Tags – Driving Action on Videos
Videos are not just a technical or creative act.
Videos need to prompt engagement; and then action.
In particular, just like any other form of content, you want people to consume the content either to the full or to the point where you prompt them for an action at least.
Here are 3 things you need to consider when you want action to be taken with your video marketing efforts.
Should You Script?
I am assuming that you will be taking one of the following routes when making a video:
- You will show your face
- You will not show your face
- And for the sake of completion: a mix of both showing your face and not showing your face.
Well, technically, that covers all possibilities.
Now, with not showing your face, you 100% need a script. Because without a script, there is almost no way you are going to get your message across as effectively as possible, unless you are a master public speaker.
With videos where you show your face, you can go either way. Because of a bigger emphasis on how you say things in front of the camera, you have the option to both have a script and rehearse it, or have a general idea of what you are going to say and go for it.
In our case, we have managed to combine the two options, while showing our faces on camera. We do write a script because that is the most effective way to keep the topics flowing, especially when there is more than one person involved. Plus, by having a script, we can eliminate the chance of one person stepping on the toes of the other, and the whole process goes smoothly.
However, our scripts, even though written sentence by sentence, are there just to keep the topic on track. Most of the time, we don’t even say exactly what has been put down; we grab the gist of what needs to be said and then convey it in a natural manner. This is because written language is generally different from the spoken language, making it slightly superficial when it’s read word for word.
In addition, I write the script, while there is at least 1 other person on the video with me; sometimes two. If they were just reading what I have written, in my tone, it would not look natural. For a video to have the right impact, you need the message to be conveyed in a manner that’s clearly coming from the person speaking; not just some words on a piece of paper.
And finally, if you are going to have a mix on your videos where you take the option of both showing your face in places and not in others, then you definitely need a mix of scripting and some freestyling.
The change here is: you need to make sure that the two areas flow well. Otherwise, it sounds like the same person is in two different moods in a single video.
Stick to Your Message
This point is important when your video is relatively longer.
If your video is a couple of minutes long, you make your point and you get off.
However, if you are making a video, let’s say: over 5 minutes long, you need to keep mentioning the aim of the video in different ways.
For instance, we did a video on “converting leads into clients”. The video has 8 steps that we use to convert. However, we kept mentioning the end goal with sentences like: if you want to improve your chances of converting a lead; even if you convert this kind of a person; once you know who you are targeting for conversion etc.
As you can see, we are not using the exact words in the topic; however, we are still keeping the focus on what is the goal.
Psychologically speaking, doing so maintains a sense of continuity and what’s at stake.
You can watch that video, here:
Words, Words, Words
Again, this applies more to long form content.
Imagine, you are doing educational content on a topic, and the whole video is a continued stream of words: do you think your audience will capture the whole info and take action? Probably not.
It’s like watching a National Geographic documentary without any footage. Chances are, no one wants to watch that.
Same goes with your videos: don’t just talk about things, show them too.
In addition, it’s just beneficial to break down the monotony of a video and throw in some elements that make the whole experience more visual.
We have another example here: this is our shortest video and we have still included multiple little pieces to make the message flow better:
To learn more, get in touch with us today.
In the meantime, please check our digital marketing services to find out how we can help.
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