If you are not living under some rock, you probably know how big a part of internet videos are. They practically dominate the global web. So much so that almost every app has a video feature now. Even Instagram, which started strictly with photos, introduced reels and live streaming to stay at par with the latest trend.
According to an estimate, 82% of the internet traffic by 2022 will be videos. YouTube is the second most popular website in the world. Videos are not going anywhere, and if you want to thrive as a content creator, there is no question that videos are essential to your business.
And out of the many forms of videos, we suggest you give a shot to whiteboard animation. Whiteboard videos make use of hand-drawn graphics or doodles on a whiteboard-like background to visually deliver the message. It is accompanied by a voiceover narrating the story. This combination of visuals and narration results in one of the most popular forms of videos across the internet today. Animation sounds exciting and appealing, but if you are skeptical about trying your hands on whiteboard animation, let’s dwell on the top 10 reasons you need them in 2022.
GOOD FOR CORPORATE MEETINGS:
If you are part of the business world, you know how dull and monotonous corporate meetings can get. There is a series of slides to go through, a detailed presentation to deliver, proposals to pitch, and projects to talk through. All of this can bore the employees and managers alike.
The long and detailed meetings make it difficult not to get spaced out. No amount of ice-breaking sessions can keep people attentive in a forum that is likely to proceed for more than an hour. It is then that you find well-dressed individuals blankly staring at walls or mindlessly clicking their ballpoints at a place where you probably called them to sign a multi-million dollars deal. This results in a scenario where even the creepy crawlies in the room draw more attention from flummoxed attendees than a presentation you worked so hard on.
Whiteboard animation is the perfect tool to avoid this situation. The colorful pictures and characters not only make it convenient for you to deliver your point but can also spice up your meetings, making them enjoyable. Therefore, videos are a vital part of business communication.
COST-EFFECTIVE:
Whiteboard videos are way cheaper to produce than live-motion videos. We are past the era where overdramatic ads would help sell a product. Now showing teenagers, drained of energy, starting to dance in perfect sync under the scorching sun fanatically because they were offered a fresh mint gum by another cool kid who appears out of nowhere is likely to make your audience cringe hard. People today like stuff that makes sense, and spending a massive amount of money over conventional ad campaigns is not very smart from a marketing perspective.
Whiteboard videos save you from the hassle. Overthrowing the problem of hiring good actors and direction altogether, they help cost-effectively convey your message. Videos, if well-created, help foster better connections with your consumer base. Showing animated characters would appeal more to the viewers, and therefore animation is what you should opt for when marketing your product.
HIGHER CHANCES TO GO VIRAL:
Videos have a higher chance of going viral. 90% of consumers watch videos online, and whiteboard animations are almost always trending on YouTube. Videos are suitable for a range of topics, be it educational or marketing content, and are likable and shareable, therefore holding an excellent chance to reach the maximum audience.
Not just that, but Google is the parent organization behind YouTube, redirects your search results to videos a lot of the time. Therefore by embedding a video on your website, you increase your chances to be on top of search engines. This can help achieve higher conversion rates and more sales for your brand.
EASY TO UNDERSTAND:
Suppose you are a teacher wanting to help students by posting online lectures, or an expert wanting to share insightful knowledge related to your field, or a content creator trying to build a following online. In that case, you want your content to be easy to grasp. Whiteboard animation videos help with it.
It has been proven by science that motion attracts attention. Have you ever heard of mirror neurons? When you watch someone do something, say, eat an apple, these neurons fire just as they would when you perform a task. Due to this, when you watch something happening, your brain perceives it as if you are doing it. When watching an animation, viewers relate to the content, making it easy for them to understand.
Videos also result in what is called ‘audience anticipation’. The whole animation, be it related to business or educational stuff, unfolds in the form of a story. Viewers keep guessing what happens next, which keeps them from distraction. All of this in combination gives a good viewer experience.
SIMPLE TO CREATE:
Whiteboard animations are simple to make. They don’t require any expensive equipment. Instead, there are numerous wonderful soft wares available which you can make use of to create an engaging, low-cost video in no time.
BEST FOR COMMUNICATING COMPLEX IDEAS:
Either you are a teacher wanting to prepare a lecture around some complicated topics, or a business person wanting to create a presentation including intricate details, whiteboard videos are what you should choose. The hand-drawn graphics spruce up the content allowing you to incorporate several ideas without making the delivery sound cumbersome. Eye-catching visuals accompanied by good narration can keep your audience engrossed till the very end, effectively driving home your point.
