1. What Is Whiteboard Animation?
2. Features of a Whiteboard Animation
3. Why Are Whiteboard Videos Effective?
4. Why Use Whiteboard Animation?
5. How Do You Make a Whiteboard Animation?
6. Working With a Whiteboard Animation Company
Did you know that a whiteboard animation video on your site can reduce bounce rates? And that it could increase conversions? Plus, whiteboard animation is relatively inexpensive. So as a video marketing strategy, it offers a great ROI.
RAW Pictures is an animation company with experience in creating original whiteboard animations for customers. In this guide, we’ll explain why you should invest in video marketing, and give insight into why many businesses decide to create a whiteboard animated video.
Whiteboard animation is a video style where images are drawn in real-time on a screen in front of the viewer. They’re a great type of ‘explainer’ video.
An explainer video is a specific piece of video content that is created to explain or demonstrate your product or service to the viewer. They’re usually found on your landing page and are a great bit of video marketing material.
But explainer videos can use a range of different styles to get your message across.
So a whiteboard explainer video brings these two worlds together. It features the explainer element, presented in a whiteboard style.
A whiteboard animation is comprised of simple but striking drawings and characters. And all of this usually occurs on a white background (just like a board!).
There are even different variations of whiteboard animation like stitchboard and notebook style. But for today, we’ll stick to the classic, clean 2D-drawing style.
We find that it’s also the most popular and most effective whiteboard animation style.
These features make for simple, clear and engaging video marketing. Whiteboard animation has a simplicity to it, allowing for complex concepts to be communicated clearly.
Firstly, whiteboard animation is customisable. So you can manage your end product down to the last detail. This means that you can feature your brand colours. This is super important to make sure that your colour palette and your message are on-brand. Imagine coming up with video marketing material that looks like one of your competitor’s! Yikes. This is not only confusing for consumers, but it means missing a trick on solidifying your brand. So why are whiteboard videos so useful? Well, besides your brand’s colour palette, the characters are also customisable. This means that you can perfectly represent your target audience.
Which all sounds fantastic. But why use a whiteboard animation video instead of a regular live shoot?
By now, we’re all aware that video marketing is key to any business’ marketing strategy. And corporate videos are excellent tools for both internal and external use. But for explainer videos, you can’t beat animation.
So just how effective are they versus, say, a ‘talking head’ video? Well, studies have shown they cause a 15% spike in information retention.
Video content is more engaging, and users are more likely to watch content than read it these days.
But the reasons that whiteboard video animation is so effective include:
The fact that content is drawn in front of the viewer makes this style of explainer especially engaging.
Are you sharing a new process with your team? Or are you using animated video for B2B marketing, but your product/service is very technical?
You can even use whiteboard animation to simplify complex stories for B2C marketing.
We could even get ‘scientific’. The simple images used in whiteboard animation are easier to process cognitively.
Video content is great for cleaning up your website. Too many elements on a landing page can contribute to a high bounce rate and reduced traffic.
And a whiteboard animation is great shareable content. It’s easy for you and users to post across different social channels.
The SEO and UX benefits are also such that a video can make your site more mobile-friendly. (After all, who likes scrolling through text?). And more traffic can lead to more conversions (i.e. sales).
A Wistia study even showed that users spent an average of 2.6x longer on pages that have video content!
With whiteboard animation, you can establish (and even update) your perfect buyer persona. On the flip side, trying to find a real-life actor who fits that bill can be a hassle. It’s easy to incorporate humour into animation. Whereas, your real-world star might be as dull as dishwater! Plus, live shoots come with potential costs. These could include re-shoots, using multiple locations, and costly special effects. You can even fit whiteboard explainers around existing audio content (like a great speech you did!).
So you’re sold on whiteboard animation videos, but where do you start?
Well, you might think about outsourcing one or more of the steps to an animation studio. But for now, let’s have a look at what those steps are.
At the initial stage, you’ll want to define your objectives. What are your KPIs, and what do you want to gain from this video marketing campaign?
This is also where you might craft a script and voiceover that captures your brand’s essence. These are all things that an animation studio can help you with.
Your script might follow the formula of:
Next, come the initial drawings. This stage should give you a good idea of what your character looks like. You should also get an idea of how the narrative will progress.
Once you’ve storyboarded the voiceover, you’re ready to illustrate and animate your video. Try to make sure that your video is hitting that sweet spot between 90-120 seconds in length.
But the fun isn’t over yet! Once you’ve gone through the post-production phase (like adding music) you need to integrate it on your site.
Then you can push it out across your social channels.
Now, that might all sound like a lot. You might not even know where to begin with drawing in a whiteboard style.
If so, then you might think about outsourcing your video marketing.
There are many reasons why it’s beneficial to work with a professional animation studio.
Even if you’re rearing to go, animation software can be pricey. Additionally, if you opt for the cheaper software, you run the risk of relying on stock images and characters.
When working with an animation production company, you’ll be working with professionals with experience who can work to deadlines. You’ll also have the opportunity to talk to creatives. Then you can discuss a video marketing plan for your whiteboard video. By aligning your ideas, you can be objective. Sometimes, we’re too close to our brand to see what would work best without a fresh set of eyes. These are all things that a professional animation studio can help with you. They can help turn your ideas into a compelling narrative that perfectly fits your brand. And you can save yourself time and money!
Unlike traditional marketing videos, whiteboard animation is the perfect medium for explainer videos. Their simple and engaging style is great for telling stories and breaking down complex ideas.
As RAW Pictures, we offer creative treatment and ideas meetings to get to the core of your ideas. We’ll even script and storyboard your whiteboard animation and save you time and stress.
So for a professional whiteboard explainer video, get in touch with one of our team today!
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