Learn To Write A Corporate Video Script in 7 Easy Steps

Corporate video content is becoming fundamental in how a business communicates with its customers, employees, and client prospects.  In an increasingly digital-reliant age, gone are the days when you could make one brand video and that was enough, today you need to create a suite of video content that engages your target audience across the various touchpoints where they will come into contact with your product or business.

However, with so much to say - it can be hard to know where to begin.  In this guide, we will help you focus and streamline your communication to write a corporate video script that is on-brief, on-brand, and delivers business results.

1.  Write a corporate video brief.

Before you can even start putting pen to paper and writing your script you need to be clear on your business objectives and why you are making video content. 

Ask yourself some of these key questions to focus your mind.

• What problem are you seeking to resolve for you or your audience?
• Who are your ideal customers and the audience you are seeking to engage?
• What are their needs or challenges that you are seeking to solve?
• What do you want them to ideally do after watching your video content?
• What is your singular core message that will form the thread of your video?
• What do they need to hear?
• What is the value to them?
• What social media channels do your audience use?

It's so important to understand the audience you are targeting the video content at.  Is it a specific demographic? Ask yourself, and those you work closely with, what are your audience's common questions or barriers - as your video content script should be aimed squarely at answering their questions in their tone of voice.

Check out our article on how to write a video production brief for more information or alternatively get in touch and we can help guide you through the video production process including script writing.

2.  Map your key messages.

Once you've defined your video content objectives and the singular core message that will form the basic thread of the corporate video you need to write down all the statements that will help you communicate this story and show the value you offer to your audience. 

This will involve the video project stakeholders sitting down together and writing down the key messages and benefits that help convey the singular core message. 

It's important to note however that with video content, less is always more, so make sure you streamline this list down to the most valuable messages for your audience giving space to each one, making your video content more digestible and memorable. Think about your brand and how to build trust in your company.

You can then structure these statements into a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end providing a natural flow and storyline to your video. The goal is to engage audiences.

3.  Write the way people speak.

Video content works best when it connects with your audience so it's important that you speak like a human.  A corporate video isn't about you, it's about your audience and conveying your business to that audience, so write from their perspective in a personable voice.

When thinking about the words, scrap the corporate lingo and meaningless jargon and use simple relaxed, conversational language.  Cut any complex sentence structures, and replace them with short, dynamic, punchy statements that are easy for your audience to understand and retain.

4.  Get to the point.

Audience attention spans are dropping every year so to capture their attention your video content needs to be short and to the point.  The average online video comes in around 1-2 minutes, which equates to between 150 – 340 words.  However, this may differ across the different social media platforms which all have their own upper limits in terms of video length that can be uploaded.  Therefore, it's crucial to have clarity at the video briefing stage where you plan to distribute your video content online.

In any case, you need to cut any meaningless drivel and hook your audience within the first 8 seconds of video content, showing them what's in it for them and giving them a reason to hang around and continue watching. Maybe consider including a good story to help get your point across and capture your audience's attention.

5.  Read your video script aloud.

Words written on a page will always sound different when read aloud, so the easiest way to hear how your video script will sound to your audience is to read it out loud.  We would recommend that all stakeholders involved in the video project sit down together to each read the script in their own natural voice.   

Listen to how each person reads the script, are they reading it differently with varying inflexion points?  If so, why?  Does this part of the script need to be clarified or reworded?  Is there a natural, logical flow to the script in terms of its structure and wording?  Are the words easy to read and would they influence you to follow through on your desired action?

6.  Time your script

The script will determine the length of your video content so it's important that you time yourself when reading aloud.  This will give you a good indication as to whether you need to add content or cut it down.  A longer script will mean a longer video which will have a direct result on post-production and cost.

7.  Get your video script signed off by all stakeholders.

Before a video can commence production, the script must be fully signed off by all invested parties and decision-makers.  It's important to ensure that everyone is happy with the script and that it delivers against the initial objectives set out in your video production brief and clearly communicates your core message and call to action in an engaging and interesting way.  It will also save on costly re-shoots or re-edits further down the line if one stakeholder is unhappy.

How can we help.

As your video production partner, we have years of experience partnering with our clients on writing scripts from scratch or helping them to edit down their scripts into an engaging format that will work against a visual narrative.  Get in touch to see how we can help you create a video script that delivers results.