In today’s battle for eyeballs, more and more brands invest in explainer videos for their digital marketing strategies– whether for boosting brand awareness, demonstrating a product, or generating more trust from their audiences. After all, the beauty of explainer videos is that they are concise, engaging, and straightforward.
There is also a long list of animation styles to choose from. And one of the most popular is the whiteboard animation.
Let’s dive into the reasons why many marketers rely on this animation style rather than live-action for their explainer videos.
What Are Whiteboard Explainer Videos and How Does It Look Like?
Each animation style used in explainer videos has its own way of delivering brand messages.
For example, classic 2D animation is best for children’s products, kinetic typography is great for emphasizing text, and stop motion animation can be used to create a more realistic feeling.
But, what about whiteboard explainer videos?
As the name suggests, whiteboard explainer videos use a whiteboard-like background to create an illusion that the illustrator is drawing on a real whiteboard.
The video starts with a hand drawing on a whiteboard and explaining the concept or story behind the video. As it progresses, the drawings are filled in with color and graphics to help explain the concepts.
This whiteboard animation style is perfect for breaking down a complex concept into smaller, more digestible chunks.
Here’s an example of whiteboard explainer videos from Smile Company Orthodontics:
How Do Whiteboard Explainer Videos Help Businesses?
Now that you understand what exactly are whiteboard explainer videos, it would be much easier to understand why businesses use them.
Here are some of the benefits that businesses can get from using whiteboard explainer videos:
Increase Audiences’ Retention
In almost every video marketing checklist, one of the most crucial parts of creating marketing videos is to make sure that it delivers the messages to the viewer smoothly.
All those character drawings and intriguing stories in whiteboard explainer videos take viewers to an engaging, fun learning mindset. The combination of these two elements is well placed to tackle the abstract and the more concrete.
They make the explanation more entertaining and help viewers understand the points being made as they become absorbed in the narrative.
In other words, a whiteboard explainer video is effective to keep your audiences’ attention focused on your message without bombarding them with too much information at once.
When you successfully help your audiences to understand and retain your message, they are more likely to remember it. And when they remember it, that’s where you can improve your brand recall.
Versatile and Shareable
Whiteboard explainer videos are very versatile and easily shareable. As it’s effective for breaking down complex and dry topics, this type of video is not only created for marketing purposes, but also for training and e-learning.
Whiteboard explainer video can be used on websites, social media platforms, or even in presentations. The animation style is suitable for audiences of all ages, from GenZ to Baby Boomers.
The more the video gets shared, the higher your chances to appeal to a broader audience. This way, you can expand your reach and get in front of more potential customers.
A Low-Cost Marketing Tool
When you need a professional-looking and fully-customized whiteboard animation, you might consider working with a professional team.
But, for small businesses with a shoestring budget, there are tons of tools you can use to create your own whiteboard explainer videos. Thanks to the internet.
All you need is a story, some basic drawing skills, and the right software or app. Even better, there are also ready-to-use templates, so you can create your whiteboard explainer videos in minutes.
Here are some whiteboard explainer video tools that are popular:
- VideoScribe
- Doodly
- Explaindio
- MySimpleShow
- Animatron
This makes it possible for businesses of all sizes to have their very own explainer videos without breaking the bank. That’s how the whiteboard explainer video helps you to cut down your digital marketing budget.
Showcase Your Brand Personality
One thing that makes you different from your competitors is your personality. In this case, you can showcase your genuine side and brand personality using whiteboard explainer videos.
You can use relevant video tone, style of the drawings, tone of storytelling, and a voice-over that resonates with your audience, whether it’s a warm and friendly ai voice or an authoritative and professional one. This will help to connect with your audiences on an emotional level and leave a lasting impression.
When they see that you’re not just another faceless business– but have a personality that they can relate to, it would be much easier for them to trust you. And when customers trust you, they are more likely to do business with you.
Show the Bigger Picture
When you’re selling a product or service, it’s always important to explain the benefits that customers will get from using them. Whiteboard explainer videos are perfect for this as they can help to show the bigger picture and how everything connects together.
This is especially useful for explaining complex products or services that can be difficult to understand. With a whiteboard explainer video, you can take customers on a journey and show them how your product or service will make their life better.
This way, customers can see how using your product or service will help them achieve their goals. You can also use whiteboard explainer videos to show the competitive advantages of your products and how they compare to the others in the market.
Humanize Your Business
We’ve slightly mentioned before that whiteboard videos can showcase your business personality. Now we’ll discuss in detail how it can help to humanize your business.
The visual freedom of whiteboard animation allows you to present your business in a more personable and human way. For better presentations and effective business meetings.
When you use whiteboard explainer videos on your website or social media, it gives a face and voice to your company. This is extremely helpful as customers often feel more comfortable doing business with real people rather than faceless businesses.
With a personal touch, you can connect with customers on a deeper level and make them feel more valued. This will encourage them to stick around and even become loyal followers of your brand.
Wrapping Up
When it comes to explainer videos, whiteboard animation is one of the most popular and effective styles. They are low-cost, easy to make, and can help to showcase your brand personality.
They’re also perfect for explaining complex products or services in a simple and engaging way. Plus, they can help to humanize your business and connect with customers on a deeper level. So, if you’re looking for an effective marketing tool that keeps your audiences’ attention focused without breaking the bank, whiteboard explainer videos are a great option.
Author
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond
Email: andre@breadnbeyond.com
LinkedIn: Andre Oentoro
