How to Write a Better Script for Your Animated Video

Businesses of all sizes are embracing video marketing in an effort to get their message out there, and they’ve found that it’s also a powerful way to get their content in front of as many eyeballs as possible. In fact, approximately 50 percent of YouTube users watch business related videos on the site every week!

However, that means everybody is incorporating video into their marketing strategies, and the web is being flooded with boring, lengthy, and non-engaging videos. Many of these videos simply regurgitate what has already been said in a lengthy, complex blog post, which ultimately cause the audience to lose interest.

So what can your brand do to differentiate itself from the boring and monotonous videos that many of your competitors are putting together? Try taking advantage of animated video. While there are a number of ways that animated videos can help you to promote your business, shorter videos are ideal for animation and work great with your content marketing.

But before you jump into it, avoid the pitfall of making a lengthy and non-engaging video by following these tips for writing a better script:

Define the focus of your video.
This should really be done prior to crafting your script, and it should address exactly what the purpose of your video will be and how an animated video can help you to best accomplish your goals. Some important questions you may ask yourself during this stage include who your target audience is for the video, what their pain points are, and how your product or service can resolve these issues. While not everything will need to be included in your script, you’ll have an easier time narrowing down the information necessary to effectively communicate your message in video.

Determine length by word count.
Bullet-pointing your ideas is a great place to start and can help you outline a better script. After you’ve formed those bullet points into complete sentences, time yourself reading the script out-loud. Add about 10-15 seconds to the total length and that’s about how long your animated video will be. However, keep in mind that longer doesn’t always mean better. In the case of video, people’s attention spans are continuing to dwindle. You should utilize video to communicate something in a more condensed way than if it were read. While your script will be short, keep in mind that you will have plenty of visual and audible elements from the animated video to get your point across.

Try telling a story.
By telling a story, you can set the right tone for your animated video. Write your script with this in mind and try to make it conversational and in a language that your audience will understand. Avoid industry jargon that you may only use internally or with vendors and try to simplify the message with the assumption that if the viewer is interested, they’ll get the rest of the information they need, if any, from your website, landing page, or literature. Doing this can make for a memorable experience for your viewers resulting in more completed playthroughs.

Taking the time to prepare a better script will help when creating an animated video for your business. If you need some extra help, be sure to send us a note. Our team can help you put together a better script for an animated video that actually works.