Why animated whiteboard videos work: The Marketing Power of whiteboard videos…
With special thanks to iPlayerHD for allowing us to guest post on their blog….
Explaining your own business is one of the toughest jobs there is. We’ve all done it: we pour out every detail and nothing happens.
It’s not surprising. We’re all passionate about what we do and we all want everyone to understand everything about what we do – right now!
Ironically, we’re working against ourselves. We’re too close to the forest to see the trees and our message is obscured. No one pays attention.
Whiteboard explainer videos, particularly animated whiteboard videos, may be the culmination of the perfect marketing video. They are effective in both B2B and B2C situations.
Done properly, whiteboard style videos are brief, engaging, entertaining, persuasive, to-the-point videos that explain your business, organization, product or service. They assist you in achieving goals, whether you’re selling a product, service or cause, or simply wanting viewers to sign up for your newsletter or download your whitepaper. They also increase organic SEO and page stickiness.
Whiteboard explainers are particularly great because they are cost-efficient and virtually unlimited in terms of subject matter. (At Story Vision Video if we can think it, we can draw it.)
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Whiteboard videos work for many reasons, but primarily because they maintain viewer focus. It’s great to have lots of information on your website or in a folder filled with glossy sell sheets. But the problem with browsers (and folders) is, people browse.
Whiteboard videos stop the browsing long enough to focus viewers with a high-altitude briefing of what you do. Once focused, viewers usually remain focused.
Just being succinct is not enough. Whiteboard videos need to accomplish a variety of tasks in a very short one- or two-minute time span.
Whiteboard videos must:
Capture attention. Whiteboard videos do that exceptionally well. Even if you’re not interested in the topic, you can’t help but watch, wondering what the artist will draw next.
Hold attention. That’s more about how the story is written, in combination with the art. The story must engage the viewer.
Establish empathy. This is critical. Your video must relate to the viewer. At Story Vision Video, this often means the development of an empathetic character or scenario with which the viewer identifies. Most of the time, this part of the video includes a problem and provides a solution.
Inform. Most presentations break down because they include too much detail. A good explainer video layers in just enough information for the viewer to “get it.” He or she has achieved a basic understanding of your offer. More is not necessary at this moment. Your viewer is either a prospect wanting more information or someone who has left your website and – this is a benefit – won’t be wasting your time or his.
Be memorable and motivating. When the show is over you want two things to have happened: you want people to remember you and you want them to like you. Likability helps with credibility, which leads to trust, which leads to sales.
And aren’t sales what we’re all after?
Dennis Dean is the Emmy-winning creator of Story Vision Video, and president of Dean Group Media. He has produced hundreds of whiteboard videos and boiled thousands of complex stories down to their simple, persuasive essence. He may be reached at 262-238-8740 or dennis@deangroup.com