This is an article “How to Write Scripts for Your Social Media Posts” by Marc Primo
If you need to boost your online traffic in no time, video is simply the way to go. There's just no other digital marketing tactic that creates optimum results at minimal costs. And with plenty of available apps that can help you produce content, it can be that easy to push your brand way ahead of the competition… or at least, it seems that way.
One thing you have to wrap your head around when embarking on a video strategy for social media is that most netizens have short attention spans, or simply view videos for a few seconds and move on to the next. Another factor is how 85% of social media videos are being viewed daily with the volume turned off.
Focusing on producing great content starts with writing a great video script that can capture the interest of your target audience. While writing can be a stumbling block for some, knowing the unique selling points of your brand, addressing your followers’ pain points and interests, and creating a coherent outline of what message you want to send them may just be enough to give your videos decent social media mileage.
Make an outline of your story
The first step in drafting a video script is knowing a topic like the back of your hand and ensuring that it will capture your audience’s attention. Effective storytelling usually uses the Hero’s Journey formula, which is quite effective in social media these days. The formula lets your subject undergo a cycle of awareness that allows him to overcome a challenge and achieve a 180-degree transformation.
First, create a one-liner synopsis of your script then make an outline using the Hero’s Journey formula. You can simply do this by writing from your audience’s perspective and making it as simple as possible so they can easily catch your hook.
Keep it short
Aside from making your script easy to understand, apply the ‘KISS’ method (keep it short and simple). As stated earlier, today’s online users have the attention span of a five-year old, so make sure you present your opening scene in a way that it immediately grabs your audience’s attention within the first few seconds of the video.
While writing your script, avoid writing long sentences and make every word count, regardless if your statements will be delivered via text or narration. Usually, social media videos are more effective if they do not exceed 140 seconds.
Ask yourself why you need to send a message
Remember that one-liner synopsis we talked about? Use it to create a good hook that will establish recall among your audience and show it within the first few frames of your script. Don’t try to be cryptic and always go straight to the point when conveying your message and captivating viewers with your visuals.
Speaking of visuals, make sure that everything you write in your script follows the audio-video lock rule, wherein what is being said per frame is consistent with what is shown on screen. This keeps your story coherent and enables your message to be delivered more effectively.
Make a storyboard
Once you’ve written down your video script in table form, create a simple storyboard that will give your editor a clear idea of how the visuals are gonna play out on screen along with the recorded audio or layered text. There’s no need to hire a pro artist here; crude images will do just fine. All your storyboard needs to accomplish is deliver a coherent sequence of statements and visuals that will stir your viewers’ imagination.
With a storyboard ready, the only thing left to do is shoot the images, edit the sequences, and master your videos to file. Creating actual videos from ink and paper is not that difficult if you are passionate about what you want to tell your audiences. These days, all it takes is a decent smartphone, natural light, and a tripod to produce videos that are fit for social media. It can actually be a lot of fun too, plus it can definitely help you boost your digital marketing efforts more than any other digital marketing tactic.
If you want to know more about Marc Primo Pulisci and Digital Marketing click here.