That’s today’s message! Discover the story that you want to convey. Discover the emotion that you want to share. Discover the connection that you want to make with your audience.
That was the whole process that I took while creating this video. I wanted to share a story of a discovery. And not just that, I wanted it from a different perspective than my own, and from that of a child. What does a child do when they explore the world around them? The first thoughts that came to mind were playing in dirt, climbing trees, playing with toys, creating art, catching bugs…and BAM! The script came to be, based on those concepts.
Next, I knew the voiceover had to be a child, and the visuals needed to include the child too. So, I enlisted the help of my 5-year-old son, who has a cute voice, and was willing to do some acting as well. He’s adorable. I’m biased.
I wanted his footage to be in this world of bright vibrant creative colors and shapes. So I got to work, and I discovered so much about how to capture those child-like moments. There was also a lot of discovery about how to take the visuals that were in my brain and make them work in an animation.
So next time you set down to discover the story that you want to tell, think about a different perspective of your story. Look at ways that you could do things that you haven’t done before. If you’ve always used a very corporate serious tone, look at how you can inject humor! If your colors have been limited, explore how you can infuse more vibrant colors. That’s what I’m discovering, and that’s what we are doing for our clients here at Ydraw.
We’re screeching fast towards the end of the year and we all know what that means: end of the year marketing pushes, the bustle of the holiday season – and before you know it – staring at your New Year’s Resolutions for 2019.
So, before you write down, “Join a gym,” let’s talk about what you can do to build your business and how you can use your YDraw video to achieve your marketing goals.
Luckily, the easiest way to talk about BOTH of those things is to talk about books.
Because by honing in on the best business books out there, you’ll be on the fast track to creating the viral video of your dreams and then marketing it to perfection.
Let’s start with a book that inspired our name – YDraw:
With over 2,000 almost-perfect reviews on Amazon and the 3rd most popular TED talk of all time by the same name, you can see why Sinek’s landmark book is at the top of our list.
Sinek talks about the idea of The Golden Circle as the framework upon which your business should be built and it starts with the question, “WHY?”
By looking at WHY you do what you do and WHY you sell what you do, you are able to find what will help your target consumer buy into your product, your service, or your movement.Sinek’s philosophy works because emotion trumps reasons every time.
This is another powerful read that you won’t want to miss. Miller starts out with a bang by saying, “Customers don’t generally care about your story; they care about their own.”
He goes on to explain how businesses can spend less on marketing if they can focus their message “on the aspects of their offer that will help people survive and thrive.”
This, friends, is what explainer videos and whiteboard animation videos are ALL about!
The goal is to boil down complicated ideas or lengthy messages into short, simple, engaging, movie trailer-style videos that will speak quickly and directly to how what you do will benefit your consumer.
If you’re looking for some inspiration on thinking outside the box – you can’t go further outside of it than Elon Musk. Often called a “real-life Tony Stark”, Musk has dedicated his life to creating technological inventions that are paving the way for future breakthroughs.
He may be a controversial character in his personal life, but we can still be inspired by his ambitious entrepreneurial pursuits.
When embarking on a creative project, such as a whiteboard animation video, you have a fantastic opportunity to push the envelope of reality. So, if you need some encouragement to leave the status quo in your dust, this book may be the one for you. 4.Creativity, Inc. By Ed Catmull
The book that Forbes said, “Just might be the best business book ever written,” has been making waves for years.
Understandably, since Creativity, Inc. is our all-access pass into the inside of Pixar Animation, by our tour guide Catmull, a co-founder.
And, really, who better to learn from about storytelling than the company that changed animation forever?
Chock full of insightful guidance on how to create amazing teams to the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar films beloved all around the world, Creativity, Inc. might be the secret sauce you have been looking for to inspire your next incredible YDraw video.
Honestly, we could keep you here all day talking about the incredible books out there. But, instead, we’ll put the rest on a virtual bookshelf for you.
Browse at your leisure, pick up what interests you, and leave some suggestions of your own in the comments below.
