I’ve been writing a lot lately about tone of voice, because it’s something that’s relevant, niche and applicable to every brand and business in some way, shape or form. It’s also something that I love doing, creating unique verbal brand guidelines for companies to use and share with their teams. However, it’s not something that every company is in a position to commission. It’s an expensive and time-consuming exercise that requires the C-level executives to engage with. This leads me to my next skill and something that most companies, big or small, could really benefit from: video.

Visual and video content gets more engagement online than a text-only post. If something is colourful or moving on as you scroll, you’re more likely to stop and watch it or look at it. Text can struggle to stand out, and I say that as a copywriter. Video provides brands with the opportunity to really tell their story and copywriting is key to the success of that video. Yes, copywriting can be used for videos.

The above video was a close collaboration with the motion graphics designer, Guy with Red Beard, the outreach officer for Anew Support Services and David Laurence, who has a huge amount of experience in writing and directing live-action videos. This level of close collaboration works best to ensure that the message is told in the most effective way possible.

As the copywriter on this project, I fully researched the charity, the message they wanted to share, and their clients. This level of detail allowed the motion graphics designer to understand exactly what visuals were needed, and how to best represent them. For live-action videos, such as the Renault Driven Series, I also included some shot guides for the videographer to capture. These are always suggestions, as my speciality lies in telling stories, not in creating videos.

In my experience, close collaboration, thorough research, and a well-written script are the cornerstones of successful, impactful and popular video. The two video projects mentioned above had great responses: Anew used the video to enter into the Charity Impact Awards and won in the Medium Organisation Category, while the Renault videos won a silver award for ‘Best Use of Video' in the Digital Media Awards.

If you have any video content you want to launch, then get in touch and see how we can help.