Category Archives: Video

Writing an Explainer Video Script that Sells: Wow Your Customers With Words

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Video script writing can be easy and fun and these few tips will help get you started in writing a script that engages viewers and prompts them to take action! Before you get started writing there are two important steps you should take:

Identify the goal of your video.
Write a short sentence describing exactly what you want the viewer to do after watching the video; buy a product, sign up for your newsletter, or click a link for more information. Every word needs to keep this goal in mind.

Imagine a target viewer.
Speak to the person in your script. Create an image in your mind of who you intend to watch your video. Who is he or she? What are his or her needs, problems, and values? Where might he or she be viewing your video – at home or at the office? Why might she be viewing your video?

Now that you’ve outlined your goals and described your target viewer, you can begin organizing your script into six sections.

1. Introduce the story
Once-upon-a-time

 

 

 

 

 

All videos are about telling a story – even “how-to” videos. Ideally, the story is all about a person with a specific set of problems and how you can help them. Begin a dialogue with your viewer about whatever your imaginary viewer needs or values. You only have between 8 and 10 seconds to capture your viewer’s attention, so you need to connect with your viewer right away. Though watching a video is a one sided process for your viewer, you can create the feeling of personal interaction by speaking directly to him or her as if you were right there making the presentation yourself. Remember your imagined viewer.

Be personal and likable. Ask questions of your viewer to help him or her focus their attention on the problem. If you get your viewer thinking: “Yes, I do have that problem or “Yes, I do need that”, you are on your way. Use personal pronouns wherever possible – you and your. Even if your video is being viewed by a group, each viewer will experience it as an individual.

2. Introduce your offer
Tell your company’s story by explaining why you developed your product or service and why you made this video. Keep this short – your audience might not care who you are until they understand how you can help them with whatever problem or need you just described. Engage your viewer’s emotion rather than their intellect. The purpose of a 2 minute video isn’t to present a lesson in history; it is just to elaborate on a small piece of that history.

3. Describe your product’s features and benefits
Make a short bullet point list of the benefits and features you can offer. What are the features of your product which specifically solve the problem of your target viewer? Four to six bullet points will get the message across without overloading the viewer with information. Try to avoid specific facts and figures in this section – focus on the benefits that your viewer will receive by taking an action. If facts and figures are needed, choose those which reiterate the benefits of your product to your prospect. Explain how these features will help the viewer solve a specific problem he or she is experiencing.

4. Establish credibility and trust by answering objections
trust

Describe particular features of your product which set it apart from the competitors. This is a good place to use a few compelling facts about your product or service as well as to establish trust by demonstrating your understanding of your audience’s needs. Answer 1 or 2 major objections that your target viewer might have. You know by now what objections your prospects usually come up with, even if the only objection might be: “Why should I spend 120 seconds of my time to view your video piece?” Answering objections demonstrates to your viewer that you understand their concerns.

5. Make an initial call to action
Though it may seem obvious to you what the goal of your video is, it may not be so obvious to your viewer. Even if it is, you still need to tell your prospect exactly what he or she needs to do next. So tell them and be specific – don’t be shy about it either.

Some of specific calls to action are: “Click here for more information”, “To be contacted by a representative, please enter your email address below”, etc. Be aware of the exact location on the web page where the video box will appear. Is the link to the side of, within, or below the video box? Web viewers generally don’t like to search a web page for action boxes. The easier to find, the more likely they will use it.

6. Leverage customer testimonials
If you have testimonials or clients who use your service, mention these after your initial call to action. Letting your prospect know who else has benefited from your product or service lends credibility and establishes trust. If you have specific names of clients, be sure that you have their permission to use them as a reference. Thank your viewer for watching and repeat your call to action.

Once you get started, the hardest part of writing a video script is keeping it short – edit, edit, edit. Two minutes goes by very quickly. Stay focused on the goal of the video, focus on key benefits, and present a clear call to action. Have fun with it. Your viewer will enjoy watching your video more if they sense that you had fun making it. Follow these easy steps and your video will be its way toward achieving its intended goal.

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Why Adding Video Increases Leads on Your Landing Page

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You spend hours refining and testing, trying to create the perfect landing page. You change call to action button colors, change font sizes and update headlines but is any of this paying off with a meaningful increase in your conversion rate? Probably not. As you know, consumers give you only seconds to wow them or they’re “out of there,” on to the next page.

Your website must grab those visitors, pull them in, and keep them there long enough to communicate your message.  Video is a great way to do this. If you aren’t adding video to your landing pages you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

Here’s why….

