Category: Explainer video script

 

Write a better explainer video script with help from Microsoft Office

by

explainer video script

The scariest moment in explainer video script development is when the page is blank. The visualization technique suggested here can help you get going and keep you on track.

An explainer video script for a technology solution is an “elevator pitch.” It says what needs to be said in a way calculated to win over a prospect in the course of an imagined elevator ride to the executive suite.

“SmartArt” is not as dumb as I thought it was

explainer video script

Forget about what this looks like. No one else need ever see it. This simple visualization can help you structure your script and make sure you tick all the right boxes. Here’s a tutorial (which I needed) on using Office SmartArt.

I’ve been ignoring this clip-arty feature for years, but I’ve recently discovered a use for the “Smart Art Graphic” selection in the Microsoft Office “Insert” menu.  Turns out, It can be very helpful in constructing explainer video scripts for marketing technology solutions.

There’s certainly no aspect of “Art” in what I do with Smart Art.

 

Start at the end: with a good video call-to-action

by

Actions speak louder than words

Figuring out exactly what you want the viewer to do after watching your video can help you determine what content to put into the video.

Getting a target audience up to speed on what your product or solution or service can do for them is something video can do very efficiently. But in the world of B2B technology and enterprise solutions — a world where “add to shopping cart” has no meaning — the audience has clicked through to your website and its videos because they already know what you do. They want to know more about how you can help them.

Your video has two objectives, then: 1) provide credible information the viewer wants; 2) get the viewer to take an action that propels him or her along the path to a sale, or, toward a favorable vote in a committee buying decision. This seems obvious, but it’s nonetheless a fact that the video’s call-to-action is often the last thing marketers decide on, after they’re done arguing over which messages will and will not be included in the video.

Here are a few examples that show how upending this process — designing the content around a good video call-to-action — might improve the content and get more action.

 

Common mistakes when condensing information into a 2-minute video

by

1. Saying what goes without saying

Promises such as “increased productivity” and “lower costs” are tough to deal with because they are among the benefits of technology in general, and all B2B technology products I can think of promise them. On the other hand, if those are the main benefits, you cannot not mention them.

But if you’re aware that you’re dealing with what goes without saying, you’ll put more effort into graphics and animation. Showing specific costs being knocked down, or employees reassigned to more mission-critical work (e.g., from maintenance to develop and test) is more interesting and persuasive than mere talk about productivity and savings.

2. Telling people what they already know

Let’s say your target audience is compliance officers. The last thing they need to hear is that the consequences of ineffective compliance include loss of company reputation, customers taking business elsewhere, failed audits, heightened regulatory oversight, fines, penalties, and possibly people going to jail.