Last updated on June 14th, 2024
Renee Teeley, chief evangelist at PowToon, talks about how their tool helps marketers and business owners create videos quickly and easily. Enter the discount code “renee20” for 20% off.
GUEST: Renee Teeley of PowToon (20% discount code: “renee20”). Also see PowToon on YouTube | PowToon Pricing | Renee Teeley on Twitter
HOST: The VidAction Podcast is hosted by Dane Golden of VidAction | LinkedIn | YouTube
SPONSORS: This episode is brought to you by our affiliate partners, including: TubeBuddy, VidIQ, MorningFame, Rev.com, and other products and services we recommend.
PRODUCER: Jason Perrier of Phizzy Studios
TRANSCRIPT
Dane Golden:
It’s time for HEY.com. This is the podcast where we help you grow your customer community through helpful how to videos. My name is, Dane Golden and today we have, Renee Teeley from PowToon. Welcome, Renee.
Renee Teeley:
Hi, thank you. That was an epic intro, I love the energy. So, I’m thrilled to be here. Thank you so much for having me on the show.
Dane Golden:
I am thrilled you are here. You are the chief evangelist from PowToon, correct?
Renee Teeley:
That is correct. Yes.
Dane Golden:
Okay. So what is PowToon?
Renee Teeley:
Good question. So PowToon is an online video creation platform that you can use to make your own short, engaging videos. So the company was founded in 2012, so it’s still a startup, very lean and innovative, but they’ve been around for several years and it’s a well established startup with over 25 million users, globally. So the platform was really built to be easy enough for anyone to use. So you don’t have to be a video professional, but you can still create a video with a professional look and feel. So as a company, we say our greater vision is to bring a touch of awesomeness to everyday business communication and I think this is true. It’s not really about just creating a video, it’s about giving you the tools that you need to communicate your message, create impact, but then also have some fun along the way.
Dane Golden:
Now, I have two main questions here. One is, it’s called PowToon and not PowToons of course, but by having the word toon in it, it did sort of start mostly with animation, right?
Renee Teeley:
Yes. So, animation is still a core part of a platform, but you can use it to create different types of video, so it’s not just about animated videos and it’s also not just about, even in terms of the animation, it’s not just about animation that’s more cartoon style. So you can use it for more corporate style videos and things like infographics that are animated as well. And then also, do things like include your own footage or kind of face to camera footage and then, add some motion graphics and animation over the top of it.
Dane Golden:
Now, it’s a online editor and asset manager, right? It’s entirely online?
Renee Teeley:
Yes. So it is online. We do have a mobile application, so if you need to record yourself, we have an application that’ll allow you to record yourself through the app and then, you can go into your online account and edit the information there as well. And so, within the online editor, there’s a large library of pre-made templates, so you can start with templates and you can customize those templates. And then, there’s prebuilt animated scenes and things that you can add to that. You can also add text, transitions, things like that, but you can also add your own footage as well. So you can import footage from … That you’ve created through recording, from another camera or from any other kind of application available out there.
Dane Golden:
Right. So on this podcast, we focus on helpful how to videos that get people coming back to your channel again and again. Can PowToon be used to create on a regular basis, these searchable how to videos for YouTube?
Renee Teeley:
So the short answer to that is yes, but the workflow varies depending on the type of how to videos that you’re creating. So I’ll separate out the searchable part and the actual how to video creation part into two separate answers here.
Dane Golden:
Alright.
Renee Teeley:
So in terms of the how to video content, there’s lots of different ways to do how to content. So if you want to do something that’s specifically showing someone how to do something online or through an application, you can use a screen casting software to record your screen and then import that into PowToon, add text, animation, lower thirds and a branded intro and things like that to enhance it to make it look more like a professional, polished video. As I mentioned before, we also have a mobile application. So if you want to record yourself showing people how to use a physical product, you can do that through the app and then go into your PowToon account and again, add text and animation to enhance that. The other option is just to do a purely visual and animated video and then add voiceover, over the top of that to guide people through the how to process. And we do have tools within PowToon, so that you can record those voiceovers or higher someone directly from the application to do the voice over for you.
Dane Golden:
So those … So the mobile app and the browser app, they dovetail together?
Renee Teeley:
Correct, yeah.
Dane Golden:
And what about searchable?
Renee Teeley:
In terms of searchable, if you mean discoverable content for YouTube.
Dane Golden:
Yeah.
Renee Teeley:
I think that mostly comes down to your video strategy. So, things like having an effective title descriptions, branding, having a compelling thumbnail that works with your title. All of those things help with discoverability and being searchable. So I think it’s … There are things that you can do in your specific content as you’re creating it, so thinking about how to make it searchable, I think is important as part of that process, but the actual search ability comes from the other things that are part of your video.
Dane Golden:
And also, there’s some sort of integration with Photoshop. What is that, exactly?
