The process of putting together an amazing whiteboard animation video that articulates a message can be truly transformative for your company, according to Summer Felix-Mulder, founder and CEO of The Draw Shop.
On Tuesday Loyalty360 hosted a webinar titled, “Producing the Best Whiteboard Video For Your Company,” which was presented by The Draw Shop.
Felix-Mulder will be the webinar’s featured speaker and some of the themes she will focus on will be:
Simplicity is the overwhelming purpose of a whiteboard video.
“The purpose is to make it so simple to understand,” Felix-Mulder told attendees. “Whiteboard videos keep it as simple as possible. They are usually black and white, though, color can be used. The real power of it is simplicity, seeing something and hearing something at the same time.”
While people generally read only 28 percent of the content of any given site, with whiteboard videos, people generally stick around for the whole ride. Whiteboard videos are proven to increase learning by up to 15 percent, which is perfect for introducing everything from amazing new technologies and ideas to pretty much any product or service—and doubly amazing for classrooms.
Whiteboard videos are also proven to increase conversion rate by 20 percent, or up to 80 percent when placed on a landing page. That’s because people love explainer videos in general.
The best whiteboard video, Felix-Mulder said:
Depends on the needs of your company! You want to make sure what your goal is
Do you want a killer elevator pitch for a service?
Or to grab the attention of your audience and get them engaged right away, to make a sale, or to train your employees
Understand who your audience is. Be clear on goals
Create a video with a strong call to action that is effective and powerful
Use language that your audience understands
Then, you can write your scripts based on what type of whiteboard video you want
Script types include: Training, specific product-selling, or explainer
Whiteboard types include: Linear, interactive, virtual reality)
Felix-Mulder summarized the key steps in producing an impactful whiteboard video:
Essential talking points or information for the video (why are you special or unique? Why is what you’re saying important?)
Target audience (who would sit in the cold for 12 hours for your product, service, or training?)
Crystal clear “call to action”
Potential visuals you really want to see in there
When do you need it? (mention general and rush timelines)
How well do you want your whiteboard video to look?
Choose the best format for your video:
Whiteboard types include:
LINEAR: for typical marketing, product explainer, commercials, simple training or other videos
INTERACTIVE: for enhanced, lean-forward videos, training
VIRTUAL REALITY: for when you want to stand out in a crowd truly
Put some thought into the length as well
Scripting:
Go through a couple drafts
Use best-practice writing techniques
Get attention immediately
Reference pain points, make them hurt!
Use colorful, concrete language that translates well
Consider using a narrative where your target audience is the main character
Have a hard-punching, clear call to action at the end for marketing videos
Make sure you get it right
The Voice:
A voice that speaks to your audience—sounds like someone they would trust or who can excite them
Work with providers who will give you a showreel of voice actors
Get together with your core team to decide
Storyboarding:
Look for experienced animators who create storyboards that pop
Once approved, film artists interpret storyboard into final film
“The cool thing about these different videos is people want to share them,” Felix-Mulder said. “Use them in social media, email marketing campaigns, and your home page website. You can use the videos as a starter to a conversation and answer frequently asked questions in them.”
Marketing after you’re done:
Whiteboard content is naturally viral because of the way people are getting this information and they’re fun
Custom content for your purpose
Find the right format for you
Work with a company who has various in-house expertise in scripting, voice-over, and animation
Take time to look over drafts of each step carefully
Don’t stop right before the finish line: market after you’re done for maximum effect!
“Make sure you’re doing something with the video and measure those results,” Felix-Mulder added.
What companies benefit the most from whiteboard videos?
“We have worked with startups and big companies like Twitter, Uber, and the United Nations,” she said. “We have worked with different types of businesses, doctors, dentists, health, financial, anybody who has a message that they need to get out there with a strong effective tool.”
On average, Felix-Mulder said a whiteboard video, from start to finish, takes four weeks to complete.