Your video script will dictate the success of your animated video.  If the script doesn’t engage your target customers, your video will fail to meet its goals, not matter how good it looks.  Here are 4 key elements that must be included if you want your message to spread effectively.

1. Know what your audience are thinking

In the 1930’s, marketing expert Robert Collier coined the phrase ‘enter the conversation in your prospect’s head’.

Do you already have a clear picture of your ideal customer’s wants, needs, fears and worries?

What are they thinking when they go shopping? What keeps them awake at night? What do they (or their spouse) want above all else? What problem are they finding it difficult to overcome? What kind of language are they using when thinking about their problems?

Once you have a good idea of what you ideal customer is thinking, it will be much easier to build your video to tackle their wants and concerns and make them think about your business: ‘Hey, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for!’

2. Problem Before Solution (if you’re not already a household name)

The viewer needs to relate to your ‘reason for being’ before they will want to buy from you. In order to do that, start by focusing on the problem that your product or service solves. The first 10 seconds of your video are key, because if the viewer doesn’t relate to what is being said, they are more likely to click away.

This is much more important if your business isn’t yet a household name.  It’s interesting to see that Dropbox’s first explainer video in 2009 started by addressing common problems due to not having access to all the stuff that you need (e.g. going shopping and realising that you’d left your wallet at home) then relating this to the benefits of an online file storage system, whilst this explainer video, produced in 2015, opens with ‘Dropbox is the place for all your stuff’.

Because most people online are already aware of Dropbox, and the idea of an online file storage system is more common than in 2009, their second explainer video was created to build on the brand following that was initially grown to over 100 Million users with the help of their original explainer video.

3. Engage, Educate, Entertain

The 3 ‘Must Have’ ingredients of any explainer video. First, it must engage your ideal customer by talking to them directly and addressing their problems or needs, then educate them either via a story or through a clear, concise explanation why your product or service is a perfect fit for them. This message should be portrayed in an entertaining way, with fun or exciting visuals (easy if you’re having a professional explainer video produced) and some humour unless you have a rather serious message to get across.

4. Compelling Call to Action

At the end of your video, tell the viewer how to take the next step to find out more about what you do. The greater the benefit to them, the more likely they will take it. Are you offering a free consultation, a free trial of your service, a free report, or an online survey to help them discover the perfect solution to their problem? Simply directing them to your website still works, but you’ll get more enquiries if you have something of value to offer.

At Cartoon Media, our professional scriptwriters include all of the above keys and more in our production process.

If you’d like to find out more about how a whiteboard animation video by Cartoon Media can benefit your business, contact us for a free consultation here.

Think Picture By ACU Library