HELPS RETAIN INFORMATION:
Research by Dr Richard Wiseman, an award-winning professor of psychology, shows that whiteboard animation boosts knowledge retention by 15%. Also, viewers retain 90% of the message when consumed visually compared to 10% when delivered with text. With the majority of the population being visual learners, videos hold paramount importance as a learning and marketing tool. And here’s why whiteboard animations aid with memory:
They are attention-grabbing and keep the audience hooked till the very end
They are multisensory. They involve sight, hearing and motion, which are the most important senses and are responsible for memory.
They chunk down complicated concepts and go from starting blocks towards building a big picture.
This holds importance, especially if you are an educationalist. As a teacher, you go to lengths to help your students with learning. Whiteboard animations are a proven method that productively fulfills the cause, so they should be your go-to.
HIGH CTR:
CTR or Clickthrough rate is used to gauge how well your Ad is doing. We are living in highly fast-paced times where no one wants to read through lengthy, heavy texts. Videos are to-the-point and versatile and hold a high chance of grabbing people’s attention. A well-created video is likely to be shared around, and therefore animated videos are a good marketing plan to approach the masses. According to Buffer, companies that include videos in their marketing campaigns have 27% higher CTR and 34% higher conversion rates than companies not using this strategy.
PEOPLE RELATE TO ANIMATION:
Animations are fun to watch, concise and clear. Regardless of age, people love cartoons, and hitting this pain point can step up your marketing game. As the bright-colored visuals unfold, the person gets interested in knowing what picture they see at the end, along with a good voiceover, which gives them a positive experience centered around your brand.
GOOD FOR STORYTELLING:
With its ability to captivate the audience, whiteboard animations serve as a powerful storytelling tool. Using imagination and creativity perfectly communicates the idea and evokes emotion in the viewers, all of which is essential for a good storytelling experience.
CONCLUSION:
It is a fact that to establish a successful presence online or even offline, you need to conform to whatever course is in fashion globally. Numbers don’t lie, and they show that whiteboard animation is the future. So whether you want to sell a product or educate and inspire the masses, know that whiteboard videos are the way to go.
Creating a whiteboard animation video for your business is a great idea. But don’t make the decision without putting in some thought first. It’s certainly a good idea to cover all your bases before putting your marketing dollars to work. But since you’ve haven’t given yourself the green light yet, let’s go over something important. You need to know what to consider before creating a whiteboard animation video.
Remember that there are a lot of companies out there that create whiteboard animation videos. The style and quality of work differ from one company to another. And as popular and effective as these videos are, a lot can go wrong in certain circumstances. This won’t happen to you, though, because we’re going to give you the information you need before moving forward.
Here’s what to consider before creating a whiteboard animation video.
Is a Whiteboard Animation Video Right For My Business?
There is almost no circumstance where the implementation of a whiteboard video wouldn’t help. They translate extremely well to virtually every kind of business. But we suppose it would be disingenuous to say with certainty that they’re perfect for every situation. The type of service or product you’re promoting, your long-term marketing goals, and your message should influence your decision.
But there are some circumstances where whiteboard animation videos really are a perfect choice. For example:
When You’re Explaining Something Technical or Complicated
If the message you want to deliver involves a complex system or innovative idea, whiteboard animation videos are ideal. Research has shown that retention increases almost 20% when information is delivered this way. When education is the goal, the whiteboard style excels. This kind of animation can unravel concepts in a fun and engaging way.
When You Have A Lot To Say
Whiteboard animation videos are great at presenting lengthy information in an appealing way. The best examples are whiteboard videos that animate speeches. You’ve likely seen some of these. The brain retains visual information better than auditory. So when animated explanations are paired with the audio of a speech, the speech is no longer, well, boring! It becomes exciting and twice as interesting when you see the speaker’s words come to life in a creative way.
When You Need A Corporate Training or B2B Video
Whiteboard videos are very popular in the corporate space for a reason. It doesn’t matter if the artwork style that matches your business is cartoony or realistic. With precise copywriting and good artwork, your B2B or training video will pique the viewer’s interest and keep their attention. Compared to other options, whiteboard animation should be strongly considered for corporate purposes.
Mistakes Companies Make When Creating A Whiteboard Animation Video
Not every whiteboard animation is created perfectly. Knowledge, experience, and asking the right questions are important to the success of your video. Some common mistakes in whiteboard animation videos are:
To Show The Hand Or Not To Show The Hand
Make sure you decide if showing the drawing hand is what you want. Most of the time, clients prefer to show the hand. It can bring a sense of realism and gives the video added character. But, sometimes showing the hand doesn’t mesh with the aesthetic. Communicate with your creative director to make this decision.
