Production Opinion South Africa

Easing the pain of creating video content

The latest marketing stats on the use of video to sell products and services estimate that 72% of people prefer video over text to learn more.
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Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash.

Whether this is accurate or not, I think we all get it ... video works and most marketers have worked hard to incorporate video, especially on the landing page of their websites where video content right upfront can increase enquiries and conversion rates by up to 86%.

But ... creating video content is hard!

Despite the hugely positive impact of video marketing and the range of tools available online for video creation, in a recent survey, 64% of marketers reported that they see video as the most difficult content to create.

23% said they don't use video advertising as they simply don't have the time to make videos, with 21% claiming they didn't know where to start. Only 9% of the respondents felt they didn't need to use video content at all.

So it seems like we all get it ... video is king, but creating content is a very real stumbling block.

So how can we ease the pain ... find a therapist!

Actually he or she is a professional scriptwriter! You've probably been mulling over your video content for a while and the real challenge now is figuring out what is essential content and what can be left out. Do you really need all the detail if you simply want to get people interested and excited to the point where they click a link or pick up the phone?

Like a therapist ... a good scriptwriter will ask the right questions to extract the key points you need the video to land and will find a creative way to package your message as a compelling story. There is also no point in throwing all your budget at production values if you do not have a great script as your foundation. In a world force-fed with information, there's no guarantee that just because someone clicked play, they'll watch your video right to the end. Your script needs to hook the audience and keep them watching.

I see three key advantages of using a professional scriptwriter

  1. External perspective - provides an external sounding board that avoids the trap of an internally focused video
  2. Creates focus and structure - a scriptwriter will create a strong structure to the project with objectives defined.
  3. Cost savings - involving a scriptwriter results in a final approved script that reduces the risk of constant edits and project creep.

So yes ... creating great video content is hard ... but with the support of a scriptwriter, you can make the process a great deal easier.

About Mary-Clare Tomes

Mary-Clare Tomes is the founder of TVinaCard Video Brochures, South Africa's leading creator of video brochures. We can offer advice and guidance on how to integrate video brochures into your campaigns.
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