The days of wondering if video marketing was worth the effort are well behind us. Reporting from Statista shows that video has an online usage rate of over 90% and that this number continues to rise every year.Further research from Wyzowl states that 87% of marketers polled reported video content produced a good ROI and they were “overwhelmingly satisfied” with the financial gains. They experienced increased leads, repeat sales, and improved customer satisfaction with a decrease in support requests.
Not only does video marketing pay off, but it’s also what the people want. Hubspot found that only 18% of consumers found written content to be memorable, whereas 43% found branded video content to be the most memorable.
It was also discovered that 54% of consumers preferred video content from brands over email, social media images, and blog articles. Engaging with your target audience, whether that’s B2B or B2C, is most successful when done through the medium of video. And even more so when that content is strategically and thoughtfully prepared.
So how can you produce top-quality content that appeals to your ideal customer? Where do you start?
It starts with creating a powerful short video marketing script.
Let’s dive into how to create a script for your next video!
Drafting A Video Script: Start Here
Before you press record, have these elements in order.
Identify Your Audience
If you’re going to create content that appeals to potential buyers, you need to know who you’re creating for and what information they want to see. Describe your ideal customer and create an avatar that includes relevant data.
Incorporate geographic location, general personal demographics, hobbies, and income or revenue brackets. What are their challenges, goals, and dreams? What social media or online platform do they like best?
Take it another layer deeper and poll your existing pool of perfect-fit clients. What makes them tick? Why did they buy from you vs. the other guys? Use this data to populate a comprehensive customer avatar.
Determine Your Goal
Your marketing videos must serve a purpose. What’s the intent behind the content? Are you inspiring engagement or eliciting conversions? Are you educating or entertaining? Be clear and upfront at the outset about what the video intent is and remain consistent.
Your goal determines the kind of content you need to create. If you’re aiming for brand awareness and top-of-funnel reach or impressions, your video should be light and highly engaging. Leverage trending topics, audio, filters, and transitions to increase your reach.
Use Video Storytelling
Did you know LinkedIn reported that using emotional appeals in your marketing content drives 7x more large business effects over time than content that’s rational and, well, boring?[5] And that’s from the top B2B platform!
How can you organically create emotional appeals in your video marketing without coming off as sleazy and pushy? With strong storytelling!
Stories have been a primary and essential channel for communication since before the time of the stone tablets. It’s the basis for every movie, TV show, and book to ever hit the market.
Storytelling provides context and creates connection. And it allows marketers to do the same while simultaneously promoting their products and services.
Choose A Call To Action
What do you want the viewer to do after they watch the video? It must be something that fits the theme of the video, and it must be exceptionally clear. Examples include:
- Comment below your favorite (XYZ)
- Share this video with your (XYZ industry) friends
- Click the link below to download (or register, order, join, etc.)
- Subscribe to see more content like this
- Save this post for later
- Swipe up to learn more
- Click the button to snag your discount
- Use this hashtag and share your story
- Check the link in my bio for more info
Match your call to action to your campaign objectives and watch the data roll in.
How Long Should a 60-Second Video Script Be?
Although short-form content is newer on the market than long-form like YouTube, there’s no denying its marketing power. In January 2022, TikTok reported over 15 million daily active users from global Android users. It was also one of the most downloaded apps from the Google Play store.
Video content that’s 60 seconds or less is taking over marketing content across multiple social media platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and even LinkedIn.
The average person reading a script speaks at a rate of 150 words per minute, two words per second, or 3 to 5 syllables per second. Less if the speaker goes slowly or if you have complex graphics or transitions in addition to your spoken content.
For a 60-second video, you’ll need at least 120 to 150 words to fill the space. It’s always better to prepare more and pair down than to come up short.
How Do You Write A 60-Second Script?
Always use brief and clear language that anyone can understand. Don’t get overly detailed, or you will lose the attention of your viewers.
In the television industry, they arrange the content into two columns, with the video queues on the left and the written script on the right. Queues would include things like “point to the left” or “walk off stage right” or other physical directions. The script on the right will be only what the speaker says.
Timing is of the essence. You may need to run through several drafts to make the timing and fluidity feel natural and seamless.
The reader could be you, your partner, the CEO, an influencer, or even hired talent for on-screen appearance or voice-over. Whoever your reader is, create with them in mind.
How Many Words In a 30-Second Video Script
For 30 seconds of the completed video, there should be no more than 60 to 75 words. You have to give yourself time to clearly speak and the viewer space to understand and absorb the information.
How do you write a 30-second script?
A 30-second promo or marketing video is a tight spot to get all of your information out there. In this case, less is more. Don’t overcomplicate the content. Don’t use unfamiliar jargon. Keep it simple, fast, and easy to follow.