No White Background
We’ve seen whiteboard animation that presented content with a fully-colored background. In our opinion, this a mistake. It lessens the effect that this kind of animation can have. When the viewer sees the artwork manifesting on a white background, it becomes familiar. In a very real way, the white background makes the video more relatable. Only use color for background purposes to help emphasize certain points.
Be very cautious when thinking about doing a full-color background in whiteboard animation videos. It’s almost never a good idea.
No interconnected artwork
One of the calling cards of whiteboard animation is the seamless style of interconnected imagery. One thing always leads to the next with many images literally connected to each other. Some videos choose not to do this at all, resulting in a less-effective final product. We’re not saying the ink should literally connect everything throughout the entire video. But make sure that you break from connected imagery sparingly. Too much isolated imagery can hinder continuity.
Creating A Whiteboard Animation Video Using Multiple Artwork Styles
This adds confusion to the video that just isn’t necessary. Choose an art style and stick with it for the whole video.
Low-Quality Animation
Be sure that the whiteboard animation company you’re using has talented, experienced artists working for them. Bad artwork defeats the whole purpose of putting your marketing dollars toward a project like this. Look at artwork samples and previous videos the company has made to make sure it’s what you’re looking for.
What To Consider Before Creating a Whiteboard Animation Video – Conclusion
When choosing a whiteboard animation company, makes sure they’re actually a whiteboard animation company. Meaning, don’t go with a company that runs a different kind of business but offers whiteboard animation on the side. Hire professionals. Even if it costs a bit more, it will be worth it. When done right, commissioning a video like this can have far-reaching, positive effects. Do your best to stay informed and steer clear of easily-avoidable mistakes.
Contact Ydraw for the best customer experience and the best whiteboard animation videos in the industry!
Animated videos work wonders for social media marketing.
How? First off, remember what the 5 goals of social media marketing are: (1) increase brand awareness, (2) enhance public relations, (3) build a community of advocates, (4) research and development, and (5) driving sales and leads.
Animated videos address each one of these goals perfectly.
How Do They Increase Brand Awareness?
An engaging animated video with your brand’s colors and logo woven throughout sticks in people’s brains. The video delivers an extra-potent dose of memorability where your brand is concerned. It’s much easier to remember a particular brand if it’s associated with fun visuals as opposed to a stand-alone logo on a landing page or an article full of text.
Using animated videos also sets you apart from the ocean of business Facebook pages that are constantly posting uninteresting company photos and updates. If you’ve got a compelling animated video that autoplays on someone’s feed, chances are they’re gonna watch it. This will make your brand more interesting than your competitors.
How Do Animated Videos Enhance Public Relations?
A high-quality animated video shows that you’re serious about delivering your message efficiently. It shows the public that you care about being understood. Even fun or silly videos add an element of legitimacy and professionalism to your brand.
Also, social media is where you find the most accurate info regarding how the public feels about your company. Browsing comments from a meme you shared off someone else’s page is fine. But when you have original, animated content, the percentage of positive feedback is higher. Animated videos lead the public to view your organization as stable and confident.
How Do Animated Videos Build A Community of Advocates?
When someone shares your video, a seed of loyalty is planted. That action proves it spoke to them to the point where they wanted others to experience what they did. Whether your animated video made them laugh, cry, or think, them sharing it is a sure bet that you’ve stuck in their brains. This is the first stage of brand loyalty.
Animation has a way of making people feel comfortable. Helping your audience feel comfortable with your business is an important step toward turning them into an advocate.
How Do Animated Videos Promote Research and Development?
One of the best things about using videos in social media marketing is how easily traceable they are. You can combine the analytic data of both Facebook and the video hosting platform for your benefit. This makes gathering data and putting it to future use so easy.
There’s also evidence suggesting that for businesses, short, animated videos receive more engagement than live-action ones. This is because the nature of animation allows complex ideas to be more easily explained. More engagement means more data which leads to more refined processes.
Plus, they’re cheaper to produce than live-action videos. This leaves you with more marketing dollars to make more videos or put toward further research and development.
How Do Animated Videos Drive Sales and Leads?
Animation is less likely to come across as intrusive marketing. This means that viewers are more likely to get hooked within the first few moments and watch the whole thing. This does wonders for conversion rates.
Why are they less intrusive? Because animated videos are fun, even when they’re talking shop. Being entertained and persuaded at the same time is an age-old marketing tool, and it’s all over social media. Animated videos exude an element of fun, making the purchase more appealing.
There’s also something nostalgic about animation, and nostalgia is huge in our culture right now. It’s a very effective marketing tool, and animation is a great way to tap into that.
