How to write the perfect video marketing script

It’s easy to focus so much time figuring out how to shoot and edit the perfect video, that one of the key parts of the planning gets rushed or overlooked – the script.

A video script is where your goals are played out, where your concept really comes to life. Writing an effective script is the difference between having a good-looking video that other editors coo over, and having one that really boosts your marketing efforts. Here are a few key things to think about when writing the script for your next marketing video.

Always start with a brief

This may seem either obvious or unnecessary depending on how you usually go about planning videos. But putting together a brief forces you to give proper thought to what the video’s purpose is, and who it’s going to be for. You don’t need to go into huge detail here, but if you agree on certain elements and goals at the start of the process, you’ll save time later down the line. You might find your team disagreeing or having different perspectives, either too late to make a change or so late that making a change becomes a gargantuan task.

Consider things like;

– Why are you making this video? It must be for a reason – are you trying to explain something, sell something, or both?

– Who is the video for? Consider your target audience and what they will find most engaging.

– Be specific with your topic. Viewers usually tune out if a video is too long, and only 65% of viewers watch more than 3/4 of a video – your message needs to be quick and clear.

– What are you hoping viewers will do as a result of your video? Buy a product, book a service, contact you to find out more? Make sure that your call-to-action doesn’t get sidelined.

You should be able to write an overview of what your video is about in one sentence, and this should then be made clear in some form within the first 70 words of the script. Research has shown that two minutes is the ideal length for an explainer video, so you don’t need to write vast reams of text to be successful.

Make it personal

Videos that talk about ‘our clients’ and ‘our customers’ can feel too impersonal and too sales-y. Use words like ‘you’ and ‘your’ where appropriate, and keep the tone conversational, the most trustworthy and genuine your brand comes across, the better.

How conversational you get depends on your target audience, but make sure that your script is written in the way that you want your actor or voiceover to speak. Your script needs to be written in such a way that you could give it to anyone, leave the set and come back to find it all sounded how you imagined it in your head, so use emotional descriptors where necessary too. Do a run-through of your dialogue before you plan the rest of the video around it, make sure that it sounds as natural and effective when read out loud as it does in your head.

Don’t forget the details

A script is not just dialogue – the set details should be in there too. Where is the speaker standing, or sitting in the frame? What are they doing with any products in the video as they speak? Does the shot cutaway at any point, or is there a text overlay? Put all this stuff into your script so that it becomes fool proof. There are various script templates online that you can use to help make this all easier, because as satisfying as it is to start from scratch, working from a template is usually a lot faster and a lot simpler.

Author bio:

Woo Content is an international, multi-lingual copywriting agency based in London, New York, Sydney and Singapore.