Social media

Aug 5, 2023

How to write TikTok scripts that convert

Maria Ruocco

TikTok currently has nearly 1 billion monthly active users. People who access the platform are interested in enjoying fast content or in posting their own content to grow their personal or commercial brand.

Anyone looking to reach a new audience knows that the right video can generate massive reach and mass engagement that impacts brand awareness and sales.

But what does it take to create a viral video?

In this article we will see that the success of a video depends on the ability to create a script that attracts people's attention together with the right images.

1. What is a script and why use it?

A script consists of a text outline that allows you to organize the content of your video and the order in which information is displayed.

Does every content creator use a script?
Depends. Some videos are characterized by being spontaneous.
In this case it is not necessary to have a script, because it would be counterproductive for your audience.
Other types of videos, especially informational ones, need structure to increase engagement rates.

Writing a script then represents a moment to think about the characteristics of the video and the purpose it has:

look for leads for your product;
contribute to your public image;
inform your audience, etc.

Building with your videos will help you increase engagement because your audience will understand that your videos are worth stopping by and watching for the care and value they bring to their lives and their life.

2. How to write TikTok scripts that convert?

Writing a script for TikTok has never been easier. With Editby you can write them in just a few steps.
The results and performance of a structured video are not comparable to those of someone picking up the phone and suddenly content. The public has understood that anyone today can have access to platforms and distinguishing content creators who do a good job from those who don't, is essential for calculating one's time.

So the choice of whether or not to follow your profile will depend on how much you are able to communicate in a video that it is worth following you to stay updated on the topics you talk about.

Remember that the basic rules of writing a good script are:

Simplicity;
Clarity of presentation;
Offer original points of view.

3. Who are you writing for?

To write a script that works, it is necessary to identify with extreme precision the type of audience we are addressing. The tone of voice and the information requested when we address an audience that loves to travel are different from those used when we address an audience that loves video games.

What if I don't create content with a specific target audience?
It could be doing useless work. Your scripts will be vague and TikTok will not rank your video. Furthermore, even users who manage to view your content will easily forget it.

If, on the other hand, the contents seem personalized and appropriate to the information they want to receive, it is very likely that they will return to use your contents.

What information do I need to identify to define my target audience?

basic demographic information
specific interests
passions, aspirations and challenges

To better gather this information, use TikTok Audience Insight.

4. What don't your followers know?

When you are writing a script you must think that the content you create must give users a reason to share and interact with it. To do this, you need to offer your audience information they don't know about but strongly desire to receive.

When your audience understands that your content clearly answers questions they have and want to solve, they'll be more likely to like your work and follow you.

For instance, if you live in Milan you will love to follow all the profiles that don't show you the usual tourist things that tourists can do because these profiles will help you perceive yourself as an expert in the city.

When writing, highlight common problems or obstacles that most of your viewers and give a clear answer using numbers and statistics when possible, the engagement will grow exponentially this way.

Read more: How to use TikTok Hashtags

5. Talk about the benefits of your products or services

If the purpose of your profile is to create content to sell products or services, you need to be adept at communicating how your products and services can solve problems for your audience.

In summary, you need to be a good storyteller of your product. This means that you have to express yourself in the most effective way possible in the least amount of time.

User attention is generally low, on TikTok it is even lower. The content on this platform is specially made to be viewed in seconds.

Videos on TikTok can be recorded with three different durations:

15 seconds
60 seconds
3 minutes

The duration is not binding, if you choose 15s your video can last up to 15 seconds, but even less, depending on when you decide to stop it. The same thing goes for 60 second and 3 minute videos.

6. Simplicity and effectiveness

When writing a script for TikTok you need to be concise and clear. You need to pack a high-quality performance into seconds, which means there's no room for unnecessary words.

If you can explain the same concept in just three words, do it. The important thing is not to lose expository clarity. The average human attention span is now just 8 seconds, so you need to deliver your core messages quickly and efficiently.

25% of content on the TikTok platform is 21 to 34 seconds long. Try to keep yourself in the media to avoid the audience skipping to the next video as they are used to fast paced content.

