Tips for Creating a Whiteboard Video that Converts
When it comes to increasing conversion rates, videos are a great tool because you can convey your brand message in just a few seconds.
No matter if your marketing goal is more traffic, more subscriptions or sales, your prospects look for some basic information about why they need what you're offering and why you're better than your competitors.
The problem is that nobody wants to read big chunks of text to get that information - and that’s where whiteboard videos come in to help you fully explain your product or service with an engaging story.
Whiteboard videos are very versatile but they are especially suitable for complex products/services such as IT solutions, software and business to business (B2B) campaigns that need a little more time to be fully explained.
All that being said, you may have noticed that there are thousands of whiteboard videos on the web but not all of them really deliver the appeal we’re talking about.
There are a few tricks and tips you need to know before making a killer whiteboard video that converts. Let’s review them and I’m sure at the end you’ll feel more confident.
Harness the power of storytelling
Since the dawn of time, human beings have been yearning for stories. Even the oldest cave paintings support that. Your marketing video should also take advantage of that deep human desire.
Let’s try to explain how to apply storytelling to marketing videos (not only whiteboard videos, but all of them).
Your story needs to answer three basic questions: what, how and why.
What problem does your product/service solve?
How does it solve it?
Why is it the best choice in the market to solve that problem?
First, you need to focus on your prospect’s need or pain point. Then, your product/service will show up to sort it out. Finally, you’ll explain your product’s differentiators or provide information to prove that your product is the right choice. Oh, and you need to do all that in 90 seconds!
Don’t panic. Just think of a story in which your target audience has a problem (their pain point) and your product is the hero who will help them. It’s not so difficult, right?
With our explainer video production company, Yum Yum Videos, we created this video for an IT company. Check it out and you’ll see this story and its three moments crystal clearly:
In the first 30 seconds, we explain the audience’s problem. Then, after the logo appears, we explain how this software can solve it and at the end, we provide some stats to prove why the product is very efficient to do that task.
Create relatable characters
Once you have your story, you’ll need animated characters who will drive it forward. A video that resonates with the intended audience should grab their attention from the first second. You’ll achieve that by customizing your characters to represent your target audience. Think about their gender, average age, overall style and tone and create your character according to that data.
In the previous video, the “Head of Innovation” represents the target audience. This likeable and funny character helps the prospect feel connected with the story.
Keep it fun!
In general, this is a valuable piece of advice for any explainer video but with whiteboard videos, this is essential. Whiteboard videos’ educational focus should never be confused with a boring style. Please, don’t do that!
A simple hint of humor will enhance your brand’s message and keep your audience entertained.
Your character could be funny, you can refer to something funny in your story or add some funny secondary characters. Don’t you think those sheep in the previous video are funny and likable at the same time?
Keep the classic whiteboard’s elements
What’s a whiteboard video without a white background? That’s the first element to achieve that simple and clean style that you need to make your story shine.
You’ll also need a hand that will draw the whole story. Back in the old days, the artist used to draw everything live in front of the camera. Today, the digital artist uses a digital image of a hand to mimic that first analogic experience.
Last but not least, that hand will be holding a black marker and it will look like this:
Brand your video
Right now we count on a powerful story, likeable characters and a black and white style. Then, how will you represent your brand? Easy as pie! Just add a hint of color!
Your brand’s colors can help you highlight some important parts of the story. This video style helps the audience retain more information, that’s why it’s important that they also remember your brand.
Your logo also needs to appear, in general, before the second part of the script (the how).
As an example, check the first video and look for the orange highlights. Bear in mind that you need to use your exact brand color so that it matches your logo.
Only accept the highest quality
The Whiteboard style may seem easy to get but in fact, it is one of the most difficult ones.
Nowadays, people watch several videos per day so they are used to knowing what’s great and what’s lame. If they feel your video is cheap, they will back out without hesitating. Simply put, that means a higher bounce rate on your landing page and lower ranking in the page results. You’ll end up wasting money and time for a video that won’t show the results you’re looking for.
So, don’t skimp on quality! Pay attention to the animation design. Keep in mind that it needs to resemble a hand-made drawing made with a magic marker or a stylish pen and that’s not so easy to do with digital art.
Take a look at this fine capture and its shading to know how a professional artist should do it:
Hire a professional voice actor
In a whiteboard video, characters don’t speak. Their voice is a voice-over that needs to be recorded separately.
To choose the right voice is the key to truly represent your audience. It needs to match their gender, age and tone. That’s why it’s very important to hire a professional voice-actor who should be a native speaker (of the country of the target audience) to tell your story.
Of course there are some free automated voice generators on the web but they sound robotic and lame. Try them and you’ll agree with me. Believe me, that mistake could ruin your video instead of building that priceless bond with your audience.
Interconnect your drawings
A professional whiteboard video needs to be planned as a whole because every scene should be connected with the next one. Remember that whiteboard videos are actually telling a story by drawing it in front of the viewer’s eyes so it should flow seamlessly in order to maintain your viewer’s attention.
The secret is a continuous and interconnected drawing. Of course, sometimes you’ll need to clean the whiteboard and start from scratch but try to do this as few times as possible. You don’t want to break the story into too many pieces and lose your audience’s attention.
Let’s watch an example:
How cool is that? Interconnected drawings have a huge power to grab your audience’s attention. Note that this video is a little longer than the average 90 seconds that we mentioned before, but it’s still engaging.
Leverage interconnected drawings and your audience will feel visually appealed to your story and they’ll keep watching until the end of the video. The longer they watch, the more time your brand message will have to sink in. Talking about the end…
Don’t forget your call to action (CTA)
At the end you need to tell your audience what they should do next. Whether it is to buy a product, like, share, sign up to an email list, visit your site or download an eBook, ask for that action and support that message with the right image. This is an example:
If you upload your video on YouTube, which I definitely recommend you do, you can leverage YouTube’s features to maximize engagement. Try YouTube cards and end cards to achieve your marketing goals.
But remember that first you need that your prospects keep watching through until the end of your video, so let’s review all the tips you’ve learned in this article to create a killer whiteboard video that converts.
Wrapping up
Whiteboard videos are very versatile but they’re a must when it comes to complex products or services.
With an engaging story, you can maintain your audience’s attention through the whole video. Given that you’ll state your audience’s pain point from the start, they’ll feel connected with your product/service. At least one of the characters needs to be fully customized to fit your target audience. Make it likeable and fun. Even if it’s a B2B service there is no need to be so serious!
Look for the highest quality. Remember that the devil is in the details and only a professional video production company will ensure a stellar video that elevates your brand and makes it distinguishable from the crowded marketplace we live in today.
Don’t forget your call to action or you’ll lose those precious leads who, by the end of your video, will have totally embraced your brand!
Note: The opinions expressed in this article are the views of the author, and not necessarily the views of Caphyon, its staff, or its partners.
Article by
Victor Blasco
Víctor Blasco is the founder and CEO of the explainer video company Yum Yum Videos. He is also an audiovisual designer and video marketing expert. Aside from running the business, he loves studying Chinese philosophy and is a real geek for science fiction films and comics!
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