Stuck on a script for your promo video?
You are shooting a promo video, what should the format for the script be? To Sal, this is the meat of everything you’re doing. Sal says there’s four things he needs, things he thinks you have to hit in every script:
- Intro who you are. Why do I care?
- What problem are you solving?
- How do you plan on solving that problem?
- A call to action.
These become the bones of your script. Once you understand this formula, you are going to see every late-night infomercial you watch follows it – because this is tried and true in marketing. You’ve got to introduce the product or the person, identify the problem you’re solving, tell the audience how you will solve that problem, and end it with a call to action.
Even a multi-billion-dollar brand, like Coca-Cola, still does this. Now, maybe the intro is much more subtle, and maybe the problem they’re solving is more subtle. For example, their problem may be “Having a bad day?” Their plan to solve that problem may be “Coke and a smile, you’re going to feel better” The call to action isn’t like they’re driving you to their website; they have awareness ads. But they’re still identifying how Coca-Cola is going to solve all the world’s problems.
Mercedes, Audi, BMW – they make it about the driving experience. They’re solving what problem? They want you to have an experience when you’re driving and they’re going to do it through the new traction control “thingamajig.”
There are a multitude of ways to address each one of these bullets. They don’t have to be so obvious. “I’m Sal Cincotta. I’m here to solve your problem of bad wedding photography, and I’m going to do it because I’m the greatest photographer there ever was. Call us today!” No, of course not. That’s too cheesy. But, you can simplify this and word it in your own way.
In Sal’s promo video, he introduces himself, then he talks about the problems he is solving. “How will you remember your pictures a year, 10 years, 20 years from now?” He shows that he understands budgets. He shows his pictures to identify how he is going to solve those problems. And then of course, he has a call to action at the end. “For more information, contact us today.” Again, keep it simple.
