27 Feb Find your Voice
While it’s vital to have someone who thoroughly understands the concepts of story and, most importantly, narrative structure, behind writing your script, if they’re a third party company engaged to draft your content, it’s equally vital to ensure that you have an appropriate amount of time to review the script and the language to ensure that it is on message, on brand and, most importantly, that it echoes your voice.
It’s easy to think of the concept of “your voice” as a buzz-phrase, it’s so prevalent in any vernacular related to content based marketing – your voice is what makes your content authentic and unique, your voice is the only one that can tell your story, and your voice needs to be heard.
Ultimately, however, all these seemingly disposable platitudes are true, and are important to consider during the script development phase of the video production process. But, when it comes to video content, what does “your voice” actually refer to?
First and foremost, what it doesn’t refer to is making the entire script – and as a result, the video itself – all about you and your business. Of course, you need to talk about your business – that’s a fundamental part of the video – but you need to ensure your script speaks to your audience and doesn’t get bogged down in the minutiae of your operation.
One element of story that connects with your audience on a meaningful level is authenticity. This doesn’t mean you can’t use professional camera equipment, or hire a crew to produce your video, but there needs to be a sense of realness in your content for your story to resonate with your audience, and that starts with the script.
A professional content writer will provide a draft of a script that is well structured and appropriately paced with a comprehensive overview of your business and your offer and – if they’re worth their salt – they will draw on previous discussions and consultation with you and your team about your business. But without your direct input, that initial draft will only ever be an academic framework and not the organic and authentic extension of your business that video content should be.
That’s what inserting the voice of your business and your brand in to your script: the language used should echo the language that represents your brand and connects with your audience; the key points should address your prospects pain points with the unique insight and expertise that only you can provide; and the overall tone and quality of the content should reflect the professionalism and public image of your brand.
Your voice was what built your company, and continually contributes to its success. Your voice is about your culture, and your relationship with your customers and clients. Your voice is about the image you want your brand to be associated with. Your voice is what makes you unique in your industry. When your video content resonates with your voice, it attracts like minded people, qualifies prospects and sows the seeds for valuable relationships.
In short, when it comes to your video content, your voice is one of your biggest assets. Make sure you use it, because otherwise the true value of your business and your brand won’t be communicated, and you’ll miss the mark for your target audience.
Ultimately, professional script development should be a process of collaboration between the business and a third-party scriptwriter. The scriptwriter can provide the most effective structure and style for your narrative to get results, but the real results – forging a meaningful connection with qualified customers – comes from the authenticity that only you can bring to your content.
Trust your scriptwriter to bring that critical insight into story structure to your video content, but make sure your input – and your voice – is heard.