Here’s something we can both agree on:
Video is a must-have component for content marketing campaigns to be successful. Indeed, 72% of consumers prefer videos to text content; plus, it’s more engaging and memorable (read: more convertible), thanks to its storytelling nature.
There’s just one problem:
For marketing videos to go viral and convert, we need to understand the psychology behind this content and know the ins and outs of video script writing.
In this article, you’ll find five steps to take for creating stellar video scripts that will help to achieve your content marketing goals.
Identify Your Target Viewer
For that, please take your buyer persona and focus on their behaviors and pain points. It will help to decipher their subconscious emotions and understand what codes, signs, and symbols to put into your video so that it would resonate with your audience and communicate your brand message.
Qualitative research and semiotics analysis are the best ways to identify customer pain points and decode the meanings that would influence those most:
Conduct customer surveys and interviews
- Organize brainstorming sessions with your marketing team
- Hold a meeting with a focus group to get some insights
Based on the acquired data, you’ll know what words, images, sounds, and objects align with a customer’s identity best. All this you’ll incorporate into your video script later so that it would communicate the desired meanings and influence your customer’s subconscious decision-making.
Define a Video's Marketing Goal
The goal of your video will depend on where the audience will see it and at what stage of the marketing funnel they are. Also, it’s critical to understand what you want viewers to do after watching the video.
What can help you define a marketing goal for a particular video is writing a brief. For that, answer the following questions:
Who is the target viewer of this video?
- What is the purpose of this video?
- What action do you want a viewer to take after watching this video?
- What is the value of your video for the audience?
- What distribution channels will you use for this video?
These clear insights from the brief will allow you to create a story in your video script that will engage the audience and motivate them to take your desired action.
Moreover, once you’ve identified the point of your video, you’ll understand what video format you’ll need.
Choose a Video Format
It will depend on your product, audience, and a platform you are going to use for publishing your video. A video format will also determine its timeline, making it clear for you how long your video script should be.
So, depending on your marketing goals, you may want to consider the creation of the following video formats:
- Branding videos: intros to your brand, product, or service. Short and straightforward, they work best on the top of sales funnels.
- Explainers: step-by-step instructions, presentations, how-to’s, tutorials. Such videos help the audience decide on purchasing from you.
- Vlogs: webinars, interviews, live streams, etc. They work best for the bottom of sales funnels.
- Customer testimonials. Use them as social proofs to build customer loyalty and trust.
- Ads: videos for YouTube or Facebook advertising. Writing scripts for them is an art, as they shouldn’t look and sound too promotional but still be persuasive enough for users to reflect.
Start Writing a Video Script
Given that you’ve come up with the video script outline already, specifying all the elements mentioned above, your template for writing will look like this:
To fill it in the best way possible, consider and keep in mind the following details:
a) Prescribe a central idea and character
It’s that very moment when you can make the most out of video storytelling. Make sure your script has a plot with a central idea and a character (a hero) for viewers to show compassion and get engaged with your story.
Your brand isn’t a hero here: Think of someone behind it — your employees or, even better, your customers. Give the audience someone they could relate to.
Case in point from movies: Back to the Future.
Ever wondered why it’s Marty, not Doc Brown, who is the main character of this movie? The reason is that it’s easier for the audience to associate themselves with a courageous and self-determined teenager who loves music and tries to escape from everyday problems than with a genius physicist in love with time-traveling.
Case in point from marketing: Nike
Can you find a video where Nike sells snickers? Or the one where they’d mention their brand name? Instead, they tell stories of real people willing to change their lives, ready to go and “just do it,” dreaming, and winning. These people are heroes, resonating with most of us and appealing to our emotions.
b) Follow the structure
Make sure your video script has a structure: Consider a storytelling format, which is the best way to make people want to listen to you. (As we know, a human brain retains 70% of information through stories and 95% — through emotions.)
For your video script to become a story, structure it with a narrative arc in mind:
- Exposition: Describe the setting (location, time, and any other background information about characters).
- Rising action: It’s when a plot of your story starts, the moment when a conflict appears, making viewers understand what your story is about.
- Climax: The main event of your story, when a hero faces the truth, needs to make a choice, etc.
- Falling action: It’s the moment of conflict resolution.
- Resolution: It’s the moral of your story, a central idea you wanted to share.
Also, think about a hook to grab viewers’ attention from the very first seconds of your video. The most popular hook is a question, making viewers continue watching to find an answer. (Example: the well-known ad from Dollar Shave Club)
But you can go further and try some visual element of surprise, like a purple cow of Milka or a massive panda in this Never Say No to Panda series of commercials:
By the way, the above example of Dollar Shave Club has elements of surprise too: What about a poster on a wall and a big bear? Plus, don‘t be afraid of adding humor to your scripts if it’s relevant to your brand and its voice.
c) Remember about visual and audio elements
Given that people watch over half of the video content on mobile devices with the turned-off sound, visual components of your story can tell them more than words.
When writing a video script, think about the “Show, don’t tell” principle.
Case in point: GoPro
We don’t hear a word about their product or its features. They’ve based this video script on actions. And isn’t it what their brand is about?
Make the context speak. Consider elements like colors, music, objects, and the overall environment in a video to communicate a message. But remember about your target viewer’s demographics and cultural background; otherwise, they’ll “read” your psychological insights and desired meanings wrong.
d) Write in short, clear sentences
Your video marketing messages should be precise and concise. In video scripts, it means fewer words for characters but more detailed descriptions of what will happen on the screen.
At the same time, make sure to write a script with simple, active sentences and short paragraphs. It will help to simplify your task management process when a shooting team brings your text to life faster and more efficiently.
The same principle works for voice-overs and performers’ lines.
Your target viewers won’t spend time on listening to tedious monologues or dialogues. Include only the most relevant and critical information to your script. Make sure nothing, both verbal and non-verbal, distracts the audience from your intended message. Choose words carefully, as they can influence the viewers’ perception too.
5) Craft your call to action
For content marketing campaigns to be effective, make sure you focus on calls to action in every content type you publish. Video scripts aren’t the exception: Finish them with calls to action that would provide viewers with hints or instructions on what to do next.
Options:
- A voice-over inviting to take action
- A short text, written on screen at the end of a video and remaining there for a few seconds
- An embedded button
- A vocal call to action from performers in a video (Example: YouTubers, who are always inviting us to “like, comment, and subscribe”)
In a Word
A well-composed script is a central instrument for video marketing success. Whatever goal you need to accomplish, keep in mind the above tactics and techniques to write video scripts that will resonate with your target audience. Appeal to their emotions, desires, and needs — and they’ll respond.
