Tips On Writing A Script For Your Business Marketing Video
All great videos start with a great script and that includes business and marketing videos.
Some companies don’t take scriptwriting very seriously. Maybe it’s because they think scripts and screenwriting are for Hollywood fiction movies. That thinking is wrong.
Blockbuster movies you see in the theater are crafted to stimulate thoughts and emotions. Great stories resonate with a very specific target audience and inspire people to take action. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Your business marketing videos should do the same thing.
Video-making is an art. It takes planning, crafting, revising, and finesse. It requires a blueprint and that blueprint is the script. If you don’t invest the necessary time and resources into putting together a good script, you will walk onto a set without a clear picture of what you are trying to accomplish. You will waste the time of your video production crew and your actors/talent. Money will be wasted on equipment rentals, studio space rentals, and materials.
Shooting unprepared and without a great script will have dire repercussions in the post-production/editing phase, such as numerous re-edits and possible reshoots, which incur most costs in time and money. There’s nothing like that sinking feeling when your video editor tells you that the story they are trying to assemble doesn’t make sense or you’re missing a specific shot.
The director and the cameraperson would have called for it during the shoot, except they didn’t know it was going to be necessary. If only it had been written into the script.
Here are some steps you can take to make sure your script is well-written, and gets you the results you desire:
1. Have a goal for your video script.
What is the purpose of your business video? Give it one, very specific goal.
Do you want your marketing video to get people to do something? Buy a product? See your brand a certain way? Trust your service? Shift their thinking?
Everything that goes into the script must serve the purpose otherwise it’s superfluous and distracting.
Be crystal clear on what the goal is and make sure your script is written, from beginning to end, with the goal in mind.
2. Know your target audience.
Before you write a word of your video marketing script, you must know who you are talking to. Know your target audience’s demographics and psychographics.
Know what problems they have and what triggers them. Know how to respond to these triggers so that they respect and believe what you have to say.
Video is an emotional medium (more so than print). You have to understand what moves your desired audience so your message will resonate with them on a deep level. Modern audiences are sophisticated and will react negatively to a tone deaf script. They will know if you are being insincere.
For example, Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner ad attempted to bring a message of peace and understanding. It famously fell flat because it struck the majority of audiences as trivializing a serious movement. Regardless of Pepsi’s intentions, the ad was an embarrassing failure.
The approach and tone should have been addressed in the script, but the writers didn’t understand their audience’s values and failed to predict their reaction.
3. Script your testimonials
Testimonials are powerful sales tools. They may be a part of your marketing video, or they might even be the whole video.
Video testimonials ring true because they come from real people relating their real experiences with your company’s product or service. You may think that scripting testimonials would take away from their authenticity. That’s not necessarily true.
You don’t have to script everything that a client says in a testimonial video. It’s probably best if you let them use their own words because unless they are professional actors, they won’t sound convincing. However, you can script what topics of discussion your clients touch on.
If you are interviewing several clients for a testimonial video montage, you can have each person touch on a different aspect of your product or service. Scripting the testimonials in this way will help avoid repetition and omission. When you edit your testimonials together, the logical story unfolds in a natural, relatable way.
Just the Facts
A strong script will ensure that your story or message has meaning and impact.
- Have a very thorough understanding of your audience to keep them engaged.
- Include testimonials and interviews in your script to add credibility.
- A solid script will save you time, money, and resources during all phases of video production.
- Know what the goal of your business video is, and ensure that every word of your script serves it.