 

1. You’re lazy, I’m lazy, we’re all lazy

People are lazy

Let’s face it, when the average person looks at a page of text, that person’s first thought is something along the lines of, “This looks like a lot of work.” A study found that the average web browser reads only 20% to 28% percent of text on a webpage. If you’re spending all your time typing away to fill your page with text, that means 72% to 80% of those words are a waste of your time.

Just as most would rather wait for a movie to come out than read the book it’s based on, your site visitors would much rather kick back and watch a short video than read hundreds of words. In fact, a study from RISMedia found that six out of seven people would rather watch a video than read text. But even that has its limits. Those same lazy people are impatient, leaving you with only a few seconds to let them know your video is worth watching. This means that even your video must be kept short. Clearly articulating the main points at the beginning of the video is vital to keeping the user engaged.

2. Everyone loves a good story

Stories sell because they help humanize products and services. Think about the effective sales people you’ve come in contact with. Whether they’ve sold you something or you work with them, the good ones always have the gift of storytelling. On the web the most effective way to tell a story and humanize your products is to leverage the power of video.

A good video tells a story, not only explaining how a product or service works but WHY it matters. Explainer videos have become popular in recent years because they help to personally connect viewers with a brand. And since explainer videos are designed to communicate a concept within one to two minutes, they are ideal for short attention spans.

3. Sticky gum on your shoe is bad; a sticky website is good 

Sticky website is good

Google can bring customers to your website, but only you can keep them there. We’ve all clicked onto a website, taken a cursory glance around, and backed the heck out of there before we wasted another second of our time. You should have the same respect for your site visitors’ time as you have for your own.

The goal with any landing page is to create a “sticky” website. Research from Comscore shows that videos give consumers a reason to stick around. In fact, ComScore research has found that video keeps site visitors on your landing page two minutes longer than average. Those visitors are also 64 percent more likely to purchase than other website guests. If your video provides information that is relatable and relevant, you’ll up your chances of landing a new customer.

4. The SEO benefits are substantial

In the new era of Google Panda, keywords are no longer ruling search results. Good, quality content has taken over and your videos add to your site’s value when search engines crawl your site. According to Forrester Research, your site is 53 times more likely to appear on page one of search results if you have video on your website. Not only will a video increase your site’s ranking, you’ll have the added benefit of your site showing up in video searches for your topic. Combining your video with small sections of text on your landing page will help increase search engine exposure.

5. Video can differentiate you from competitors

Take a look at your competitors’ websites. What sets them apart? Or, maybe more appropriate, what is it that makes their site look just like any other landing page? Many companies are using the same landing page templates that you are. Imagine that your potential customers are seeing the same thing, and then clicking over to your website. Will yours just blend in with all the others?

Videos can make your page stand out. Luckily for you, many companies have yet to realize the power of video. At least for now, this gives you an edge.  But this won’t always be the case. Chances are your competitors aren’t far behind you, meaning you need to act fast to take exploit this opportunity.

But before you start putting ideas together for your great new video, begin researching options for a high-quality, professional video. Some businesses have found animated videos can be less expensive, while still being attention-grabbing. As video has become more popular on websites, more businesses are offering affordable video options for businesses like yours.

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New Features!

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We’re excited to announce some great new features. You’ve told us you want more flexibility and that’s what we’re providing. On the edit text step you now have full editing functionality and can change the font type, size, color and style. For a full rundown of the new features check out the short demo video below.

As always, we’d love to hear your feedback in the comments.

 

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3 reasons why you needed video on your site yesterday

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You needed video on your site and you needed it yesterday. If these three reasons don’t convince you I don’t know what will.

The SEO benefits of video are substantial
Google loves video these days. And whatever Google loves, you should love it to :). In fact, according to a recent Forrester Research report, your site is 53 times more likely to appear on page 1 of Google’s search results if you have video on your website. Videos now display individually and generally ‘above the fold’ in Google search results. And often they’re displayed with a thumbnail image which makes it more likely to be clicked. It’s also easier to rank higher in Google search results with video than it is with traditional content. This is because there’s generally less video content around a given topic than there is blog posts and articles. This means it’s easier for your video to rank higher in the results.

Your conversion rate will surely increase
Generally, people prefer video over reading. Why? Because people are lazy (not you, other people). Video is easier and more interesting to consume than plain text. And there’s a ton of data to back this up. Here’s one example: A recent Comscore study found that site visitors who view video stay two minutes longer on average and are 64% more likely to purchase than other site visitors.

Human Brains are hardwired for video
Science shows that humans are visual learners. In fact people retain 68% more information from watching video than from reading text. If communicating through video can increase the understanding of your content by almost 70%, adding video to your site seems like a no brainer (pun intended), doesn’t it?

Convinced yet that you need video? For making it this far we’re offering $25 off a Video Rascal video. Just use the code LAUNCHDEAL.

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