The style of your video sends a subconscious message to your viewers and lets them know that your company is professional, modern, playful, organized, credible, genuine or any other positive brand qualifier.
If you haven’t already noticed, here at Ydraw we produce many different video styles. Some clients come to us knowing what type of video style they want and others not knowing their options let alone the differences between them.
Rather than shoving you into a box you don’t fit in, we are here to help guide you in the right direction and determine what video style best fits your unique brand, message, audience and budget.
Here is just a quick glimpse of a few of our video styles:
WHITEBOARD/BLACKBOARD/CARDBOARD:
Purpose: These videos are hand drawn with marker on the paper of your choice. The purpose is to create simple, relatable and easy to understand stories/concepts to explain your product or service. By lining up powerful narration and simple artwork we hit both sides of the brain to keep your audience interested and wanting to know more. These videos are our favorite for teaching.
Budget: Range from $ – $$
Features:
Traditional artwork
See the artists hand draw while narration is happening
Small digital effects added in to bring on artwork or pose change a character’s expression etc.
Hand drawn
Funny and relatable
YSWIPE:
Purpose: This video style uses Pattern Interruption to change the viewers thoughts or perception and redirect their attention to what you want to show them. We use the artists hand to slide/snap/wipe/point artwork on/off screen to keep the video upbeat and lower the viewers defenses.
Budget: Range from $-$$$
Features:
Traditional or digital artwork.
Upbeat and fast moving
Uses Pattern Interruption
Artists hand slides/snaps/wipes/points artwork on screen.
YPAINT:
Purpose: Ypaint videos use full watercolor or pencil sketches and have a more realistic art style. Instead of seeing the artists hand, we digitally reveal the images as if they are being digitally painted or dropped on screen like a water droplet. These videos use slow movements and soft pastel colors to evoke emotion in the viewer. If you want your video to be inspirational, motivational and classy, this may just be the style for you.
Budget: $$
Features:
Inspirational/Motivational/Classy
Slower pace
Soft Pastel Colors
No hand involved
Realistic artwork
MOTION GRAPHICS:
Purpose: This video style uses simple digital artwork and kinetic typography to explain complex topics in a literal or abstract manner. Motion Graphic videos are fast moving and can allow a boring topic to be upbeat and easy to understand without telling a story or condensing information. Most of the time they are used to explain a complex product or show a result.
Budget: $$-$$$
Features:
Pattern Interruption
Lots of movement
Simple digital artwork
Exact brand colors
More sophisticated
Fast moving
Can be literal or abstract
Moveable characters and objects
ANIMATION OVERLAY:
Purpose: This style overlays digital artwork on top of live video to make them more interactive and fun. Although we love using real people to evoke real emotion, sometimes it can get boring. If you want to show that your company is trustworthy by using live video as well as relatable and unique by using digital artwork, this style is for you!
Budget: $$-$$$$$ (Depending on price of live video). We are happy to do the live for you, or you can send us the live video and we can animate on top!
Features:
Can be endorsed by celebrity in live video
Trustworthy
Sophisticated
Interactive
Allows viewers to go back and find a specific spot to rewatch.
Combine real people and digital artwork
2D ANIMATION:
Purpose: This video style uses engaging narration and compelling characters and backgrounds to tell a story. Characters can range from simple stick figures to more complex and detailed characters. 2D animation allows the characters to move and talk more than you will see in a motion graphic video. Think cartoons like Tom and Jerry or Phineas and Ferb.
Budget: $$$-$$$$$
Features:
Characters that talk and move more realistically
Unique artwork that range from simple to complex
Interactive and fun
3D ANIMATION:
Purpose: These videos use beautiful and complex three-dimensional characters and backgrounds to tell your story without using real people and places. The bigger the budget, the more complex artwork and movement. Think Toy Story or Tangled. The downfall to 3D Animation is that you are competing with companies like Pixar and Disney who have enormous budgets and endless amounts of time.
Budget: $$$$-$$$$$
Features:
More bells and whistles than other video styles
More sophisticated and complex
Lots of movement
Time consuming
Characters can talk and move
Digitally drawn artwork
So now that you know the basics, what video style is right for you?
