The key to creating awesome YouTube videos quickly and efficiently is to script every word you say. In this blog, weâll show you the exact script structure to follow and the top mistakes to avoid in order for you to make YouTube videos like the pros. Letâs get into it.
Whether you are a small business owner showcasing a new product or a social media marketer wanting to showcase your expertise, YouTube can offer a great way to generate free exposure and drive qualified web traffic. In short, YouTube should not be overlooked in your Social Media Marketing Strategy. But with 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, itâs essential your video generates lots of views and likes. This triggers the YouTube algorithm to show your video to more people, leading to even more exposure, more subscribers and more traffic.
And the key to generating lots of engagement? Writing a script for your video!
Why scripting is essential
Before we dive into how to structure your YouTube script, letâs talk about why scripting your video is such a good move.Firstly, writing a script allows you to deliver your message exactly how you want to and make your video awesome. This maximises views, subscribers and web traffic you generate. Without a script, youâll probably forget to say something important or deliver your message in the wrong way.
Scripting allows you to speak in your tone of voice, making the video seem more natural. You tend to say 'um' and 'arr' less, appear far less nervous and maintain a consistency across all your videos. Reading from a script will allow you to speak a bit faster because you donât have to think while youâre speaking. This gives your YouTube videos a better pace and makes you look like you really know what youâre talking about.And finally, youâll find that filming and editing your video is a lot quicker when you use a script!
Using a teleprompter to make YouTube videos
A teleprompter is a reflective screen that displays your script rolling progressively while youâre filming. Teleprompters have been used by newsreaders for decades and now you can use one too. Every single video we make here at Social Media College is scripted.
We use the Glide Gear TMP 100 teleprompter, which is about $200 to $300, a digital SLR camera and a tripod. Your camera shoots through the reflective glass that shows your script. This means youâre looking directly down the camera and no one will be able to tell youâre reading from a script.
All you have to do is load your script onto a smartphone or tablet with a teleprompter app and place it in front of the teleprompter. We use the Parrot app, but thereâs loads of apps that do the job.If youâve never done it before it will be a little awkward the first time, but donât worry, itâs really simple and youâll get the hang of it in no time. All the pros do it when they make YouTube videos, so you should too.
How to structure your YouTube scripts
So how do you structure your script to make YouTube videos like the pros? The key is to carefully structure your scripts in a way that captures the attention of the audience and compels them to watch to the very end. As a general rule for most videos, your script should be broken down to four key components:
1. A Hook
The first component is the hook, just like Captain Hook's or the one on the end of a fishing line.
In todayâs world, people have 'nano-second' attention spans and theyâre going to decide in the first 5 seconds whether theyâre going to watch your video ⌠or not.For this reason, itâs essential to provide a short, sharp and catchy beginning that describes what your video will be about and why they should watch it.Ideally, you should include a curiosity hook that creates intrigue with the audience and compels them to watch until the end to find out the answer.And on that, hereâs a few mistakes to avoid when writing your hook:â  Donât start by introducing yourself - this wonât catch their attention and will result in less views.â  Donât write a misleading hook - theyâll get annoyed and may dislike your video, which is bad for the algorithm.â  Donât have a long hook - keep is less than 10 seconds, ideally 5 to 8. Yes, YouTube is a game of seconds and every second counts.
2. An Intro
After the hook, include a short intro. Tell them who you are, what you do and why you are an authority on the topic. This will build trust and authority with your audience and give them the validation to keep watching.Let's have a look at what I would say:'Hi my name is Jonathon Tanner and Iâm the CEO and CoFounder of Social Media College, as well as a co-author of the Diploma of Social Media Marketing, Australiaâs only formal qualification for social media marketing.'
The rest of your intro should set the scene for the video. Include a bit more information about what your video will contain and why itâs important that the viewer knows it. This will give them even more reason to get to the end of the video!
3. The Body
After the intro comes the body of your video where you deliver the bulk of your video content. Ideally, structure it into parts so that it is easy for viewers to follow and understand. Think of what the main message of your video is, and try to divide that into multiple chapters or themes. Thereâs no right or wrong approach here. The body of your video will depend on the topic and whether youâre trying to educate, entertain or inspire your audience. A useful structure to follow can be to:
- Describe the problem and solution
- Outline the benefits of the solution
- Describe how to implement the solution
Remember that youâre trying to keep people watching. Higher video completions tells the YouTube algorithm that your video is valuable and it should be shown to more people.
4. The Conclusion
After the body you want to have a short conclusion that sums up your video. So your conclusion might be something like this:âOk to sum up everything youâve learned, make sure you script all YouTube videos. The script should have a hook at the very beginning, a short introduction, the body of your video, and then a conclusion summing it all up.âToo easy!
5. The Closing Call to Action
The final component is to include a call-to-action (or CTA) to invite people who make it to the end to take the next step. This can include watching another one of your videos, subscribing to your channel and visiting your website. If someone watches all the way to the end of your video, theyâve probably found it helpful and entertaining, and will want to see more of your videos in the future. So make sure you ask them to subscribe to your channel and click the bell icon so theyâre immediately notified when your post a new video. Â Go on then, subscribe to the Social Media College channel and hit that bell icon. Do it. ?
And donât be afraid to ask your viewers to do more than one thing. You can say something like:'If you found this video useful please like the video and click on the link in the description for more handy tips. Go on, do that too.'
Conclusion
As the saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail and this is especially true when making YouTube videos. The key is to carefully plan and structure your scripts in a way that captures the attention of the audience and compels them to keep watching and wanting more. Remember, you only have a few seconds to hook em, so make it count. We hope you learned something new today and that now you too can make YouTube videos like the pros and ultimately grow your business faster.
