The birth of infographics has certainly made information dissemination much easier and more effective. But as good as it may be at making a mark on social media, there is another contender that may be a more advantageous alternative for businesses who wish to stand out.
The evolution of publishing and social platforms has paved the way for rich content to be more available for public consumption. Now, it has progressed further with support from an A-plus visual aid that is both eye-catching and dynamic: whiteboard animation.
Considerably cheaper than traditional video production, whiteboard animation production offers a standout option for marketers that can hold the audience attention longer than static infographics. It is also seen as a viable tool for educating consumers about highly complex ideas, products, and services.
In this article, you will learn about how whiteboard animated videos are made, when it can be used, and the different advantages they offer when used to leverage human inclination to visual content.
What is a Whiteboard Animation?
Whiteboard animation combines high-quality audio with moving illustrations that evolve from simple two-dimensional drawings. It offers a way to deliver dry material without losing audience attention in the process.
Clips created using this style of animation are sometimes called RSA Animate videos. This type of content can make complicated topics easy to understand and redirect the viewers’ attention from the person talking to the actual topic he is talking about.
How It’s Made
To create whiteboard animation, a voiceover artist is tasked to record high-quality audio for the storyboard based on an approved script. From there, the audio is finetuned and given to the illustrator to use as the basis for the rough sketches of his interpretation of the scene. He then creates an animation with what appears to be a whiteboard-like surface and marker pen, hence, the name.
Once the storyboard is approved and adjusted to deliver the message effectively, the animated drawings are combined with the audio elements to bring the RSA-style video to life.
Uses of Whiteboard Animation
There is a wide range of uses for a whiteboard animation. It is seen as an effective way to introduce a completely new product or service that is too complex to explain using other simpler marketing approaches. In some cases, it has been used to summarize a specific brand’s entire persona in a single 90-second clip, making it the perfect YouTube homepage video or TV show title sequence.
5 Advantages of Using Whiteboard Animation
Whiteboard animation offers a way for people to digest complicated information by leveraging the consumers’ visually-oriented nature. It also uses kinetic learning by allowing the audience to interact with the infographic, making it a more memorable and effective tool for marketing.
This type of content goes beyond introducing a product, service or idea – it also provides a deep sense of satisfaction to the viewers’ thirst for information and entertainment.
If you’re still unsure of whether using whiteboard animation is the right choice, here are five advantages it has over traditional static infographics that can help you make up your mind:
- It has a science-backed compelling effect.Ninety percent of the information the human brain processes every day is visual. This is the very reason why people learn better when they see moving pictures compared to merely hearing or reading about a subject.
However, unlike traditional video productions, whiteboard animation can represent even the most abstract ideas out there because of the metaphorical aspect that comes with it. When combined with its visual nature, this aspect gives whiteboard animated videos an edge over text or audio clips in terms of long-term memory retention. Plus, its cartoonish style of animation has been proven to pique people’s interest better than live action videos. - It is sure to go viral.Another advantage whiteboard animation videos offer is its mass appeal. The differences in age and gender, depth of readership, and level of knowledgeability of your audience won’t matter. No matter who your target audiences are, this type of dynamic infographic will surely catch their attention and make them want to share it on social media. This isn’t a conjecture but a fact supported by research involving a comparison of 1,000 whiteboard viewers with 1,000 audiences of talking head videos.
- It can effectively showcase big, small, and abstract ideas.Showcasing intangible products can be challenging, even for traditional live-action video productions. Fortunately, whiteboard animation isn’t limited to things you can point the camera at.For example, huge or tiny subjects, like global logistics or a new strain of disease-fighting organisms, are virtually impossible to showcase in live-action sequences. However, these can be easily represented by moving illustrations. The same is true for more abstract products like cryptocurrency.
- It can overcome digital noise.Overcoming digital noise is a dilemma every organization will face when disseminating information online. It can lead to content shock which tends to prevent the key message from reaching the audience as it is. Fortunately, whiteboard animated videos are great for overcoming the noise. Creators of this type of moving pictures offer a way to stand out from the crowd by differentiating the message a specific organization is trying to deliver from that of others.
- It adds fun to learning.Since 90 percent of the information the human brain receives from the senses comes from visual cues, it goes without saying that most people (or roughly 65 percent of the population) can be considered visual learners. This has been observed from the very beginning of formal education to the more diverse and complicated consumer environment.
People want to learn about things with their own eyes, not just listen to what a teacher or endorser has to say. In short, people want to see the message in action.Aside from offering a more conducive learning method, whiteboard animated videos also provide a gradual unveiling of the key message.The step-by-step process builds a sense of anticipation which is effective in making the learning experience more memorable and interesting. Also, the cartoon-like animation triggers the release of the feel-good hormone dopamine, which means the audience literally feels rewarded from watching such videos.
A Move Away from Static Images
If pictures represent a thousand words, then its moving counterpart is certainly worth much more.
Whiteboard animation can explain complex ideas effectively because it guides the audience attention away from the speaker (as with “talking head” videos) while keeping them focused on the key message of the clip.
It has been around for more than a decade and is now taking its place amongst the great animation styles to ever grace the Internet as an effective means to educate and promote ideas, products, and services.