7. Focus on the first few seconds of your TikTok

The moment a user views your video you have a few seconds to capture his attention. It's the first few seconds that matter. The first few seconds of your video are crucial in capturing the attention of your viewers and your screenplay must reflect this.

According to data from TikTok, 63% of videos with the highest click-through rate communicate their key product message within the first 3 seconds.

Then try to concentrate in the first three seconds all the information and images that can resonate with the user and which can induce him to recognize your brand or your style.

So open your video with a hook. If you manage to insert persuasive information in the first few seconds, your audience will probably be persuaded to stay tuned. But be careful not to overdo it. If your product is used by 500, don't say it's 5,000.

One of the important aspects of becoming a trusted content creator is to be credible.
Just focus on providing an interesting product benefit or stat that will help your video stand out in a competitive feed.

Read more: How to get more followers on TikTok in 2023 [Ultimate Guide]

8. Calibrate the language to your way of communicating and to your audience

Writing a script is not an exercise in rhetoric. A script that is distant from your normal way of speaking will sound stilted. So:

Write in a language you commonly use so you don't distance yourself from spontaneous interactions
Write linearly. Use simple sentences. Remember that you have little time and users who won't commit to trying to understand what you want to communicate (they have many people they can fall back on if you are not immediate)

Another element you need to think about is your audience:

Are you addressing people in the industry who can easily understand the meaning of technical expressions?
Are they people who don't work in your reference sector and for this reason you have to simplify the concepts a lot?
Does your target audience prefer sophisticated or more colloquial language?
You must try to adapt the language to the recipient of the video and to your style.

Before starting the recording, we recommend that you understand in advance how to mark the pauses between one concept and another to avoid having to re-record a large number of times.

9. Share your script with someone who can give you feedback

Before recording your video, you can check the effectiveness of your script.
Ask some people who follow content on TikTok to help you figure out if your content is suitable for the platform.

Read the text as if you were registering info. In this way, these people can identify weaknesses in your speech by pointing out when they lose attention or if there are sentences that they just can't understand or that are heavy in their entirety.
If necessary, then proceed to modify the script to adapt it to the feedback of your audience.

10. Write scripts that you record to be readable with subtitles

It is no coincidence that the most viral contents of recent months have subtitles.
There are studies suggesting that 91% of videos with captions are watched to the end, compared to only 66% of videos without captions.

Why does introducing subtitles impact our engagement?
Many users use social without audio enabled, this means that all audio content that does not contain subtitles are automatically skipped by those who do not have active audio.

TikTok offers a tool for brands that allows them to set video captions quickly and easily: Auto Caption.

This is another important reason to ensure your video script is snappy, succinct, and simple. Your script will need to translate easily into on-screen subtitles, which means you need to cut down on long-winded sentences.

11. Close with a call to action

Not only the first seconds of the video are important. Even the last few seconds play an important role in the overall economy of the video.

It's at the end of the video that you can communicate a call to action to your followers. Then you need to think about the right action you want people who view your video to take to create a clear call to action.

How do I figure out which call to action to close the video with?
You need to ask yourself questions about your marketing strategy:

What is the goal of my video? (f.e., increase the volume of visits to the web)
What do you want viewers to do after watching your TikTok? (f.e., access the web)
How can you make sure viewers take the right action? (f.e., remind them that they can find relevant information on your website)
How will you measure the success of your business? (f.e., measure the number of users who visit the web)

Once you understand your main marketing objectives, it will become much easier to produce a script that allows you to address them.

As a reminder, you can use two TikTok tools to measure metrics:

TikTok Analytics;
TikTok Pixels.

Conclusions

Creating scripts that convert users to audiences is an essential part of the most accurate marketing strategies.
For this, we remind you to use Editby to facilitate your work.

A scripting habit can have a major impact in your business because it can help you structure your content effectively, focus clearly on your core messages, and ensure your videos are tailored to your target audience.

Studying the structure of the video can also be a sign of distinc- tions or compared to that part of the competition that might appear a little clunky with random and off-the-cuff videos.

Spanish version 🇪🇸

Maria Ruocco