You can separate the content in the same way you would with a longer segment, but, with so little of it, this may not be necessary. You can use bold text for actions and regular text for speech on a simple 30-second script.
The Business of Writing Video Script
What is the anatomy of a video script? Let’s dive into the nuts and bolts of what your video needs in order to be effective.
Hook
Attention spans are at an all-time low, and content is at an all-time high. What does that mean for marketers? A headache.
It’s more imperative than ever to capture viewers’ attention in the first few seconds, as few as 3 to 5, to inspire them to continue watching to the end. Give them a compelling reason to stick around by making the most of your first impressions.
Here are a few ideas to test:
- Use the element of surprise
- Give helpful information right away
- Use quick movements and hand gestures
- Show up as you, not your brand
- Tell a compelling and interesting story
- Start with a “What if…” and pique their curiosity
- Use closed captions and dynamic text overlays
- Use humor and tell a relatable joke
- Share an intriguing fact
Introduce The Problem
This is where you make the content relatable to the audience. Make the connection between them and their obstacles. What challenges do they face? What roadblocks keep them from their success?
Make these problems laser-focused on your industry and your ideal client. What have your past clients shared? What was their “point a” that held them back from “point b?”
Introduce The Solution
You are the solution. You, your brand, your services, your products, your program, your method. These are all the ways you serve your clients.
How do you make their life or their business easier? How do you fill a need in their operation or their output? How are you helping them make progress towards their life or business goals?
If you’re addressing problems they care about in your business, you can present highly-effective solutions in your videos.
Introduce Support or Social Proof
Businesses and consumers don’t want to just take your word for what you say. They want proof. They want to feel safe before giving you their money.
Product reviews give the consumer perspective on how well your product or services really work. Use your ratings to your advantage in video content.
Client testimonials are powerful marketing tools that take your company out of the spotlight and put the results center stage instead. They enhance the personal connection between clients and brands.
Or, dig into your work and develop data-driven case studies to take all personal elements out of the equation and just focus on the numbers. Numbers and money are powerful motivational tools in the hands of a marketer.
Overcome Skeptics
What are the most common sales objections you hear in your business? What are the excuses people make to put off making a purchase? Is it trust? Is it price? Is it worth it? Is it fear? If you know them, make them a non-issue.
Use the objections you hear about developing objection-dropping video content that solves their issues before they come up and answers their burning questions before they even have a chance to ask them.
A Clear and Effective Call To Action
Your video content should be designed to produce tangible results. Whether that’s engagement, awareness, or conversions, if you don’t ask for an action, you aren’t likely to get one.
Your story could be incredibly inspiring, or your product could effectively solve a real problem, but if you don’t give the viewer an outlet for their newfound emotion or motivation, your campaign could be completely useless.
There should be only one call to action so as not to confuse viewers, and it should match your campaign goals. If your goal is to generate engagement, ask for likes, shares, and comments on your content. Make it worth their while and organically engage with your audience.
If your goal is to generate brand awareness, be extremely strategic with what content you create. If you’re using Instagram or TikTok, research current trends and make popular content that speaks to the top of your sales funnel.
To generate traffic and conversions with your video content, write specific and creative ways to get them to and past the click. Combine an offer with the call to action or leverage psychological triggers like FOMO and scarcity.
Here are a few traffic and conversion examples to test:
- Yes, I want (XYZ) Results.
- Send Me My New (XYZ)
- Talk To A Rep Now
- Let’s Do This!
- Yes! Send Me My (XYZ Resource)
- Click here to get your FREE copy!
- Easily Sign Up With Facebook
- Download Now for 35% off!
- Offer expires tomorrow! Buy now!
- Try XYZ for free for 30 days
- Create my (XYZ freebie)
- Let’s work together
Powerful Video Marketing Strategy and Production
To make a dent in any market or industry, you have to go beyond the “buy me” perspective. You have to connect and inspire. You must transform your marketing and advertising into actual, real-life conversations.
Cultivate interest and inspire connection. Entertain and educate with practical, engaging videos that meet people where they are and compel them to the next step. Create video content with the intention to enrich the lives of viewers and make a difference in their day and their life.
At Sparkhouse, we excel at taking your brand needs and creating promos, brand videos, social media content, and explainer videos that captivate audiences and collect on campaign goals.
What story do you want to tell? How can we help you make it count? Reach out to my team today to start strategizing your new video marketing service campaign.
Sources:
[1]https://www.statista.com/topics/5960/digital-video-advertising/#dossierKeyfigures
[2]https://www.wyzowl.com/amazing-video-marketing-statistics/#
[3]https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-trends-preferences
[4]https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-trends-preferences
[5]https://www.statista.com/statistics/1090659/tiktok-dau-worldwide-android/