5 Tips for Writing Killer Explainer Video Scripts

Videos are incredibly popular among online audiences right now, and for a good reason. They’re highly engaging, informative, and easy-to-understand, so a lot of people watches them on a daily basis.

One of the most popular types of video at the moment is explainer videos. According to The State of Video Marketing in 2018 compilation from Hubspot, 95 percent of people have watched an explainer video with the purpose of finding out more about a product or service they liked. Good reasons to learn how to write really good explainer video scripts.

 

Unsurprisingly, many online businesses invest in producing explainer videos. Here are more reasons why you need to join them:

– Explainer videos are practical, therefore have a high value for viewers because they can apply the knowledge they gained from the video

– Explainer videos are concise. A lot of people prefer to watch short videos because they don’t have much time to sit and watch. Moreover, conciseness reduces the chance of viewers using the length as an excuse to bail early

– Explainer videos provide a chance to increase brand popularity and build an image of a thought leader. In other words, they give an opportunity to prove your value as a brand.

Since explainer videos cannot succeed without good explainer video scripts, let’s learn how to write them to make your videos truly compelling and engaging.

Tip #1: Explore Your Customers’ Perspective

If you’ve never written explainer video scripts before, you have to know that their typical purpose is to help your target audience to achieve something, so you need to think about your video from a customer’s perspective.

There are three main things that customers typically care about in explainer video scripts:

– The value of a product/service shown on the video
– Why the video is better than others on the same product/service
– How the video can improve a customer’s skills or knowledge

Define each of these things, and you’ll approach this project from the perspective of your target audience, which is tremendously important to increase the value of the video for them.

Tip #2: Work on Your Story

A major goal of an explainer video is to tell viewers a specific story in an easy-to-understand and concise manner. There are two story formats that you can adopt:

– Process walkthrough. “This is actually how-to format videos that you see every day on YouTube,” says Pat Fredshaw, the chief content editor from Essay Supply. “This format doesn’t involve a specific problem for customers because its purpose is to demonstrate how to complete a certain process effectively and efficiently.”

– Problem-solution. An explainer video of this format concisely describes a problem and then makes a smooth transition to a solution. The second part is obviously larger because you want to make viewers focus on the solution – which is your product or service – rather than the problem.

It’s not always easy to define a story for an explainer video. But asking yourself the following questions will help:

– What is the goal of this story? Brands don’t make explainer videos just to make people laugh. They do so to help them with gaining a specific knowledge needed to achieve a certain goal.

– How does the video make the life of a viewer easier? If a person learns new knowledge, he or she will do a certain task easier and faster.

What should the viewers take away from the video? The conclusion of the video should have a long-term impact on the viewers by reinforcing the given takeaways. That’s why it’s recommended to avoid ending the video with a sales-based call to action.

Tip #3: Keep Explainer Video Scripts Concise

As it was mentioned above, explainer videos are predominantly short. According to this Forbes article, if you fail to engage viewers within the first 30 seconds of your video, 33 percent of them will stop watching. If you don’t engage them after 60 seconds, 45 percent of them leave.

Since viewer drop off is a real and serious problem, you should make your explainer video script as concise as possible. This way, you’ll also eliminate irrelevant content from the video.

To maximize the chance that your viewers will pay attention, you should also consider putting your message in the first 30 seconds. This information will remind them of the main goal of the video and tell them what to expect.

For example, here’s an outline that you could use for your explainer video script:

– The issue or the problem that your target audience is experiencing
– The solution that your product/solution provides
– The description of the specific steps that the viewer should take to resolve the problem/issue
– The call to action: An encouragement to perform an action that you want the viewers to perform.

Use Tools to Help With Script Writing

– Hemingway Editor. An online proofreading tool that can help you to avoid grammar and spelling errors as well as complex sentences and passive voice overuse.

– Online Writers Rating. If you’re looking for a professional writer to proofread, edit, or make suggestions on improving your explainer video script, this review site will help you to choose a reliable one.

– Grammarly. A popular proofreading tool that offers both machine and human proofreading and editing.

– Plagiarize Checker. An online tool that can help you check content for originality.

Tip #4: Use the Language Your Viewers Prefer

“The best way to speak to your audience is to use natural, conversational language because that’s the language spoken by your target audience,” recommends Andrew Donald, a chief marketing manager at Resumescentre.com. “This means that it’s the easiest style for them to understand and relate to.”

For example, a great way to address the viewers is to speak directly to them by using personal pronouns like “you” and “your.” Also, don’t waste their time telling them how great your product/service is or giving them the information they already know.

Tip #5: Draft and Revise

The first draft of your explainer video script won’t be ideal but it’ll give you something to work with. Keep brainstorming, study your product/service and think about how to highlight the ways in which it can help your viewers. Then, review the draft once again and improve it until you think it’s perfect.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to create amazing explainer video scripts right away, but that’s okay because you need to cut out all the fluff and concentrate on the most important things – benefits, predicted uses, etc. – of the product/service that could be helpful to the viewers.

 

Wrapping Up

Writing compelling and engaging video explainer scripts requires you to apply all the tips described above because they ensure a focus on the viewers’ needs while avoiding wasting their time. Remember, the way to success starts with proper preparation, and you’ve got exactly what you need to prepare right here.

 

Author’s Bio

 

Jessica Fender is a professional writer, independent blogger, and marketing enthusiast. She is passionate about wise team management and self-development as a leader. Featured on Forbes, Freelancer, and Addicted2Success. You can connect with Jessica on Twitter.