Introducing Yswipe… the new cut out videos created by Ydraw.
These videos are a great way for businesses to market their products, ideas, and to help explain difficult concepts in a simple way. Ydraw had never attempted a video like this before, but after some thought and innovation we are so happy to announce that we now offer these as an option to all of our clients! The Yswipe videos are a new spin on the original whiteboard video and we are obsessed with them!
Let’s check out the stats these videos produce. We ran some tests here at Ydraw and the results are pretty impressive (if we do say so ourselves). In just a short period of time, the page where the video is embedded has been loaded 145 times by 114 people. 91% of these people played the video a total of 122 times, and spent a total of 3.1 hours watching it. On average, each of these viewers watched 86% of the video! Now that…is what we call incredible. We are certain that as the video continues to receive views, the stats of the video will maintain these high percentages and hopefully even increase viewer engagement.
At Ydraw…we are always looking to create and implement new ideas. So, when you see something you want…chances are Ydraw can do it. We love a good challenge and trying new things. So let us know what you think! And be prepared.. we have another awesome Yswipe video coming out in the next few weeks…it will blow your mind! So be smart!..and get the new Yswipe video…the Ydraw version of a typical cut out video.
While our elected officials argue and point fingers, is your message getting to your leads, contacts, and customers?
Unlike Congress, you need to be focused on results, not just making a lot of noise. Can you imagine not having a budget for your company, campaign, or project? You need customers and you need sales, it’s as simple as that. To do that you need your marketing to work for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week and not take extended holidays, costly vacations, or disappear for golf outings every Tuesday.
In today’s online driven world of marketing it’s a numbers game. You need to get in front of as many potential leads as possible, make them listen, entertain them a moment, and most importantly move them to action … for you! To get those numbers, your marketing can’t work like a part time intern. You need workaholics – and I’m not talking about you personally, I’m talking about your marketing materials and content.
How? There are a lot of answers to this question, but here are a few to focus on:
1) Know your customer/audience (or find out… fast)
2) Be where your customers are
3) Keep testing to make sure they like it
1) Know your customer/audience. Sounds easy enough, but have you taken a close look lately at who your customers really are? What keeps them up at night (besides increasing taxes, worthless government programs, and endless debates)? What do they need, and what kinds of questions are they asking to solve their problems? Some of the answers you might be able to pull from past experiences, but there could be some other info right under your nose.
Tip: Go to Ask.com and type in a question or problem your customer typically has. You’ll see a number of questions, related questions, answers and resources all pop up. This is a great snapshot to see what people are asking, what your competition is offering, ideas for your marketing efforts, and how to tailor your message to meet your customers’ needs.
In just a few minutes you can compile some great insights into what’s most important to your customers right now! They might even be asking questions you weren’t aware of, or thought were less important. Just think of how this kind of information can help improve your company’s efforts, and not just in marketing, but in a number of areas.
2) Be where your customers are. If a senator gives a speech and no one is there to listen, did it really happen (and did it really matter)? In political terms it’s often called a filibuster – taking up time, talking about anything or nothing, so the other person can’t speak. You… don’t have that luxury to ramble on. You have a message you need to deliver, and that message needs to reach your target audience.
So… deliver that message where your customers hang out. Again, sounds easy, but it takes a little research to be most effective. How? You need to ask. On web forms, in surveys, even in your everyday sales efforts, make sure you are asking, “How did you find us?
3) Keep testing to make sure they like it. You’re not gonna know what your customer likes without a little testing. And once you have that figured out, you’re going to need to continue to test. Is what they like now the same thing that they liked 5 months ago? Have their tastes changed? Is that same marketing content getting stale to them? Test, test, test…just like high school.
Let us know if you have any questions or comments concerning marketing for us here at Ydraw. As always, we are here to help!
What the 2013 Finals are Teaching Us about Marketing
In the season finale of Game of Thrones we learned a crown doesn’t give you power, but an army does. “King James” has played a sizable chunk of these playoffs with a supporting cast that seems disinterested or overwhelmed at times. Dwayne Wade’s fragile knees and Chris Bosh’s determination to shoot threes are poison to the Heat. It didn’t take long for the Spurs to discover that the moment they cage Lebron, the Heat run out of options quickly. If game 5 taught us anything, it’s that if Spurs solid core play well, a boost from the role players will overwhelm the opposition. The Heat rely on James being impossible to stop, while the Spurs have consistent producers they can count on every night. So what has this exciting series taught us about marketing? We have watched two very different teams take turns blowing each other out every other game. It’s time to decide whether your marketing strategy is better off with a flashy Lebron strategy or the old school San Antonio approach.
