5 Tips for the Perfect Script for Social Media Video
A script for your social media video content differs greatly from scripts meant for corporate video or video ads, where you promote your services and services directly. Users on social media are increasingly getting more annoyed with advertisements and want to consume something that is valuable to them – something they would like, bookmark or share. This is why content marketers spend time researching their audience and build brand personas – it helps them find out exactly what types of content their target audience want to consume most.
Content marketing comes in many forms and it is in recent years where content marketers find value in bringing text and images to life with videos.
We have 5 tips for you to write a script for your next social media video!
“Traditional marketing talks at people. Content marketing talks with them.”
– Doug Kessler, Founder of Velocity Partners
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Tip 1: Keep your script short
People’s attention spans are getting shorter and shorter.
Let’s get this straight: social media is not a place where people seek long-form videos.
Videos on social media usually perform better when they are short. Many platforms show a preview of the duration of the full video which can put off some viewers who do not have the luxury of time to watch it fully.
So, the question remains: how short is short?
Microsoft states that “the average human being now has an attention span of 8 seconds”.
With that said, an optimal duration for social media videos stands at 30 seconds. This means, your script should be 60 words at most!
If you use that to establish what’s important to them, you can effectively create a need for them to watch your social media video.
Tip 2: Make a strong opening
A good hook at the beginning of the video captures your audience.
Referring to the quote again by Microsoft, we know that short attention spans translate to attention lost when we do not gain their interest in the first few seconds of the video.
The first few seconds are the most important in determining the view rates of your video.
A strong opening could be an intriguing fact, or relatable question, in the form of dynamic typography, footage of audio tracks that keeps their eyes peeled. At least, enough to continue watching till the end of the video.
So remember to keep the opening strong! Even if you have a fantastic video with valuable content, potential viewers might skip it when they don’t get hooked on by the first few seconds.
Tip 3: Keep sentences short
Short sentences are easily consumable and conversational.
By posting up a social media video, you are speaking to your audience as a brand – be it a personal brand or a business. You have a persona, and a voice – and conversations can happen through that. On social media, that’s what an audience needs to build a relationship or trust with your brand.
You might not need to be as thorough as you need in a white paper or academic journal, but a social media video has to be as conversational as possible. This is why you should keep sentences short and possibly build a rhythm around the short sentences.
A video script for social media might need to be rewritten from a website or brochure, but it is well-worth the effort.
Tip 4: Structure your script
Create topical and relatable ideas around a main solution.
With the tips from before, you might be ready to type out your content now but before that – look into structuring your script! This is a common pitfall with social media videos, where the content is not aligned to what your consumers want.
Think of it as having a topical ideas around a main solution or problem that your product and service can solve.
Map out types of short-form content that brings a strong correlation to your audience’s lives.
For example:
- quizzes,
- listicles,
- quotes,
- statistics and
- gamification surrounding a chosen theme.
Tip 5: State a call-to-action
The more specific you are in your call-to-action, the better.
Most of your viewers will be likely to remember the opening and the ending of your video better – that’s just how the brain works.
A good call-to-action will appear to provide value to the average viewer. Here are some good examples of call-to-actions you can consider:
- Get Free Trial
- Start Free Demo
- Receive Free Audit
- Download Now
- Schedule 1:1 Consultation
Do note: there are no clickable links in a video now, so keep your URLs short. If you have to have long URLs, you can consider shorteners like Bit.ly! Otherwise, there is also an option of generating your own QR code to be placed in the video. The tools are all free!
Just like a strong opening, you need a strong closing too.
Questions?
Let us know if you’d like to get the gears running by scheduling a consultation with us to write your first script. Otherwise, put on your thinking hat for the scriptwriting session. VideoBlast.io can help you bring these scripts to life in the form of social media videos.
Boost your content marketing: let us create videos worth sharing for you.
P.S. We have this guide in a PDF format if you’d like to save it or share it around!