How to Write an Explainer Video Script: 5 Simple Steps
The perfect explainer video should be entertaining, informative, and engaging to your audience. If you get it right, your video can bring a lot of benefits to your business. And the first step of explainer video production this is the script. If you’re wondering what makes a good script, you’re not alone. With so many options, it can be hard to know where to start. Here’s our guide on how to write a script for a video.
Steps to Writing a Script for Your Video Animation:
STEP 1. Start With a Plan
Just like anything, the first step to creating an amazing explainer video script is to make a plan. And it’s very important that you plan at the beginning. The last thing you want, after making a video and spending time and money on the recording, writing, animation, and everything else, is to realise that you don’t like the script.
Making changes later on in the process is much more difficult. So, if you make your plan from the start, this will help you to focus on your message.
When you’re mapping out your story, there are a number of things you need to consider. Ask yourself, who is your audience? What do they care about? What value can you offer them? And how can you use your video to reach out to them? Make a list of the key points you want to talk about, and make sure you stick with that list.
STEP 2. Create a Story
Once you’ve made your plan, the next step is to create a story that your audience will relate to. Start by making a list of key points that you want to talk about. There should be no more than four key points for every minute of script. You don’t want to overwhelm your viewer.
Your video should be simple, with not too much information, and a hook that entices them to want more information.
Storytelling is a great way to get people engaged and interested in your message. Most viewers will respond well to a story, especially if it evokes an emotional response and is memorable to them. Think about your USP, and how it can be portrayed in video format.
To do this, you need to consider: what problems your target customer has, how your product can help with these problems, what the benefits are to them, and why they should choose you over your competitors. Ideally, you want to build trust with your audience.
You want them to trust you. And you can achieve this by showing them how you can help them, solve their problems, and how you can improve their life.
STEP 3. Transform This Story into a Script
After deciding on the story you want to tell, and mapping it out, it’s time to turn your idea into reality! When you’re writing your script, there are a few key points you need to bear in mind.
The first is your tone. You need to make sure that the tone you use is suitable for your target audience. This should be consistent throughout the script, and should speak to your audience. So, whether you want your brand message to be relaxed, uplifting, formal, or anything else, the content and voice-over style needs to match.
Next, you need to look at the writing itself. Some businesses use an explainer video script template to do this. You need to follow your original plan, and make sure your customers get a good introduction to your brand, with your message clearly conveyed within the first thirty seconds.
In terms of length, you need to think about your audience, and then decide what’s most appropriate. However, most experts recommend that marketing videos shouldn’t be longer than two to four minutes, as most viewers will lose focus after this point.
To make the video engaging and interesting for your audience, it’s important that you tell a story. Start with a hook, then use a narrative that holds the viewer’s interest and try and use humour if possible. People become invested in stories and emotional content, and will be more likely to watch until the end.
Lastly, towards the end of the story, you need to add a clear call-to-action. The entire narrative of the video should be building up to this as the ending. The call-to-action should give the viewer a clear next step, which could be to share the video, subscribe, sign-up to you website, or something else. Make sure they know how to take that step!
STEP 4. Read it Loud Several Times
So, you’ve finished writing your script. What’s next? You need to read it over, several times, and out loud, and make sure it’s absolutely perfect. Think back to your original message. Does the script you’ve written fit in with that message.
Think about it from the perspective of your audience. The goal is to promote your brand and get your potential customers to connect with you.
That means it needs to be written in a way that’s relevant to them, that is easy to understand, and that they will find interesting. If your script doesn’t meet the requirements, you need to keep reviewing it and re-writing it until it does!
Furthermore, you need to make sure you’re reading it out loud. This is because written content can be different to voice content. It has a different effect on the audience. Record yourself and then listen back to make sure. You can also do this to check the length, and make sure it’s not too long or too short.
STEP 5. Polish Your Script Until You LOVE It
Your final draft should be close to perfect. But, the final step is to polish your script to make sure you love it! Some of the things you need to think about when doing this are: the number of words, the types of words, the information you’re giving, and the effect it will have on your viewer.
For example, when you use too many “fluff” words, you can lose value. Make sure that all the words you use are meaningful. Make every sentence count! Look over the script several times and keep editing it until the story is as seamless as possible. This includes removing unneeded information and only keeping the parts that matter.
Finally, have one last listen to your script to make sure it’s right. You can even get some feedback from your family, friends, and colleagues, just to make sure it’s easy to understand and entertaining to others as well, and not just to you.
Now you’ve completed your video, you’re ready to share it! Your explainer video can be used to attract new customers, get yourself noticed, and increase sales. Tons of companies are using them. And whether you’re making it yourself or using an animated video production company, there are lots of benefits. So, if you want to make your own video, follow these steps and create your own amazing corporate video script!
07.02.2019