“There’s nothing more powerful in the world than a good story”.
– Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones)
If Tyrion Lannister were a marketer today, he would have been selling good stories using videos. He knows that video is on the throne when it comes to content marketing in 2020 and beyond!
When it comes to showing the value of your product or service in minutes, nothing works as well as explainer videos. After watching an explainer video, a potential customer should be able to graduate from knowing how your product works to understand and explain the essentials to everyone.
But if you do not tell the story well in the script of the video, the outcome can lack winning essentials like direction, cohesion, and the punchline. Scriptwriting for explainer videos is one of the many essential steps in developing an explainer video. However, it is of singular importance in creating explainer videos. Understanding how to write an explainer video script can significantly enhance the final product. Ensuring your video explainer script is engaging and clear is crucial for the video’s success.
Image source: https://www.toolbox-studio.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/explainer-video-user-guide.jpg#process
What Is an Explainer Video Script?
The explainer video script is the skeleton of the entire video in written form. Scriptwriting involves detailed descriptions of how the entire video will start and progress including transitions, characters, dialogues, narration, and backgrounds. A kickass script can result in a compelling video that will make a lasting impression on the viewers
Once you’ve determined the client’s objectives for the explainer video, scriptwriting is the basis for the production process. Knowing how to write an explainer video script screenplay entails creating an engaging tale that transmits the correct information quickly, which is both an art and a science. Scriptwriters play an essential part in this process, ensuring that the video explainer script fully corresponds with the client’s objectives. Effective script writing for explainer videos may be the difference between engaging the audience and conveying a clear, concise message.
A good script is the backbone of your entire video and needs meticulous planning. Divide your script into three parts just like the acts in a play.
- The Opening
Define the problem. Highlight the big pain points to grab the attention of the viewer.
- The Main Body
Explain how your product or service solves the problem. Simply show how you can fix the issue for them!
- The Conclusion
Present the Call to Action (CTA) in this section: what do you expect from the audience? Send a subtle message, showing how you want the viewer to respond, without sounding very promotional.
More Than One Format – Types of Explainer Video Scripts
- Meet Annie
This is a famous and successful script on which many explainer videos have been based. Script writing for explainer videos and creating a sympathetic character, such as Annie, who accurately reflects your target audience—their sector and business, issues, ambitions, goals, and so on—is frequently the first step in producing an explainer video script. Knowing how to write an explainer video script is crucial to connect with the audience. This video explainer script tells the viewer how Annie is battling a similar situation and how your product saves the day for Annie.
- Secret Sauce
In this type of explainer video script, you explain why your offering is a unique solution to the customer’s problem, without beating around the bush. You need to clearly show what technology or part of the solution is the unique selling point (USP) that no other competitor is offering – the secret sauce that makes it happen. Effective script writing for explainer films guarantees your message is short and appealing, transforming the video explainer script into a vital tool for expressing your value proposition.
- Cookie Cutter Solution
This addresses a larger audience and tells your uncommon solution for a common problem. This kind of script works when you know your product or service meets the needs of multiple target audiences. The explainer video script should generalize the subject and show how the problem is solved for as many types of audiences as possible.
Once you have decided on the script’s format, it’s time to exercise your grey cells and start writing it. Let’s dive into the recipe for a hearty, soulful explainer video with secret ingredients that will delight your viewers.
5 Tips for a Kickass Explainer Video Script
1. Keep it short and simple
A voiceover of 160 words per minute is considered ideal. Avoid passive tones in the conversation; keep the dialogue positive, engaging, and to the point. Ensure the age, gender, and interests of the characters suit your business audience. Use timely metaphors and other creative techniques to engage viewers.
2. Deliver the message early and clear
The ideal length of an explainer video is between 45 and 90 seconds. Deal with that dreaded nemesis called limited attention span with short videos and a great opening scene or statement that keeps your viewers hooked.
How do you know if the explainer video script is clear? Here’s a thumb rule – the script should present your main message within the first 30 seconds.
3. Finish well
Your pitch should be presented subtly; your viewers should not feel that you are simply selling your product; prepare and be genuinely interested in offering a solution. Your explainer video should end with an action that viewers can take quickly and without a lot of effort.
4. Use humor if needed
Humor is serious business. It is an ingredient that can make your video touch a chord and keep viewers engaged from the word “Go.” Here’s a unique take:
Using a popular character from Bollywood movies, this animated video explains why GeoGreen is unique and better than cow dung and other compost for improving the quality of the soil. Considering the target audience in mind, i.e., farmers, it uses humor as an essential element to creatively keep the viewers engaged.
5. Stay relevant
Ensure that diction, phrasing and cultural references are used right – they reflect on your business. Context, along with great content, ensures that the video delivers your message to the right person at the right place. Understand your target audience and what their goals and challenges. Set the scene in a place familiar to them. Check out the setting in this video for the tax consultant business, H&R Block.
The video starts with a hassled businessman at an airport struggling to meet statutory GST compliance needs—a familiar setting for many! It then uses infographics and animation to show how GST filings can be done with clarity, speed, and less effort.
Explainer videos are, of course, more than just the script. Read this comprehensive guide to learn about all that goes into making compelling explainer videos.
Why Should You Partner with Professionals for Explainer Videos?
Some businesses might have the bandwidth and the skillsets to work on the entire end-to-end explainer video process. Other businesses are pressed for time and see the need for an experienced team to create high-quality explainer videos; that way, the business can focus on what they do best. In such cases, working with a seasoned video production company makes a lot of sense.
While no one can understand your product or service better than you, we can help you weave a story that will appeal to the right target audience.
Toolbox Studio brings seasoned professionals from different fields to handle the entire process of making that explainer video happen with quick turnarounds and exceptional quality. We have developed and executed many explainer video projects for several industries and verticals. Explore various type of explainer videos – from whiteboard animation to infographics – and more offerings with our explainer video services.