Renee Teeley:
Yeah, so that’s an … It’s a new integration that we recently released. It’s super exciting. So the idea behind that is that you can import … Well, it’s an extension, so it’s not just a one way import. But, you can essentially import your Photoshop files into PowToon and then we’ll do a little magic and convert the Photoshop layers into an animated video. And then, with that animated video, you can edit the animation timing, but then you can also add stock photos, stock video, music and things like that to help enhance that and then your own graphics or even our own animation through the platform to make that into a full video. And one of the things that excites me most about this integration, and I think it’s primarily targeted towards designers on the website, but the thing that gets me excited is that this really allows companies that don’t have internal video resources, that they have a design team …
Dane Golden:
Right.
Renee Teeley:
It allows them to get into video and video marketing and use resources that they already have to create videos.
Dane Golden:
That’s great. And you have some audio, right? And will I get a copyright strike if I use your audio or is it royalty free?
Renee Teeley:
Yeah, so all of the stock assets that we have within PowToon are royalty free. So whether that’s video, images, soundtracks, any audio, it’s all royalty free. It’s included as part of your plan, but then you also have the option to upload your own music. And so, if you upload your own music, you would be responsible for ensuring that it adheres to copyright laws, but if you choose something that’s already there, there should be no copyright issues. If you do get a strike from YouTube, in terms of the audio that you used from PowToon, just reach out to our support team and they’ll give you help with the validation that you need as you go through that YouTube review process.
Dane Golden:
Thank you. And a lot of companies when they’re doing how to videos, they don’t necessarily want to have someone on camera because maybe they’re in the Silicone Valley and people are jumping from company to company, so they don’t want to have somebody who’s representing that company who’s going to jump to another company next week. So they may just want to do a screen cast or screen share and record that. Is this a … Is PowToon a type of tool that is helpful for those types of how to videos, where someone is not on camera?
Renee Teeley:
Yes, absolutely. So you have the option, within PowToon, so you can do … You can have someone on camera or not have someone on camera. So in general, animated video, it’s a really effective way to communicate complex ideas in an easy to understand format. So typically, when you’re using some type of animation, you can actually make your video a lot shorter than if you didn’t have some visuals to help explain what you’re talking about.
Dane Golden:
Right.
Renee Teeley:
My personal, favorite style of video is actually blending on camera live action footage with animated videos, so that you get the benefits of someone seeing you on camera and getting to know you plus using animation to visually communicate that. But there’s also lots of use cases, where you don’t want someone on camera. So as you mentioned, of someone switching from company to company or a company doesn’t want one individual person on camera as like, the face, of their company. Animated video is a great way to help with that and we have a number of different characters, I’m doing air quotes over here that you can’t see, but they’re little … They’re literally …
Dane Golden:
Two fingers.
Renee Teeley:
Characters.
Dane Golden:
Right. Got it.
Renee Teeley:
Yes. They’re literally characters that you can use in your video. So it sort of supplements having someone on camera as well.
Dane Golden:
So how hard is PowToon to use? How long does it take between when you start signing up and you want to have something … Can I do it today? How much training do I have to have to really pick it up?
Renee Teeley:
So PowToon is really created to be easy enough for anyone to use and we have second graders that are using it in their classrooms. And so, I think that sort of speaks to how …
Dane Golden:
I can’t keep up with them.
Renee Teeley:
I have a hard time too, actually. I have a niece that maybe can run circles around me on some applications. But in any case, so yes, it’s something that’s easy for someone to just get in, easily start creating templates, but there’s also a lot of advanced things that you can do as well. And so, I think there is a learning curve, depending on what you’re trying to do with a video. Now, even the advanced stuff, it’s not a learning curve that’s as steep as say, learning after effects, but if you want to do more complex things, it will take you a little bit of time to get used to the platform, how it works and how it’s different from other applications. But if you just want to go in and you want to edit a template, you want to change the colors, you want to swap out some of the characters or some of the graphics that are in it, you can have a full fledged video in 20 minutes or something even more polished in an hour. So it’s …
Dane Golden:
Wow, that’s fast.
Renee Teeley:
Yeah, it’s very fast.
Dane Golden:
Do you have anyone who’s using it with tutorials so far? Do you have any examples of what they’ve found?
Renee Teeley:
Yeah. So we have, with 25 million users, so we have …
Dane Golden:
That’s a lot.
Renee Teeley:
Yeah, so we have people using it for all sorts of different types of videos. Definitely for tutorials as well. I personally have done some tutorials with PowToon also, most of those have been some face to camera, some face to camera and then using visuals to kind of explain what I’m talking about and that’s mostly around kind of how to do specific things for video marketing. So I guess I’m a good use case for that, but we have lots of other companies that are doing that as well. I won’t name them here, but we have 96 % of the Fortune 500 companies are using PowToon.
Dane Golden:
We won’t say their name, but it rhymes with blapple.
Renee Teeley:
I will not confirm nor deny that.
Dane Golden:
I just made that up. So, I’ve seen a lot of examples on YouTube for ads, particularly, pre-roles that come up, that they do an ad without dialogue and it’s an animated video and maybe there’s onscreen text, but I’m always of the opinion that you want to have the dialogue that sort of complements any onscreen action because people are … You need all the senses being communicated when you’re doing a video. What is the preference or best cased, best practices do you think?
