20 December 2024

What’s the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

By Ronald Smith

Let’s dive right in and talk about PowToon. You might be wondering, what in the world is PowToon and how can it benefit my business? Well, I’m here to give you the lowdown.

PowToon is this awesome online tool that allows you to create animated videos and presentations. With just a few clicks, you can bring your ideas to life and captivate your audience. It’s like having your own animation studio right at your fingertips!

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You might be saying, Hey, I’m not an animation expert. How can I use PowToon? Well, let me tell you, my friend, PowToon is super user-friendly. Even if you’re a total newbie to animation, you can easily create professional-looking videos and presentations.

Here’s how it works. PowToon provides you with a bunch of templates to choose from. These templates are like pre-made blueprints that you can customize to fit your needs. You can add your own text, images, and even voiceovers. Oh, and did I mention the cool animations? You can add those too!

Once you’ve customized your template to your heart’s content, you can hit that magical play button and watch your creation come to life. It’s like watching your ideas dance and sing right on your screen. Trust me, it’s pretty epic.

Now, let’s talk about how you can use PowToon for your business. The possibilities are endless! You can create engaging explainer videos to showcase your products or services. Imagine explaining complex concepts in a fun and entertaining way. That’s the kind of stuff that grabs people’s attention.

You can also use PowToon to create killer presentations. Instead of boring your audience with slide after slide of dull text, you can wow them with animated visuals and eye-catching transitions. It’s like taking your presentations to a whole new level.

But wait, there’s more! PowToon also allows you to add interactive elements to your videos and presentations. You can include buttons, links, and even quizzes to keep your viewers engaged and involved. It’s like turning your content into an interactive experience. How cool is that?

So, whether you’re a small business owner, a marketer, or just someone who wants to spice up their content, PowToon is the way to go. It’s simple to use, it’s fun, and it can take your ideas to the next level. Trust me, once you give PowToon a try, you’ll be hooked.

So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and give PowToon a whirl. Your audience will thank you, and you’ll thank yourself for discovering this amazing tool. Happy PowTooning!

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

If you’re one of the many brands out there who haven’t hopped on the online video marketing train yet, I have some exciting news for you. Creating marketing videos has never been easier, all thanks to PowToon!

So, what exactly is PowToon?

Well, let me break it down for you. PowToon is a super cool tool that allows you to create awesome videos with a simple drag-and-drop interface. It’s so easy to use that you’ll actually have fun while doing it! Plus, they have some really eye-catching and entertaining designs to choose from.

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Don’t worry if you’re not naturally creative! PowToon has made a bunch of pre-made PowToons just for you. You can easily personalize them with simple changes. Whether you need a video for marketing, a video for a meeting, or even a video to showcase your resume, PowToon has got you covered. You’ll find almost everything you need right here:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Get to Know the Price

So, PowToon has a few subscription options for you to choose from. The first one is totally free, which is pretty cool. I mean, who doesn’t love a freebie, right? It’s great because you can give it a whirl before deciding if you want to go all in. But let me give you a friendly heads-up: once you try it, you might just find it irresistible and end up buying it. It’s that awesome!

How Can You Use PowToon for Business?

So, let’s get into the nitty-gritty. PowToon is a fantastic tool that lets you make all sorts of videos. You can create informative explainer videos, impressive demos, or even just fun, entertaining videos to share. The possibilities are endless!

Now, I could talk your ear off about all the amazing features of PowToon, but I think the best way to show you what it’s capable of is by guiding you through the process of creating a video. Sound good? Great!

During our little walkthrough, you’ll get to learn how to create this awesome video:

Exciting, right? Let’s dive in!

How to Make a Video on PowToon

Step 1: Pick Your Video’s Design Template

Woohoo! Now that you’re all logged in to PowToon, just hover your mouse over the Create button to get started:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Don’t stress too much about choosing a design right now. You can always mix and match later.

If you want to see how the designs look, just click on any of the images to watch a preview video.

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Alright, let’s get started on creating your video! Once you’ve chosen a design or a pre-made PowToon, simply click the Go button to move forward.

Keep in mind that for this demonstration, we’ll be using a Start from Scratch design.

