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Whiteboard animation: Ideas and tips to help you get inspired!

3 min read

Marketing professionals and gurus all know how video marketing has exploded in the industry in the past few years; use their tips for inspired animations
Jokes are made that video killed audio, 2D and other means of information distribution which says a lot about viewer's preferences.
It's scientifically proven that the human mind prefers to get information from a visual source. Rather than reading a big chunk of text, we prefer to watch explainer videos, whiteboard animations, and other voiced moving pictures. People prefer to watch video reviews, rather than read what other customers have to say.
Picture Book Films added: “Videos have to be engaging though, a badly scripted video will tend to have high drop off rates early on and the benefits of video marketing are lost.”
Research shows that users view more than 500 million hours of video  every day on YouTube. Add the numbers from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram and that's a significant volume of video viewing. Facebook released information about their video reach and according to their statistics, videos receive 135% more organic outreach than photo posts.
So, let's look at Whiteboard animations and how we can make them. To truly understand how whiteboard animations can benefit you, dig into this whiteboard animation guide and learn more about the concept.

So what is a whiteboard animation anyway?

You may have already seen one on YouTube, Facebook or other platforms. Do you watch tutorials and small video guides? Then you are already familiar with the concept.
Whiteboard animation is video content that describes a particular subject or product and displays several images drawn on a whiteboard. The main idea behind it is to paint the whole story and to describe a process step by step with visuals. 
The animators record themselves in the process of drawing. They either speed up the video or create step by step motion content. At the beginning of the idea, animators drew the characters. Nowadays,  whiteboard animation software can create the drawings.

Why are they all around us?

Besides the statistics and apparent reasons for video popularisation, we can talk more about the popularity of whiteboard animations.
They are very specific and focused
Whiteboard animations can describe a product, process or something else, focusing only on the subject. What more there is to focus? Nothing! You only see a whiteboard, drawings and hear narrating voices. Whiteboard animations deliver the messages uninterrupted and in a precise manner.
You can use them in every industry
They call whiteboard animations universal. These videos can describe every product, subject, and industry. There are no limitations to such a marketing tool when it comes to the fields.
Plus, sometimes you don't even have to listen to the audio. The images are so definite and precise you don't have to speak the language to understand it. Thanks to the international symbols and visual images, everyone can understand your message by looking at the animation.
Whiteboard animations are a great PR tool
Companies create explainer videos and whiteboard animations to describe their products. In addition to this, they think about their branding, marketing, and PR. Marketing professionals know how beneficial whiteboard animations can be for PR.
These animations are often entertaining and visually appealing and social sharable. Plus, whiteboard animations are easy and cheap to produce. 

The process of creating a whiteboard animation

For a small business you can create the animation yourself; if you want a more professional look, get in touch with an animation expert.
1) Script
First, we need to create a script. If you are doing this alone, make sure to conduct research. You need to understand your viewers' preferences and write the content accordingly. If you have a team of professionals, give them the idea of your dream script so you can work together efficiently. The script includes several major points that you should never leave out:
  • Start with outlining the problem. Never leave this step out. It's essential to capture the viewer's attention by mentioning the problem they are experiencing
  • Offer them your help and solution. This part is essential to keep the viewer engaged because they would like to know how you'd solve a problem
  • Finish with a call-to-action speech to buy your products, services or visit your website
2) Drawing
After the script is ready, you can proceed to the drawing part. Now, as we mentioned above, older versions of whiteboard animation used actual drawings. Nowadays, a whiteboard animation software can produce pictures. If you are working alone, make sure to equip yourself with a clean whiteboard or a background that looks like a whiteboard.
3) Voicing the content
After you successfully create the visual part, you can narrate your story. It doesn't matter if you voice the content as a third step, but you should at least have animation on hand. You will need to purchase, rent or borrow professional recording equipment—a single extra noise in the background can ruin the video altogether.
4) Finally, you can animate!
You have everything in place, and you know what you want to create. It's time to animate the content!
A professional team will take time to animate the content. You yourself can add the pictures yourself in the simplest programs like Windows Video Maker, or use a whiteboard animation software with templates and pre-drawn characters.
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