Rudyard Kipling once said: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” At its core, isn’t that what your brand or idea is here to do – to make history, be remembered and create a lasting impact?
Every great brand starts with a story. It’s what enables them to thrive. It’s the very thing that makes them “sticky” – activating us to take note of a brand, store it away in our minds and identify it indefinitely.
However, good stories don’t just appear out of the ether. They’re discovered, which requires careful searching. It needs to stand out, and above all, it needs to be able to be consumed quickly and easily.
It’s Not What You Say. It’s the Way You Say It (Kind Of)
Yes, a brilliant story is imperative. But it’s only a fragment that makes up the greater assembly of the mosaic.
We live in a noisy digital world. Modern communication has allowed us near-unlimited access to content beyond our wildest dreams. It’s how you articulate that story that counts.
“The universe is made up of stories, not atoms”
Muriel Rukeyser
You need to distil your story into something concise and crystal clear to cut through the noise and make your customers sit up and listen. And you’ll need an engaging medium to match.
The solution?
A video with a stellar script. Made informative and wildly watchable, it will be the best marketing tool you’ve ever created. So let’s begin our dive into creating a video script that covers your subject matter, is filled with visual and audio cues and, above all else, has engaging and informative content.
Make it Snooze-Proof
How many of us have watched a corporate video only to feel our eyes glaze over around the 30-second mark? We’d wager a lot. Authenticity wins hearts, and all too often, doze-inducing videos are so focused on what the company wants to say instead of focusing on what the customer wants or needs to know.
“Today, content only succeeds if it delivers what consumers want, when and how they want it.”
Forbes
So beware of the “me, me, me” mentality: it can suck the life out of a video and lead to lacklustre scriptwriting that lacks clarity and leaves audiences underwhelmed. We say, keep it short, keep it sweet, but above all, keep it necessary.
Give the People What They Want
The best B2B video productions find the human story within their offering. Start with problems. Not solutions.
It doesn’t need to be epic or complicated – it just needs to be a logical progression addressing one customer pain point to another, with a dash of creativity thrown in for good measure. Consider:
- What problem are you solving for them?
- What is it they want and need?
- What stresses them out?
- What makes them happy?
If you know the most pressing pain points of your viewers, then you’ve got all the ammo you need to create a bounty of videos that will create an appetite for what you have to offer.
Choose Your Fighter
How you communicate is just as important as having something to communicate. Our brains love humanising things, so aligning your brand with a universally recognised character gives your viewers a way to deeply connect to your brand on a human level.
Enter brand archetypes. There are twelve brand archetypes: The Innocent, Everyman, Hero, Outlaw, Explorer, Creator, Ruler, Magician, Lover, Caregiver, Jester, and Sage.
When choosing an archetype, don’t just close your eyes and point. There should be a strategy behind the choice – it’s not only about what you wish others perceive you to be. It’s what you mean to them.
Follow a Framework
With your story, viewer pain points and archetype defined, there’s only one thing for it – to weave it into a video script that will be a smash hit. No matter the length of the video, an outline will help you get your words in order and keep things crystal clear.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, a B2B video script will generally consist of the following four building blocks:
- Attention (Pique interest in the first 15 seconds)
- Agitation (Express the pain point)
- Activity (Show how it can be solved)
- Action (Call to action)
Top Tip: Write the way you would talk. Your viewers aren’t going to be reading your script – so write how you would say it out loud, not how reads best on paper.
When you’re passionate about something, talking about it at length and in great detail is easy. Splitting your video script into short and manageable chunks of information will keep you track and help your viewers to keep engaged.
Talking About Yourself is Hard
Hey, we get it. Talking about yourself and your brand is hard. You want to make a good impression but usually wind up overthinking every word – we’ve all been there. Yes, no one knows your brand better than you. However, you might need a new perspective on what it’s like to experience your brand.
Sometimes you need a little help to find the message that will connect with your audience – and that’s our bread and butter. Speak to us about brand strategy and the rest will follow.
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Written in collaboration with Naomi Couper
