. They run about 8K per 30 seconds
2D animation pros and cons
2D explainer videos have been around for a few years and there are a lot of companies that can create them, but they still are fun and way better than live video.
Pro:
- Unique and very fun to watch
- Completed in about 35 days
- Full animation
- Brand your company
Con:
- Cost is higher than your typical whiteboard video
Obviously you need to do what is best for you business. I have seen amazing whiteboard videos, 2D animation videos and 3D videos. Just make sure they are fun, unique and tell a great story.
Have a great day!
by Ydraw | Jan 9, 2014 | video
Here at Ydraw we are all about work, but every now and then we decide to take some time off. We think that if you work hard, you should be able to play hard. And that’s exactly what we like to do. And let’s be honest, our team deserves it! At least we think so.
We had an amazing time this year on a Mexican Riviera Cruise. The crew deserved it for all their hard work.
And we just wanted to share this photo of us enjoying our time together. =)
Have a great week everyone, and remember to take some time off to recharge and mellow out.
by Ydraw | Dec 5, 2013 | video
Can We create an Explainer video Using other peoples artwork?
Great question.. and one that we get asked a lot. The answer is…AB-SO-LUTELY.
Client Sample sent to Ydraw
The other day a client came to us and asked us if we could put together a video using his artist’s work instead of using one of our Ydraw artists to create the video layout. It was important that the scenes could be matched perfectly once it was recorded under camera. Before we even received the sample, we knew that not only was our artist capable of the task, but he would make the video amazing! Well, needless to say, our client was more than happy with the results.
Here at Ydraw we know that there are lots of talented artists outside of our ‘Ydraw Bubble’. We understand if your mom is the most incredible artist you know, and you want her to create the artwork for your video. We aren’t even offended by that! We welcome clients who give us the opportunity of duplicating other artist’s work. We find it uniquely challenging, and quite frankly, refreshing.
In Ydraw’s past, we have done numerous videos for clients that fall into this category. All of these videos have turned out amazing and our clients have always been happy with the results.
So, if you’re worried that Ydraw might not be capable of recreating or duplicating artwork that you bring to us.. DON’T! Check out the sample we received from a client and the video sample above to see what we can do.
Here at Ydraw, we are always open to trying new things and doing whatever we can to make your finished video look exactly like you wanted it to.
Let us know if you have any questions or comments for us here at Ydraw.
+Haley Zitting
by Ydraw | Nov 27, 2013 | video
Silhouettes in Drawing
One of the important principles in good drawing is the silhouette. If a drawing can be blacked-in so that all you see is the shape, and the image is still readable and communicative, then you have made a good silhouette. The interior lines of a character or object will enhance a drawing that has a clear silhouette. A person will be able to tell what a character is feeling many times through the body language communicated in the silhouette.
The simpler the pose is, the better it will be at revealing important information intended for the viewer.
Logos also benefit by the impact of a simple silhouette. See how the following images are all examples of clear communication without extraneous detailing.
As you can tell, you are able to easily identify all of the shapes above and what they represent. Logos use this because it’s easy on the eyes, it’s simple, and it gets the point across. They are able to apply their logo on just about anything and it will look good because there isn’t too much going on and it isn’t going to clash with any other designs.
You’ll also notice that there is nothing going on in the background of the silhouettes. So if you are wanting to try to create one…you can set up a camera and take a picture of something against a white background. Then just outline the image and fill it in. See if a silhouette will work for that object. Or you can set up a light that hits directly onto the object, which will cast a shadow, or a silhouette.
Silhouettes are easy and simple, but can often times add a lot of flair to your design.
Let us know if you have any questions or comments for us here at Ydraw.
-Jared Beckstrand
Artist
by Ydraw | Nov 20, 2013 | video
Setting Expectations: How You Can Win with Your Customers Every Time
Have you ever had an experience where you were sure the customer was going to love your work, only to find out they were disappointed or downright ticked? It was your best effort, or so you thought, and everything was delivered on time. So how could this happen? Where did you go wrong… or did you?
If you want to achieve success with most any customer, in most any situation, then it really boils down to this – you need to set proper expectations.
Sounds simple enough, by doing this one critical thing you can eliminate frustration, open more effective channels of communication, and have both parties satisfied with the results. Truly! And here’s a little bonus, this does not just apply to business relationships, but can be used to great effect with co-workers, friends, family, spouses… just about anyone with whom you share a relationship of some kind.
So how do you set proper expectations? Here’s how a great mentor once taught me a simple yet very powerful method:
1) Set expectations up front
2) Expectations must be mutually defined and agreed upon
3) If possible, write them down
1. Set expectations up front
Once you’ve let the cat out of the bag, it’s a pretty painful process to get him back in there. Same thing applies with expectations. While my memory isn’t ironclad, I can still remember first impressions, first expectations, first thoughts and feelings of a particular experience or project. Those can certainly change over time, but it typically requires a lot more work to do so. The same generally applies with your customer. Once they have an idea in their head, good luck convincing them to let it go.