Conclusion
If you feel like your social media marketing is lacking and you haven’t commissioned an animated video of some kind, we highly recommend you consider it. It’s worked wonders for our clients’ social media efforts. There’s no reason it won’t work for you.
We get asked by clients if they should do a whiteboard video over other types of videos. We stand by our conviction that a whiteboard animation video still will get you the results you need.
But we wouldn’t want you to just take our word for it. We are a little bias. Our friends from the UK created a video that can explain it better than we can.
Cognitive started Whiteboard videos in the UK back around the same time that Ydraw began. They received millions of views and awards.
They were the inspiration that started it all. Here are some stats on why you should be telling your story with a whiteboard video.
Don’t forget these quick points.
Although a whiteboard video will get you better results, a bad script will ruin any video
Businesses all have a story and it should be told.
When you tell your story people will relate to your product or service.
We are breaking it down on what types of stories you should be sharing with your customers in this weeks episode of Moron Monday.
If you missed last weeks episode, you can find it here.
Hey guys. What’s up? Jace over here at Ydraw.
Today we’re going to be talking about one of my favorite subjects. We’ve been trying to push this down companies throats for years now, and I just thought I’d sit down and break it down for you guys so you know why stories matter.
Here are six stories you should be telling your customers. We have another blog that has seven, but I put two together.
I’m going to go over these and then, at the end of this video, I’m going to show you guys what we did for Ydraw. We just created a simple video to show you step number one, a history of our business case.
So let’s run through these real quick.
HISTORY
Very first thing, every company should be talking about their history. They should be telling the stories of how their company got started. And that does matter.
Think about the story of Apple, we all know it.
Think about the story of Tesla, about SpaceX, about Facebook. Zuckerberg…young… didn’t know what he was doing, built a billion dollar company. We all get pulled into the stories, and majority of companies don’t tell their stories.
So it’s important that you go out there and tell them how you got started.
HOW YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE WAS DISCOVERED
Next is how your product or service was discovered. What did you do to figure out your product or service?
Now, you can combine these a little bit, but people want to know….how did you discover your product or service?
And by doing that, what happens is, they’re like, hey, I was in that same guy’s shoes.
I was looking for the same solution to a problem. And if you tell people how your company came about or how the problem was discovered, then they’re more likely to buy into your business.
And remember, what all of this does is it gets multiple touches so people want to do business with you.
People do business with those who they like and trust. And all these stories get people to like and trust you so that they’ll give you money.
Back in 2011 explainer videos where the hot thing, everyone went out and got explainer videos because they were told that’s what they need, but they didn’t realize there was a bunch of other stuff that needs to go with it.
So they would have a great explainer video, stick it out on YouTube and hope they get business but it didn’t happen that way.
But a good explainer video is simple. You need to do a strong opening, a headline, problem, solution, and call to action.
That should be your formula because it just shows, here’s the problem, here’s how our product solves that problem, and then it gives them a call to action.
You need people who will talk about your business, it’s like a case study, or if somebody gets on a camera, that’s good social proof, so you need those.
WHY YOU OVER THE COMPETITORS
You need, “why you over your competitors?” I get asked this all the time on sales calls, businesses will say, “hey, Jace, why should I choose you over your competitors?”.
And I just tell them, we have videos that discuss that.
When somebody buys your product or service, it’s best if you can give them tutorial videos so they know how to use it.
And then within those you can always ask for referrals. Got it.
HISTORY
So let’s talk about history.
Last month I went and spoke at PPAI conference, and it was on video marketing. I always start off with my story, my struggle, my triumph, and then why it matters to them.
Now why do I do this? It’s so that people can look at me and be like, “hey, he’s relatable, he’s been in the dumps, he’s had to overcome some trial stuff like that”.
If you ever go listen to really good speakers, they always start with their story.
Jimmy Fallon, in one of our articles, which I’ll link to this, we talked about the first night when Jimmy Fallon came on the tonight show (I think it’s the tonight show).
All he did was tell the story, he explained where he came from and people loved it.
So when you’re telling the history, tell them where you came from, the struggles, and then how you overcame those struggles, and then why it matters to them.
A video that we just created for Ydraw, I’m going to show you how we did it. Well, I’m just going to show it to you and you’ll get how we did it.
We basically talk about where we started, why it mattered, and then there were stakes at hand.
You have to have some type of stakes in your story. And when I say stakes, that means you have to overcome something.
There has to be an obstacle. If you just go out and say, “oh yeah, I started a company made millions of dollars”, no one really cares.
What they care about is the struggle that it took to start that company.
What were you going to lose? Did you put up all your money? Did you put up everything? And every business out there has stakes.