Let’s break down San Antonio’s strategy. This strategy is great for those companies struggling to keep consistent traffic on their site. Ask yourself – What is the core of your marketing strategy? Are you relying on marketing that lacks consistency? Let’s take a look at the building blocks of the San Antonio Spurs.
Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili make up the core of the Spurs. Their new pieces, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, are new additions they’ve added to their strategy. What is your core strategy—this is what brings you consistent conversions. Once you’ve established your core, you can begin adding pieces to your strategy. Although new additions to your strategy can include risk, you can strike gold with these new techniques (Danny Green now holds the title for the most three’s made in a final series) or your risk won’t pay off; that’s okay, because you know your core is coming through.
What should be the core of your marketing?
1. Organic Search (SEO) – It’s hard to beat being in the right place at the right time. No one likes to be sold, but everyone likes to discover something great. Google has created an amazing platform for this. You need to be the gold your target audience finds at the end of their Google search.
2. Paid Search – If done right, PPC can generate traffic instantly. If done wrong, you are better off simply flushing your money down the toilet. Building a great campaign is essential to your success. Get your quality score up and pay attention to it. You need to know exactly where your money is going.
3. Email Marketing- Don’t spam; unless, of course, you are trying to lose your audience as quickly as possible. Learn from the best, Wistia is a great example of a company that sends emails that have personality and include useful information. You will keep your audience if you can provide useful information on a regular basis.
This next technique can be a great tool for companies who are looking to add to their core marketing. This is the Danny Green of your marketing strategy. This is the piece that adds to your core and lifts you above the competition. Video should be a part of every marketing budget. One reason Wistia’s email marketing is so successful is because they include a video in almost every email. The following strategy helps boost your SEO efforts.
Leverage Video for SEO- I never realized the backlink opportunities I was missing out on by posting my videos on YouTube and Vimeo. By posting your video on these sites you do two things: you lose traffic to the next suggested video and eliminate any opportunity for a potential backlink. We discovered a new technique for leveraging video for backlinks. By hosting our videos on Wistia, we give viewers the option to embed the video onto their site. This option is also available on YouTube and Vimeo, but when those videos are embedded the link points back to your profile on those sites. This is beneficial for YouTube, but not you. With some tinkering you can add a backlink into the code of Wistia videos. Every time your video is embedded you will receive a backlink. We’ve had a lot of success stricking deals with customers.
At Ydraw we’ve created Fast and Easy Videos. This new product was built around the idea that companies benefit from producing quality videos to consistently communicate with their audience. Fast and Easy Videos come at a quarter of the price of our other videos and are done in hours, not days.
A detailed post on Leveraging Video for SEO is coming Friday. We’ll give you the step by step guide.
Okay, we have our core; now let’s swing for the fences – Let’s take a Lebron approach – where can we take some risks?
This is a unique way to approach marketing but it can be a perfect approach for certain companies—if a Lebron James is willing to take his talents to your beach.
Partner with Bloggers- in Neil Patel’s latest blog post, he described how he landed 25 thousand hits on a SEO guide he created by linking to Moz (this became his Lebron James). Moz responded with a write up on the guide and the traffic flew in. Patel hit a home run; he now partners with other blogs when he launches new guides. This isn’t a marketing technique that qualifies for the core because it’s hit or miss. A blog has to be willing to advertise your company. You can’t rely on blogs partnering with you every week—they don’t like to give away traffic. However, when you spend the time and money on great content (Neil Patel spent six months on his guide) it can drive traffic for both you and a partnered blog and it can be a massive boost to your company. Then your task becomes giving them a reason to come back.
So, let’s look at the Lebron strategy in a little more detail.
Convincing bloggers to cover your product or service can be a huge boost for your company. In Ryan Holiday’s book, Trust Me, I’m Lying, he breaks down how to leverage bloggers for your marketing efforts. He begins by explaining how bloggers make their money. Some are paid per post and others are paid for traffic. This means a blogger makes the big bucks by constantly producing high quality content that appeals to his/her audience. It also means that an audience won’t stick with a blogger if they feel like they are being sold a product. So, how do you get covered by a popular blogger while keeping their integrity in tact? First things first, keep in mind that they make the big bucks by constantly producing content, so typically they aren’t opposed to a little help if it is going to benefit their readers. Toyota got creative and gave a car to a popular vehicle blogger and told him to write about the car, good or bad. Some companies will naturally draw bloggers to covering them because of new technology or innovation. Other companies may need to nudge a blogger a bit. The first step is to identify popular bloggers in your field. Then approach them with a simple pitch that explains why your message would benefit their readers. If you can pitch your message in the right way and provide enough information that their blog is nearly written for them, they’d be crazy not to consider it.
