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The 5-Step Guide to Storyboarding For Video Marketing



That fantastic video idea you have in mind may not translate very well to actual video content unless you follow a step-by-step storyboarding structure to set things up.


Look, we have all been there.


Great idea, the team loves the pitch, and you’re confident that your brand is one upload away from being a viral sensation on the internet. Customers will come flocking in soon.


But when the video finally goes live, you realize things did not come to life quite the way you had imagined.


So what went wrong? Was it the script? The dialogue? Was it poor videography or a lack of expenditure on your part for the best crew and equipment? While all of those factors could contribute to a video not meeting expectations, the true culprit could often be a much simpler and more subtle factor - planning.


You see, a video is a project. And sure, with a powerful personalized video content scaling platform like Unscript.ai by your side, you could expand your video portfolio at a mind-boggling but highly cost-effective rate. But, and this is a big one for your brand, you need to have flawless strategy and planning in place to bring your best ideas into video format.


Storyboarding is crucial to this process. It intimidates people because there is a notion that you need to be a creative artist to do storyboarding correctly or it is something that only the top creative studios in the world do. That could not be further from the truth. In essence, you don’t even need to be able to draw for doing basic storyboarding.


So, without further ado, here’s the simple and non-artist-friendly 5-step guide to storyboarding for your brand’s video marketing:


Step 1: It begins as an outline

Consider the classic heroic entry at a crucial climactic stage in your favourite action movie. The nefarious villains were about to do something dastardly when there is a commotion nearby. A lone human figure appears as a dark silhouette against bright lights. As the figure approaches, the villains and the audience see the hero’s face come to the light. Cheers are heard all over the movie theatre.


Interesting, isn’t it? Exciting things often start as nothing but an outline.


Your next video project also needs a basic outline that defines how you will present your central idea to your audience. Following are the two most popular (and effective) outline styles that can help you build your storyline:


Format 1: Tapping into the pain point

A solution is only effective when it solves a cognizant problem. Audiences are often either unaware of their own pain points or have learnt to put up with the status quo for long enough to not realize how much they would appreciate a solution that makes things easier/faster/cheaper (or a combination of those).


For example, we at Unscript.ai love to remind our audiences that we make video content marketing more scalable, more accessible, and more cost-effective for our customers. Sure, brands can and do survive without personalized video content at scale (or worse, without any video content marketing at all). But success-oriented brands look for deeper engagement with their audiences - that’s their pain point which we solve. And we don’t shy away from pointing it out.


Here’s a breakdown of how this format goes:

  1. This pain point exists in the market, if you are watching this then you probably have it.

  2. Ways in which this pain point negatively impacts you.

  3. Our solution to the problem and how it explicitly benefits you.

  4. Customer testimonials and proof of success.

  5. Value to customer recap and call to action.


Format 2: The hero’s quest

Let’s take you back to another movie trope. Popular movies follow a hero and his journey through various challenges until the story reaches its conclusion. This kind of storytelling puts you, the audience, in the shoes of the hero and makes you feel empowered to rise up to any challenges and emerge victorious.


Here’s a breakdown of this format:

  1. Here’s our hero, someone you would strongly identify with.

  2. Our hero has a challenge ahead of them.

  3. The hero tried many things, but nothing alleviated their problem.

  4. Until they found this solution (our solution), and here’s how it works.

  5. The hero’s quest has come to its conclusion with this positive payoff.

  6. It is time for you to be our next hero, and here’s your call to action.


Step 2: Plan your showstopper frames

All content, videos being no exceptions, need to invoke a strong emotional output in the audience’s minds. Emotional impact comes from unforgettable moments. These unforgettable moments in your video content would be your showstopper frames.


Every video needs to have some key moments that need to be defined well to create the best impact.


Frame 1: Opening

“Well begun is half done.” A good opening ensures two things - one, the viewer will be intrigued to watch what’s coming up next, and two, appeal to their sense of curiosity and grab their attention.


Frame 2: Pain points

This is the part where your intended audience will nod their heads as they identify with the pain points you present, and introspect how it could negatively impact them.


Frame 3: Solution

The presentation of your solution and how it resolves the pain points of your target audience and adds value to their lives.


Frame 4: Call to action

This is where your content drives results by encouraging your audience to take the necessary steps to allow your brand to help them.


Step 3: Choose your tools and format

Videos can take many shapes and forms, and based on your choice of those you would require different tools and video formats. Would you like to do a whiteboard video with narration? Or would you rather have a person talking to the audience and delivering the message? Do you want to run a presentation or a live shoot of your product at work?


Depending on the answers to the above questions, your requirements for tools and software and crew and shooting strategy would change.


Step 4: Draw your frames

We know, we said you don’t need to be an artist to do storyboarding. When we say draw your frames, we mean you create the most basic visual representation of how you want your frames to look. It’s okay if your horse looks like a three-year-old’s rendition of a dog (we speak from experience) as long as your team can visualize the idea you’re trying to bring on screen.


The key things you want to explain when you draw your frames are these:

Characters: Who are the characters on screen and what they are doing?

Positioning: Where are the characters and other elements located?

Timing: When do characters and elements make their entrances and exits, and what audio corresponds with your frames?

Transitioning: When and how do scene changes happen?


Step 5: Dry run is essential

Those of us in the content business will unequivocally agree on this - the first draft should never make it to publication. No matter how confident you are with the first draft of any content idea, give it some time and some brainstorming and you will realize you need to change many things before you reach a draft which you would be happy to put out in the world.


This is why dry runs are essential. It is important for you and your team to run through the script and key frames and visualize everything in flow and rhythm. This will inevitably bring forth fresh ideas, and drive you to inspect your video plan and tweak things.


The benefits of storyboarding

Once you are through with these five stages of storyboarding, you will find yourself at a stage where you can be confident about your time, effort, and investment in your video content because you have a clear visual map of the final product.


Since storyboarding also involves brainstorming with key stakeholders in your content and marketing teams, it also gives your marketing team a structured look into the correct targeting and positioning that is expected of them for the upcoming content and ample time to execute the right distribution strategy.


So what are you waiting for? Start storyboarding for your next hit video!


And don’t worry about personalizing and scaling the video content you’re about to make. Unscript.ai has that covered!

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