So, if you’d take a look at Apple, if you take a look at Facebook, the history of all these great companies, they had stakes.
They had something that they were about to lose. They were about to go under. They put all their life on line, stuff like that.
If you go into the movie theaters, every good movie is structured like this.
You have a Star Wars, it starts off with Luke, whose parents die, finds a guide Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he trains him. He overcomes great odds and happily ever after.
And you’ll notice Pixar does the same thing. They have a certain formula that every single one of their movies follow.
YDRAW HISTORY
So, I’m going to show you the video that we have, but make sure your company is doing these stories.
Go out there and start off with a history. Tell people (and it doesn’t need to be some big production) how you got started, why it matters, and why it should matter to them.
Tell them what you overcame, and just from doing that, you’re going to get more business. And then also it gives you content to put in front of people.
So, if you have questions on this, we would love to help. We do create scripts for this, we do create videos for this, we’d be happy to help you go to ydraw.com and that is it. Peace.
What Is Tone and Mood and Why Do They Matter to Your Video?
By Erica Schmidt Jabali
According to a Harvard professor, at least 95% of purchasing decisions are made subconsciously – or based on how we feel. We could be influenced by a brand’s commercial, their marketing, brand packaging, and more.
This means simply giving the facts and figures in your video isn’t enough – you have to strike an emotional chord with your target consumer in order to motivate them to act. (read more here)
This is one reason why we ask in our questionnaire and on our kick-off calls what tone and mood you want in your video.
And, we are usually met with crickets on the other end of the line.
Turns out, for those of us who haven’t been in high school English classes for a long time (okay, a really long time), we might need a little brushing up on our tone and mood skills.
Don’t worry – we got you.
So, sharpen your pencils and sit up straight – because your speed-round refresher course on Tone vs. Mood starts now:
TONE:
Tone is the author’s attitude towards the subject. Remember when your mom used to say, “Don’t you take that tone with me!” Well, she wasn’t wrong – the tone we use in our speech is similar to the tone a piece of writing or voiceover in a video takes.
Here are some examples of videos that use a different tone:
In this video, the client wanted a confident, inspirational, educational tone:
Whereas in this video, the client asked for a relaxed, fun, beachy vibe, so our fan-favorite, chameleon of a voiceover talent, Dawson, actually used a surfer accent to achieve this goal
In this video, we wanted to replicate that infamous movie trailer voice to give it that movie trailer tone:
So, in short, tone is the inflections used by the voiceover in order to communicate how they feel about the subject.
Our VO talents are pros at taking a script and inferring the tone that it is trying to convey.
WHY THIS MATTERS:
You know your target customer better than anyone. You know what they like and don’t like. You know what their interests are, maybe their demographics, and even their buying patterns.
So, how do you think this person wants to be talked to?
Do they want that warm, motherly tone that says, “I’m here for you…”? It might end up sounding a little bit like this:
Do you want a fast-talking, witty, lightning speed commentary like this one?
The tone you choose for your video should be directly related to how your target consumer wants to be talked to.
So, when deciding the tone for your video, consider the following questions:
What prior marketing campaigns have been the most successful and what tone did they take?
What type of tone will your target consumer be most responsive to?
What tone will best represent your vision for your business and how you want to be perceived?
Try to think of three key words to describe this tone.
Excellent. Now that you have your tone figured out, let’s move on to mood:
MOOD:
This is how the viewer will feel after watching your video.
For example, this client focuses on food kits for emergencies:
How did this video make you feel? That’s the mood of the video.
Our goal was to create a feeling of urgency, to make you feel that you need this product in order to be prepared and protect your family.
You need to think about the mood because you want to have that target in mind when writing your video.
For example, if you want your viewer to feel emotionally moved and compelled to act, then you’ll want to write the video with that goal in mind – and anything that does not compliment this mission has to be cut.
Sometimes, it can be painful to make cuts or reduce a video script to get it to a certain time – but if you think about all of your choices through the lens of – what will make my target consumer feel [x, y, z] – then it becomes much easier.
Since we know that people make most of their purchasing decisions based on how the branding or marketing makes them feel- then selecting the most appropriate tone and mood for your video becomes imperative.
WRAP IT UP:
The tone is the author’s attitude in the video and the tone of the VO and the script writing will communicate this
The tone creates the mood that your viewer will feel
With most purchasing decision made based on emotions – how you make your viewer feel is very important
Consider your target tone and mood carefully when preparing for your kick-off call!
There you have it. Everything you needed to know about tone and mood.
We hope this helps as you prepare for the scripting process. We’re here to help and hope to make the process as easy on you as possible.
Please reach out with any questions. We can’t wait to work with you!
