Emily White 
Social media videos should be a key component of any company’s social media strategy. Video content is dynamic, engages current and new audiences, and allows your brand to tell a story outside of a few hundred characters. Sprout Social recently reported that videos on Instagram receive 49% more engagement than static photos.
For these same reasons, videos are also an important component of a thought leadership strategy. Social media videos give your expert additional visibility, increase SEO, and public speaking practice.
Writing a succinct video script is the first step to ensuring your spokesperson is prepared, relaxed on camera, and able to get their key messages across in strict timeframes. A few tips are outlined below to help you get started:
1. Start with “Why”
Social media videos need to hook audiences within the first few seconds. There is so much competition on social media platforms and you only have a moment to gain your viewer’s attention before they move on. We recommend a quick introduction and explanation of what the audience will learn.
For example:
“Hi, I’m Emily from Maven, and today we’re discussing social media video script writing.”
Simple and straightforward is key.
2. Outline Your Questions and Takeaways
Spokespersons often have a ton of information they want to get across in a very short timeframe. We recommend social media videos be 30-60 seconds, and it can be difficult to distill your key messaging into these tight parameters.
A good place to start is identifying the top two to three most important questions you want to answer on the subject. For each question, identify the key takeaway for your audience and build out the script and storyboard from there.
Having colleagues review and edit the script also helps cut down on unnecessary information.
3. Final Recap and Call to Action
Conclude your video with key takeaways you want your viewer to leave with.
The video should also end with a strategic call to action.
This is one of the most important elements of a successful thought leadership video and can include visiting a website, following the spokesperson on Twitter, or reaching out via email.
4. Practice
Make sure your spokesperson practices and reads the content out loud and in front of a mirror so they are comfortable with how they look and sound.
You want the video to feel authentic and sound like the person delivering the messaging.
This is a good opportunity to make tweaks or cut anything that might not align with your spokesperson’s tone of voice.
The Takeaway
We hope the above tips and tricks provide you with an initial outline to write your video script. Also, don’t forget closed captions to ensure your message is accessible!
Developing the right video script for your social media strategy can be challenging, but we’re here to help. Contact us today to get started drafting a script that’s true to your brand and engages with your audience.
For additional info on creating successful social media videos, check out José’s, “Guide to Social Media Organic Video Specs.” You can also read my previous Insight, “We’re Creating a Marketing Video– Now What?“ for on-camera tips.
Posted In Digital Strategy & Social Media, Public Relations