You may already be setting expectations with customers and not realize it. How? Your website, your social media sites, your posts and tweets. Be mindful of what you’re “promising” or offering to customers through your various media and properties. Prices, deadlines, guarantees, services all better be 100% realistic or your customers will insist you do it, call you on it if those change, and may even it hold it against you if it doesn’t all add up in the end.
What few companies realize is that this is your “golden” opportunity to help shape the behavior of your customers. If you want your customers to complete a form, submit documents, understand your process, etc, its up to you to set that up in the beginning. It takes a little more focus and deliberate action on your part, but it will pay dividends, big time, now and down the road.
WORD OF CAUTION: If you’re in sales, you’re a big part of setting a customer’s expectations. You’re typically at the front of the process, so whatever you promise, agree to, and reinforce will be etched into the relationship from this point forward. I’m not just talking about price either. The old saying of “under promise, over deliver” is really saying don’t set expectations you can’t meet, deadlines that aren’t realistic or results that can’t be reached. Don’t set the rest of your team up for failure because you did or said “anything” just to get the sale.
2. Expectations should be mutually defined and agreed upon
“What do you want?” “I don’t know, what do you want?” Sound familiar? So here’s a tip. Unless you want a customer asking for the moon, or a 45 minute monologue of the history of their company… don’t ask “what do you want?”. Trust me, there are better ways to define expectations. Here are the 2 best questions I’ve ever heard that help people narrow down their answers to something that makes sense:
What is your best case scenario (for this project, product, experience, etc)?
Ok. Now tell me, what’s your worst case scenario?
Simple, yet incredibly effective. Why? Well, most people can articulate their best case scenario. They really can. It’s also true that most people can tell you their worst case scenario too. What I find fascinating is that often times a customer’s worst case scenario is far better than what I was imagining. But this is good. These two questions help you define the parameters, or the borders of your relationship and possible expectations. Now you can narrow it down even further with this follow up question.
So if this is your best case, and your worst case, would this (say for example ⅔ of the way to best case) be considered success to you?
If your customer answers yes? Bravo! You’ve just set the expectation of what success or victory looks like. If not, offer another possible example as success, or ask them what they consider success.
Here’s why I absolutely love this technique. First, since you’re asking the questions, you’re in control of the conversation. Second, it’s very non-threatening. It’s a comfortable discussion with no wrong answers. Third, it’s mutual. Both parties are involved in defining what the expectations should be. Fourth, it makes you seem very smart, even though it’s incredibly easy to do!
Now that you’ve defined what the expectations for success are, make sure you both agree upon them. I would recommend saying something like, “so we just decided that this (example) means success. Do you agree? Does that work for you?”. The mutual agreement is critical and here’s why. So you can hold each other accountable. If you don’t mutually agree then it’s one party imposing their expectations upon the other, and that rarely works out as intended or in a truly positive way.
3. When possible, write it down!
You’re doing great so far. You’ve set expectations at the right time – up front. You’ve had a great conversation with your customer and mutually defined and agreed what success means. Now you’ve got to write it down. Why? Humans are emotional beings, and to be honest, they change their expectations all the time. What made sense then, seems crazy now. It could be they had a bad breakfast, or got yelled at by the garbage man… who knows. But all those external elements, stresses, and situations can internally affect emotions… and expectations. Throw in the fact that people interpret body language, word meanings, and expressions differently (not to mention may have a faulty memory like mine) and you can see why setting expectations can be tricky if you don’t write it down.
It could be your regular contract with addendums, but it could also be just an email reaffirming what was discussed. But here’s why this step is really important too: What happens when one or both parties don’t meet or exceed the agreed expectations? If it hasn’t been set up front, mutually defined and agreed, and written down – it’s hard to hold either party accountable. But by writing it down and sharing it with the other party, you now know how short, close, or beyond success you’ve achieved. And you know exactly where they stand too!
Ok. So what happens if the expectations don’t work, or need to be adjusted or changed? What happens if one of the parties isn’t happy with the expectations once you get down the road? Don’t worry… it happens… it’s life and things can, and often do, go sideways.
Don’t panic. All you need to do to reset expectations is follow the same process. It will work again. I do, however, like to start by asking, “What changed? What changed to make you unhappy with the previous expectations?” This may give you insights into the other party’s concerns and provide some guidance when resetting, redefining and agreeing to a new set of expectations.
Conclusion. So there you have it. I challenge you to give it a try. It can be anything from a small task to a major project. I’ve had tremendous success for years using this method and technique. Setting expectations is such a critical part of business and personal relationships. Without doing so, it can lead to miscommunication, frustration, and poor results. But, by following the steps of setting expectations up front, mutually defining and agreeing upon them, and writing them down – not only will you know what you have to do to achieve success for your customer, they’ll know it when you claim victory and be right there with you!
+Chris Salisbury
Senior Creative Director
Ydraw
