How to Write a Video Marketing Script
Video marketing is a critical component of an overarching marketing strategy, and good scriptwriting is essential. However, it’s not a skill set many marketers learn about or have had to do that often. But It’s more important than ever.
Your video script will act as a blueprint for the video production team. It ensures your audio will align with your visuals in a way that hooks your viewer, advances your story, and incentivizes your audience to think, feel, or take a specific action.
Here’s our advice for creating a great script.
Start with a Brief
Before you can start writing, you really need to know the goal of your video. The brief should provide the important information you need to direct your writing.
A brief should include information about your audience, where they are in the marketing or sales funnel, which platforms you’ll show the video on, and what you want viewers to think, feel, or do after watching your video.
Armed with this information, you’re ready to begin writing.
Draft the Script, but First a Few Tips
Plan for about 125 to 150 words of dialogue per minute. That’s a perfect pace for narration, interviews or voice overs.
For a script, you’ll want to write the way we speak. So as you write it, it’s good practice to read it out loud and see if it sounds the way you would say it. If something is weird, you’ll feel it as you read it.
Read it aloud to other people on the team. If something gets by you, they’ll catch it.
Time yourself while reading in front of others. They can tell you if you’re speed is right, and you’ll know how long your video is going to be. If you want a 60 second video and your read is 75 seconds, you can cut something out or change the wording to hit that 1 minute mark.
Write Your Script in Sections
Your video should follow some basic guidelines for best results. There are four parts that you should include in almost every script.
1. The Opening
Your opening dialogue should be attention-getting. You’ll want to set up an emotional hook, a surprising fact, or a relatable story to engage your viewer and keep them watching.
Often, this when you want to introduce a problem, issue or need to your viewer. Once you’ve grabbed their attention, your goal is to keep them engaged. Tell them exactly why they should care or how this problem impacts them.
2. Present the Solution
Where there is a problem there is also a solution, and you have it. Your product, service or offer needs to be presented as a solution for their issues. It’s also the only one they should consider for the following reasons:
3. Explain Why You, Why Now
In this section, you want to delve a bit deeper into why your viewer needs this solution, now from you and only you. There is something unique about what you do, sell, or provide that nobody else has. Maybe it’s faster, more affordable, or exceptional. Tell them.
4. The Call to Action
The call to action is a critical component of your video that many skip. This is a critical mistake. The viewer won’t take action because you didn’t ask them to! You want your viewer to do something after watching your video. Tell them what that is and how they can easily do it. You might even offer an incentive, if possible.
Script Formatting
Now that you know what you’re going to say, you can pair your words with your visuals. You can format your script in many ways, but the clearest can be a simple two-column table like the one below.
Other options include putting visuals cues in parentheses or italics before or after the dialogue. Work with your production crew to see if they have a preferred format.
In summary
Once you pair the audio and visuals, you’ll have a good idea of what you’ll need to film, the props and set you’ll need, and other elements to support your script and video length. You don’t have to be a literary major to write a great script, but you do need to know what your message is and why you’re delivering it.