Renee Teeley:
Yeah. I mean, I have seen some videos that, mostly ads not content marketing videos per se or how to videos, but mostly ads. I have seen some ads that I think are well done, but don’t have voiceover and that are quick clips and fit with the music, so it’s something that’s very quick, very lively. It fits with the music and then there’s some text that goes over the top of that. That is not my favorite style video. I think it’s traditionally more videos that are more effective are the ones that actually do have some voiceover. So either there’s someone on camera and then you’ve got some visuals that supplement kind of what the on camera person is doing or you have just visuals on screen and then there’s a voiceover kind of explaining the value about whatever it is that they’re doing. So, all of the content that I do is definitely value based. It’s less on the entertainment side, more on just providing amazing value. But if you’re doing something that’s more of a brand awareness video, but it’s … And it’s really supposed to be more educational, sorry not educational, but entertainment in nature, then you can do something without voiceover.
Dane Golden:
So, why should I use PowToon instead of hiring someone to do and explain [inaudible 00:15:24]? There’s lots of folks that’ll say, “I’ll do an explainer video for you.” Why should I use PowToon to make it myself instead of hiring a company to do it?
Renee Teeley:
Yeah. So I don’t think it’s a one or the other kind of use case. I think there are companies that still use animation companies to do some of their explainer videos and use PowToon for other types of videos. So I think when you’re thinking about the just custom animation studios, primarily companies will use them because they just want it done for them and they have a high budget, usually there’s … Those types of videos, on the low end, start at 2500, but more realistically, they’re around 10000, go up to 20000. So they can be kind of expensive and those are typically one off videos. So you’re not using those companies to create massive amounts of videos for you, unless you have a huge budget to do that.
Dane Golden:
Right.
Renee Teeley:
So the value with PowToon is that you can use all of your branded assets and all of your branded colors, so it’s something that looks like your company and you can have your internal team help with some of the information for those videos. So you know your company better than anyone else does and so, you can take that information and use PowToon to create those videos and do it quickly and inexpensively.
Dane Golden:
That … Yeah. That is a definite difference, but tell us how much PowToon costs.
Renee Teeley:
Yeah, so that’s a good question. I think to get the most up to date pricing people should go to PowToon.com/pricing because pricing does change. But at the moment, if you sign up for an annual plan, you can … The pricing starts at 16 dollars a month, that’s based on an annual plan though. And then, it kind of goes up from there. People typically fall … The most average account is typically pro or pro plus. That’s 19 dollars for pro and 59 dollars a month for pro plus and we also have an agency account and an enterprise account as well. And so, there’s some more kind of advanced features and security things, like single sign on, that’s included in that. I did want to mention though, I do have a special offer for your listeners.
Dane Golden:
Special offer?
Renee Teeley:
Special offer. So if someone is interested in signing up to one of our annual plans and they use my promo code, which is renee20, R-E-N-E-E and then the numbers two, zero.
Dane Golden:
Yes.
Renee Teeley:
They can get 20% off any of our plans. So that includes all the individual plans, but also the agency plan, that includes reseller rights, and an enterprise plan as well.
Dane Golden:
That’s great to hear. Thank you very much for doing that. So not only do they get to know how awesome PowToon is, they get a discount from it just by listening to this show.
Renee Teeley:
Yes, absolutely. So it’s my value to you and your listeners, but obviously, clearly your value that you’re bringing to your audience as well.
Dane Golden:
And how else do people find out about you, Renee Teeley and PowToon?
Renee Teeley:
Yeah, so best place just to go to PowToon.com. You can get more information about the company there. I’d also recommend that you subscribe to our YouTube channel. So if you go to YouTube.com/PowToon, there’s all sorts of information, not just about the company, so you can get information about PowToon and how to use PowToon, but you’ll also get information that helps you figure out what to do with your video. And so, it’s having a great video is only one piece of that puzzle and so, you need to figure out a plan around that video and figure out how you can get business results from it. So there’s a lot of content that’s really more educational in nature on the YouTube channel and helping you drive real value with that video. So, highly recommend check out the YouTube channel and content there.
Dane Golden:
And we’ll have all those links in the show notes. You can just Google, HEY and PowToon or HEY and Renee Teeley. Yeah, I would just want to confirm the spelling. It’s, P-O-W-T-O-O-N, not PowToons. PowToon, correct?
Renee Teeley:
That is correct. Yes. That is a common mistake that happens. So yes, definitely without the S, at the end.
Dane Golden:
Excellent. Thank you, Renee Teeley.
Renee Teeley:
Thank you. This is wonderful, it’s a lot of fun being here.
Dane Golden:
Thank you. My name is, Dane Golden and I want to thank you, the listener, for joining us today. HEY.com is about helping you grow your customer community through helpful how to videos. How do you this? By sharing your expertise because when you share your expertise in a way that helps your customers live their lives better or do their jobs better, you’ll earn their loyalty and their trust and their business. Thanks to our special guest, Renee Teeley. Please subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube and wherever you find social video and please follow me on LinkedIn. Until next week, here’s to helping you help your customers through video.