What may have worked for one company may not work for yours. Depending on your purpose, audience, brand and budget there is a perfect style for your company and we are here to help you find it.
Did you know that Facebook is the most popular app downloaded to smart phones? And Instagram has over 1 billion monthly active users, according to Statista.
Social media is all the rage in today’s world. People are on it ALL the time, posting and scrolling.
Sharing content on these platforms, whether it’s through regular posts or ads, this is a great way to get your business in front of others.
A few weeks ago, we talked about how video posts have a higher conversion rate than regular posts. But there’s more to it, you need a strategy for what you are sharing on social media. You don’t want to spam your followers with the same posts that just scream “BUY MY PRODUCT”. You want to switch it up and share different types of content with them to keep them engaged and not feel like you are shoving the same information down their throat.
Here are 4 guidelines for the type of content you should be sharing:
1. Value Post
This should provide solutions to common problems that your customers/potential customers might have.
Example:
2. Recognition Post
Share a success story. Social proof naturally arouses curiosity in others.
Example:
3. Story Post
Share a story that ends with a call to action.
Example:
4. Engagement Post
Ask your viewers a question. You want them to stop and think about the question you asked.
Example:
Whether it’s a picture or a video, utilize each and every one of these categories on your social media platforms. Get creative!
Now that you’ve mastered your regular social media posts. Consider running video ads. They allow you to target your audience based on things like age, job title, location, etc. Getting your business in front of the right eyes is key.
How can Ydraw help with all of this?
To see success, you must be consistent and find out what is and isn’t working for you. Here at Ydraw we create content with a purpose. Then we use target marketing on all platforms to share your video. We test this regularly and if it’s not working, we adjust. Video ads are a beast in and of themselves, don’t waste time and money trying to figure it out yourself. Leave it to the professionals if you want to see quick results.
By implementing all these things into your social media game, you’re sure to see results.
You’ve produced new video content, created a buzz, promoted the living crud out of it and shared it on social media but even optimizing the title and description still didn’t get you the views that you were hoping for.
What went wrong?
One of the biggest challenges facing anyone in marketing is figuring out how to break through the noise to reach your customers.
While great video content is crucial, perhaps there’s something simple you may have missed:
Subtitles.
Captioning your videos can have a HUGE effect on how successful they are. This is true for movies, TV shows, social media videos, training content, and any other kind of video you might record or share.
Why are subtitles so important?
1) Not everyone watching your video can hear it.
2) Subtitles improve comprehension
3) Some people actually prefer watching videos with subtitles even if they don’t have to. (My teenage daughter is like this; I have to turn off the captions on Netflix every time after she watches something. Every. Dang. Time.)
4) Viewers are more engaged. As more people are producing high-quality video content, social networks like Facebook have made it easier to post and share videos on their platforms.
But do you know what’s the most annoying thing about scrolling through your Facebook or Instagram feed? When the air of silence is violently stabbed by the blaring audio from the video you just scrolled over! This is why social platforms have made ‘mute’ the default volume setting for videos that auto-play. As a result, many users are likely to watch your video without actually turning on the audio.
Captioning videos can help guarantee your viewers get the message, even if they don’t actually listen to what you have to say.
Beyond making your videos more accessible, captions keep your content competitive within the social media landscape and can even boost your SEO!
Everything you’d ever want to know about subtitles and eye tracking software can be found here.
Did I read that entire article?… um… no (totally skimmed it) but what I CAN affirm is that if I’m awake in bed next to a sleepy spouse, eating lunch in a crowded restaurant, riding the bus, quietly not paying attention in church or a number of other moments where I’d choose silence; a video with subtitles will capture and keep my attention when a non-captioned video would just get lost in the upward scroll of oblivion.
Test it out for yourself.
Take a marketing video you’ve already produce and slap some captions on it. (If you don’t have caption-slapping abilities… Ydraw can do that for ya in a jiffy!)
Then launch that video into social media cyberspace and see what happens when your watchers become readers.