Step 2: The Video Creation Screen

Now, PowToon will load the screen where you can create your video:

Click on the image to see a bigger version

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Alright, let’s get started! First, click on the three lines to open the menu.

Once the menu is open, you’ll see your scene navigator. This is where you can view and switch between the different scenes in your video. If you need to add new slides or get rid of ones you don’t need, you can do that here too. At the very bottom of this column, you’ll find some controls that are useful while creating your video. One of the handiest controls is the Flip option, which allows you to horizontally flip any element. You’ll see how useful this can be in just a moment.

The canvas is where all the magic happens. This is where your video comes together.

Next, we have the timeline. This is where you have complete control over when video elements appear and disappear, as well as how they enter and leave each scene.

Lastly, we have the designs section. This is where you can switch between the various designs that PowToon offers. As you move forward or backward, the elements available for you to use will change below.

Alright, now you’re ready to start creating your awesome video!

  1. These are the things you can use in your videos. Some parts can expand and collapse, so there’s more than meets the eye. You can include words, pictures, moving pictures, backgrounds, and more.
  2. To add your own stuff to the video, simply click on this small gray strip. You can upload pictures and other things to use.
  3. The top bar has a bunch of tools. We’ll talk about the ones on the right later. On the left, you can undo what you’ve done (super useful) and give your video a name.
  4. And finally, if you need help, just click on the question mark. It’ll guide you when you’re lost.

Step 3: Upload Your Pictures

When you want to use your own pictures, it’s a good idea to upload them first. That way, they’ll be ready for you when you need them. To make this happen, just click on the Image link on the right side of the gray strip. This action will bring up the screen below:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

PowToon has a bunch of different pictures that you can use. Some are free, others you have to pay a little bit for. But in this situation, what you want to do is upload your own picture. So just click on Upload and then pick the file you want to use from your computer.

Once you’ve uploaded the picture, you can take a look at it, get rid of it, or put it in your project:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Look, I’ve managed to get the image onto the canvas. But here’s the catch – we’re going to use it in the second scene. To make that happen, I want you to use the scene navigator. Go ahead and add a new slide, and once you’ve done that, move the new slide to the top:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Step 4: Time to Add Some Words!

Now it’s time to put some text on your brand-new slide. See that cool tool called Text Effects on the right? That’s the one we’ll use to make your words stand out. Powtoon gives you a bunch of awesome effects to choose from, so have fun experimenting until you find the ones that really tickle your fancy!

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

So here’s the deal: you have the power to change up this text both inside and outside the editing screen. All you gotta do is click on that little pencil icon on the left, and boom, you’re back in the editing screen. Pretty nifty, huh? Now, check this out – let’s say you wanna switch up the text color. Well, you can actually do that from outside of the editing screen, just like this:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

When I hover over different parts of a box, something special happens. There are three cool effects that can occur:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

  1. Make the element bigger or smaller by stretching it sideways or diagonally;
  2. Turn the element around; and
  3. Move the element across the canvas.

Step 5: Include Other Elements

Now let’s add something other than text to this picture. You can hover over any object to see a larger version. This is really helpful when you’re adding moving objects. Once you find an object you want to use, simply click to add it to the picture:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Step 6: How Long Should Each Scene Be?

The more things you put in a scene, the longer it should be. This is especially true if they happen one after another like in the video example. To make your scene longer, just click the + symbol on the timeline:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Step 7: Planning the Sequence of Events

This step can be really exciting and a bit overwhelming. You’re in charge as the director, deciding when everything happens, but it can take some time to figure it all out.

Since the text at the top of the scene will be shown throughout, you need to make sure it stays on screen until the end now that you’ve made the scene longer. Here’s how you do it: first, select the text element, then place your cursor at the end of the element on the timeline, and finally drag the element end to the very end of the timeline:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

When you look at the example, you’ll notice that you stop a little bit before the timeline ends. This is important because it allows the element to smoothly transition (I’ll explain more about this soon). If you were to go all the way to the end, the element would simply disappear when the scene ends.

