Video marketing is essential to any marketing campaign. Video gives the best conversions out of any other form of content. So if you have a digital marketing campaign in place, you have to include videos into it. Now a good video marketing campaign will need a solid script that will attract your target audience to your video. The script will make the video successful. But how does one come up with this script? Let’s find out –

• Outline a Brief – It will give your video marketing campaign direction. You’ll have a reference point. It doesn’t need to be very fancy. Its goal is to document the purpose of the video, the intended audience and the message to be conveyed. You will also need to find out what kind of video you will be producing – if it will be a webinar or a testimonial and so on.

• Think of the video as a conversation with the audience – Every great marketing video has been written this way. You have to keep your audience in your mind when you’re writing the script and then find ways to initiate an informal conversation with them. If the video is intended for a specific region or culture, make use of unique cultural/regional nuances to communicate better.

• Try to be clear about your intended message – Once you’ve figured out what message you want to convey, script your video around that. Don’t try to include too much into one short video. You’ll leave the audience confused.

• Render value – A well-performing video is one that conveys some or the other value to the audience on the other end of the screen. Your video needs to be engaging enough for them to sit through the entire thing and it needs to contribute something to your life.

• Don’t go roughshod on the script – Basically, detail everything. A script with only the dialogues on it is an ill conveyed message. Give directions, note downstage actions – your director should be able to comprehend and act on the script. You shouldn’t have to explain the script to him. In that case, what’s the point of the script at all? The more you improvise, the more room for retakes there is. We all know the cost of that.

• Keep it short – Short videos get the most attention. Attention is what you’re seeking. So it follows naturally that your video script should also be concise. You can always write as you wish and then edit it to fit a certain time-length. Also, remember to make the opening compelling. The first few seconds will decide whether your audience will watch the video at all.

• Include a CTA to round the video up – The same goes for any sort of content. A Call to Action is necessary. It tells your audience what you want them to do. Your video should be actionable and the expected action should be communicated clearly. If you want your audience to share the video, say so at the end. If you want people to buy your product, state it explicitly. You can’t leave the audience to derive their conclusion. Give them one.

• Read it out loud – The written word and the spoken word differs. Not everything that conveys well written down does so when spoken. In order to understand if there’s anything wrong with your written script, you need to read it aloud to yourself.

These are pretty much all the steps involved in successful video creation, be it any sort. You may not be able to do the entire thing on your own, and that’s fine. Ask for help wherever needed. If your script sounded good during the table read, then you’re good to go. Otherwise, you’ll need to make revisions before you can hand it over to the filmmaker.

An effective marketing video campaign depends a lot on the script that has been written for it. If you’re the guy entrusted with that job, you need to buckle up. You’ve got a big responsibility on your shoulders. That said, it is also extremely rewarding to see your script being fleshed out on camera; more so if the video brings the desired results to the person commissioning it.