Discover what approach works best for your company. Are you better off with the slow, methodical San Antonio Spurs approach or will you benefit more from a Lebron James boost. Better yet, find a way to use both.
Tune in next week for a detailed post on leveraging blogs for marketing.
The Madness Behind Whiteboard Videos: The Best Way to Deliver Your Message…Guaranteed
Many people wonder how Ydraw creates a whiteboard video. If you have no clue what a whiteboard video is you better check out the video above to see what we are talking about. The process and steps that Ydraw takes to make one of these videos amazing and we are going to walk you through the steps. Without giving away our secrets of course. In this video we included a bit of animation, funny business, humor and color. Most of our videos are just black and white, but we like color. Enjoy and read on…
Collaboration
First, the whiteboard animation video process starts with a simple idea. In this case, we decided to create a video with no voice narration, something different, something completely mad. Brainstorming begins, and ideas are thrown around until a creative story is planned out that will fit the goals of each company perfectly while still sustaining entertainment.
Scripting
Once the story line is set, and a basic understanding of where the video is going to go, it is time to script. Scripting consists of dividing the story up into different segments so that a single piece of artwork can be developed into each scene plan. Then the text for the voice narration is planned out, but because there is no narration in this video, we skipped this step.
Storyboarding
Whiteboard Animation Video
When the scripting and scenes are plotted out and approved, they are then sent off to the artist for drawing. This process of drawing is where the artist creates the black and white previews of the artwork that will be featured in the video. Some of them come back with color, but in general they will come back as black and white images. We always get approvals on each step of the whiteboard video process. We would hate for our clients to not be satisifed with the ending result. Once we get an approval from the client we move onto recording.
Recording
Whiteboard Animation Video
It is now time for the magic to begin. The artist is recorded from start to finish while they draw all the scenes for the final product. This is a very precise process, where the artist has to make sure that everything is perfect. If he forgets to hit record on the camera, he starts all over. Which has happened more than a couple of times..:) There are some whiteboard video companies that use computer programs with a fake hand, but not us. What you see is the real deal. During recording we may add color and other enhancements depending on the project and the budget of the client.
Voiceover and Music
In most cases, after the video is finished recording, the voiceover is then recorded. This video is much different than any of the other ones, and has no voiceover, so we skipped this step, and just let the soothing music and the animations tell the story.
Editing
Once all of the recording is finished and the voiceover and music are chosen and approved, all the video clips, voiceover clips, and music tracks are taken to Ydraw’s talented editors who then speed up the drawing sequences, making the video scribing video come to life.
Final Product
The overall process of making a whiteboard animation video with Ydraw takes between 21-30 days, depending on the time spent collaborating and approving scripting, storyboarding, voiceovers, music, etc. With on average 6-7 people working on one project at a time, Ydraw would love to work with you and create an amazing video scribing video for your company. Have a great day.
Ydraw creates Whiteboard Videos and this new whiteboard video is a great example of what we can do. The video explains the process and steps that Ydraw takes to make one of these videos amazing. Without giving away our secrets.
Explainer VideosBecoming More Popular in Marketing Circles… Don’t Miss the Boat!
If you’re not familiar with explainer videos, they’re short, engaging, online videos that explain and promote a company, product, or service. You will find plenty of examples at Ydraw.
Why Have Explainer Videos Grown in Popularity?
There are no shortage of statistics that show the positive effect video can have on conversion rates, sales, and information retention, but the bottom line is this – if you could learn about something by watching a quick, entertaining video, or read a page of text, which would you choose?
Explainer videos can cut short the time taken to explain about a business and its products. They are a fun way to engage the visitors, who may not always be in a mood to go through the loads of texts available on a website. Being equipped with texts, graphics, sounds and moving images, they can give a movie like effect to a viewer.
According to a recent survey conducted by Video Rascal,
85 percent of people are more likely to buy a product once they see an accompanying explainer video.
Explainer videos help budding business owners keep tally of how many visitors on their sites could become actual customers. Although most businesses manually count sales to see what products are most popular, explainer videos keep track of what product or service potential customers are interested by displaying the number of views on each video.
Text can be tricky since there are so many ways people can interpret what they read. Explainer videos take the guess work out of explaining the usefulness and basic function of a product or service. People gain a better understanding of a product or service once they see and hear someone explain it. An explainer video helps you to connect better with your potential customer by explaining what your business can do for them and why they should choose you over other competing businesses.
Statistically speaking, stale websites don’t do well. Websites that contain endless pages of block text and images rank low in Google search, which means less exposure. This also scares away customers who want to quickly understand a product, and purchase it right then and there. In most cases, the average person takes less than a minute to make a purchasing decision. An explainer video will get their attention immediately.
According to Spork Marketing and several others, websites with videos rank higher in Google universal searches.