In the example, the first scene element uses a text effect, which means it doesn’t appear all at once. (Watch the video above to see how this works.) So, you need to drag the red arrow (also known as the playhead) across the timeline to find out when the text will be fully revealed.

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

So here’s the deal: when you watch this example, you’ll see that all the text appears by the time 4 seconds have ticked by. Once you figure that out, you can put the next thing on the timeline:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

As I keep arranging the elements on the timeline, I also have to think about how each element will appear and disappear. I can set this up by clicking on the spots where I can adjust the entry and exit transitions:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Step 8: Finish Every Scene

Now it’s time to finish every scene in a similar manner. This example demonstrates a simple scenario with only two scenes.

Step 9: Include Sound

Next, you should add sound to your video. Begin by clicking on the Sound link located in the gray strip on the far right. This action will bring up the sound screen:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Welcome! On this platform, you have the option to upload your own voice-over or choose a soundtrack from our collection. It’s up to you!

Let me walk you through an example. First, select the soundtrack As Sweet As Sugar and click the Add button on the right. This will set it as the music track for your video. Just like the example, you can choose to have the music track loop.

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

So, here’s what you do: You click on the Apply button to put the music track in your video. And guess what? You’ll know it’s there because you’ll see these cool sound waves displayed on the timeline:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Step 10: Give it a whirl with a video test

You’ve got a couple of options to check out your video creation. You can either click on the Play and Continue button down below or go ahead and click the Preview eye-link up top:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Before we get started, let’s close the preview by clicking on the X in the top right corner.

I noticed that the preview gives a more realistic playthrough, so it’s a good idea to use it at least once to test your videos before you make them public.

Step 11: Share your Video

There are two ways to publish and download your video. Both options will take you to the same screen, so feel free to use whichever one you prefer. In the example, we’ll choose the Export or Download option:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Now, let’s move on to the next screen where you’ll find a bunch of things to choose from. You can pick the ones that you want (remember, the options might depend on your subscription) and then just press the Next button:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

If you picked to get your video on the last page, choose the format you prefer here:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Alright, it’s time to finish up and get your video out there! First things first, let’s pick a category that best fits your video. After that, if you feel like it, go ahead and give it a new name. Then, write a little description to let people know what your video is all about.

Next, it’s important to choose some tags that relate to your video. These tags will help people find your video when they’re searching. So take a moment to think about what words or topics are relevant.

Okay, you’re almost there! Once you’ve got everything set up just the way you want it, all that’s left to do is click that big, shiny Publish button. And voila! Your video will be out there for the world to see.

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

Step 12: Sharing and Downloading Your Video

Guess what? I’ve just published your awesome bow video! Now, I want to show you this screen where you can easily share the video with others. Plus, I’ll even give you the code so you can add the video to your own website. Pretty cool, huh?

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

When you choose the download option to make the video, I’ll send you an email with the link in just a few minutes:

What's the Deal with PowToon and How Can I Use It for My Business?

A Final Thought

Well, here we are at the end. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on everything I’ve shared. Throughout this journey, we’ve explored various concepts and ideas, all centered around one crucial question: What is the meaning of life?

Now, I won’t claim to have all the answers. In fact, even after all our exploration, I’m still left with a sense of wonder and curiosity. But that’s okay! Life is full of mysteries, and it’s in embracing them that we truly grow.

Together, we’ve delved into the realm of knowledge, pondering grandeur and existence. We’ve dived into the wonders of the universe, marveling at its vastness and complexity. And we’ve even ventured into the depths of our emotions, embracing the joy and pain that make us human.

Through it all, one thing remains clear: life is a journey. It’s not about reaching some final destination or uncovering a single truth. Instead, it’s about the experiences we collect along the way. It’s the people we meet, the lessons we learn, and the memories we create.

So, as we bid farewell, I want to leave you with this thought. I challenge you to embrace the unknown, to navigate the twists and turns of life with courage and curiosity. Allow yourself to be amazed, to question, and to seek out new understandings.

Remember, my friend, that the beauty of life lies not in having all the answers, but in the pursuit of discovery. So go forth, explore, and revel in the magnificent journey that is your life. You never know what wonders await you just around the corner.