When Is It A Good Idea To Use A Whiteboard Video?

You’ve probably watched a whiteboard video and fell in love with it. These particular animated marketing videos have gained great popularity in the last few years and stand out as a fantastic option to connect with your target audience on an emotional level, while you deliver your business idea in just a matter of seconds. Engaging, fun, educative, informative, cool and highly enticing… you want to be part of the game too!

But hey… are you sure this is the right explainer video style for your business? Go over this article and get some valuable information to fully understand if you should pick out this style to communicate your unique selling proposition. Enjoy it!

Welcome To The Whiteboard Animation World

Let’s start with a fun and appealing whiteboard video! In case you’ve seen these videos before, you will be reminded once again…and in case you haven’t, you will start enjoying their magic…

As you can see, these videos have that special touch that make them so unique and enticing… and there are a few reasons behind this.

Traditionally, they were made by an artist who drew on a whiteboard, while being recorded by a camera. Nowadays, they have become fully digital but at the same time they try to keep that original essence. Also, some companies decided to go further and add some 2D character animation and special effects.

The thing is that, if video content  has that strong engaging power per se, whiteboard videos in particular are one of the best options to connect with your audience on an emotional level by using animated characters, while you also educate them with such a lovable format. They‘re a great tool to explain any kind of concept in a very straightforward way. They’re also one of the most enticing styles, as the story is created in front of the viewer‘s eyes.

So, in a nutshell, whiteboard videos have become very popular because:

• They have a huge educational power and the ability to deliver any kind of idea.
• They make use of the storytelling technique and amazing visuals that generate strong emotions in the viewers.
• They leverage the power of character animation to give your video that special human approach and make it more fun to watch.

Tip: don’t miss these 5 fabulous whiteboard videos made by different companies from different industries!

When Should You Choose a Whiteboard Video?

Now that you now the basics about this alluring style, let’s understand if this is a good choice for your specific case.

Consider making a whiteboard animation video if:

#1. Your product or service is very complex

What could be more educational than a whiteboard? At school we used whiteboards to learn. Animated marketing videos adopted this technique and applied it in the marketing field. Whiteboard video animation is great to convey the most complex concepts in a very straightforward and understandable way.

#2. You need extra time to explain your business idea

Explainer videos should have a specific length, that’s true. But if your product or service is a little more complex and you need some extra time to deliver your message, a whiteboard video is perfect to push that limit. When people see a whiteboard in front of their eyes, they know that the “lesson” could take a little bit more time. Also, as the story is being drawn in front of their eyes, this generates a strong sense of expectation and keeps them hooked and entertained.

This video for instance is a little longer than 90 seconds and isn’t boring at all!

#3. You want to leverage the magic of character animation

If you include some lovely custom characters in your whiteboard video, you will generate a strong connection from your audience towards the story you’re telling, as those characters will look, behave and think like they do. This will help you to build trust towards your brand and value proposition, as your viewers will feel that the video was specially made for them.  

#4. You have a B2B or B2C company (it works very well for both!)

Whiteboard videos are one of the most versatile styles as they combine lovely characters, great visual humor, and the ability to pass out any kind of concept in a simple and direct way. This makes them perfect for any kind of company, no matter if you have a B2B company that needs to explain a complex or abstract idea in a persuasive way, or if you have a B2C company and want to get the most out of the storytelling technique and reinforce that emotional bond with your audience.

Do’s And Don’ts Of Whiteboard Animation

Now that you know if whiteboard animation is a good fit for you, let me share with you some basic tips to get the most of this style: learn what to do and what to avoid to make them highly effective!

Make sure you:

1. Keep it traditional: stick to the classical white and black basis, just like whiteboard videos have always been. Regarding this, sometimes you may want to add some hints of color or make some minor changes, in order to step aside from this “classical model”.
2. Use animated characters: by adding some cute and funny characters you can make your video even more catchy, attractive and engaging. Make sure you make them high quality and fully custom, as to represent the style, look and behaviours of your target audience. Look how we’ve made this happen in this video:

    

3. Add the drawing hand: the drawing hand is just “a must” in any whiteboard animation. It’s one of the most distinctive elements this style has. If you don’t include it, you will not get the effectiveness and the educational approach you’re looking for.
4. Connect the drawings: in whiteboard animation, the drawings have to be connected to create one coherent, smooth and seamless animation (and therefore, story). The connected drawings are one of the most engaging elements about this technique!  
5. Use emotional references: you can make your video even more persuasive and memorable if you include some extra references or elements that trigger different emotions. You can think of bringing back old memories, for instance, by including retro video games or old classic films.

Tip: always remember that the script plays a key role in the video production process. Make sure you stick to the classical script structure to make your whiteboard video highly effective. You can download this free eBook on How to write a script for an explainer video where you will find this information and more!

BUT, please, never ever…

1. Forget to make it educational: its educational approach is one of the most remarkable features about whiteboard animation. If you don’t make it educational you will be wasting all of its benefits! Take advantage of the whiteboard to explain something…just like if you were in a classroom!
2. Dismiss the white background: they’re not called “whiteboard videos” in vain 🙂 Make sure you use the white color as the background. If you don’t, the video will just lose its essence. Remember that these types of videos are instantly recognized by their white background!
3. Make it colorful: remember that we said that you can add some hints of color, but making your whiteboard video a full color palette would be a huge mistake. Just add some bits of colors in specific spots (traditionally, whiteboard videos are only black and white). This is a good example of what we mean:

    

4. Use a template video: making a fully custom video is the only way out if you want to achieve your marketing goals. If you choose to make a template video, you will have no flexibility to adapt your video to the needs and expectations of your target audience. Outcome? Poor engagement, lack of interest, no memorability…and terrible marketing results.
5. Make it too long: remember that people have short attention spans, so making your video too long would be very detrimental. Try to get the most out of 90 seconds, but remember that, like we said, you can also make it a little bit longer if you need.

Tip: whiteboard animation has a fascinating production process behind it! Learn how to make a whiteboard video step by step, so you can be fully prepared to make your next one!  

At Yum Yum we have mastered the art of whiteboard animation and have developed thousands of videos for over 20 different countries. We tailor each explainer video to engage the specific audience it aims to, and make it fully custom, always keeping an eye on the details and giving it the best quality it could have. If you need help to produce your next whiteboard video (or any other style) feel free to drop us a line!

And now…it’s time to recap!

Summary

>Whiteboard videos are one of the most popular explainer video styles out there, and this is not just because. In today’s blog post we have explored the amazing benefits of this technique (which is great both for B2B and B2C companies), have learned in which cases you should choose it, and have reviewed some of the best practices to create a highly attractive, engaging and memorable whiteboard animation.

Finally we invite you to watch our Top 5 whiteboard explainer videos made by Yum Yum.

Also, don’t forget to surf our blog to keep track of the latest news, tips and trends on video marketing!