A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Marketing Skits

By: Todd Clouser

B2B entertainment is tough.

There are a select few that do it very well, a few that have tried and failed, and a bunch more that want to try but don’t want to look stupid.

If you’re in that last group or know someone in that group, this is for you.

Because creating entertaining content isn’t that hard. You just have to know the tricks of the trade to ensure you come out the other end looking great.

There are a million different types of entertainment you can create, but for the sake of this, we’re going to talk about a skit where you’re playing every character.

Here’s a blueprint to how I create skits that you can implement:

Step 0: Know you audience

Seems generic, I know. But knowing your audience isn’t as simple as “talk to your customers.” This should the reason marketers who don’t market to marketing claim it’s so much harder is because they’re not in the minds of their audience. When I say “know your audience” I’m talking about the stereotypes, the weekly conversations they have, and their inner thoughts about their role. This is the hardest part, but also the one that pays off the most. This is ever-evolving, which is why I called it "step 0."

Step 1: Create a relatable situation

Imagine a situation they deal with regularly. Embellish the conversation. Embellish the personalities. And make your target audience the hero.  Some of my best-performing skits worked so well because they reenactments of scenarios I encountered all the time at previous companies. They were situations that I was confident almost everyone in my ICP also had. The way the characters spoke, responded, and treated each other was just an seriously embellished versions of a normal occurrences. This is why they resonate so well and create the desire to share with others.

Step 2: Write the script

When you’re writing the script, imagine you’re in the room with these individuals.

• What’s the expression on their face as the other person is delivering their dialogue?
• Do they maintain eye contact or are they embarrassed so they look away?
• Do they let out a sigh while the other person is talking?
• Do they interrupt?

Write these prompts into your script. You should be living this moment in real time as you write. Talk to yourself as every character. If you don’t write these prompts down while you’re in the moment, you will regret it when you’re filming. Because when you’re filming, you’re not doing it in chronological order and you’ll likely miss things.

Side note: When you’re writing out the lines, write down who’s speaking them, but also who they’re talking to. This will make sense in step 4.

Step 3: Prepare to record

The biggest problem I see when people start making content where they’re playing multiple characters is continuity. Your line of sight for each character is essential to keeping the audience engaged in your content. If you’re looking to the right, but the character you’re talking to is supposed to be on the left, it ruins the entire experience and people will bounce. The way I make sure I’m always talking in the right direction is setting up my camera on a tripod in the center of three pieces of paper on the floor with each characters name on it. This, combined with the script detailing who you should be talking to will ensure that you’re never responding to the wrong character and you keep continuity throughout.

Step 4: Record the lines

You script is a starting point. If you’re an amazing screen writer, then maybe you can read it line for line. But if you’re like most of us, it’s just the rough outline. Record each line multiple ways. First being how it was written. Then try winging the line with some improvisation a few times. I only use the lines I write about 10% of the time.

Side Note: It’s not enough to record your lines. You need to record facial expressions, slight reactions, throwing your hands up, looking at the other character in disbelief, etc. for each line. Whether it’s you editing or someone else, you’ll be glad you have these later. It ads volumes to the scene when you can cut back and forth during one characters dialogue to see how the others are reacting. This is how you give slower scenes the feeling of a faster pace and hold attention.

Step 6: Record each character one-by-one

If you’re swapping outfits for every line, this is going to take all day. Go through every line of the script for each individual character at a time. This is why it’s important to write those feelings and reactions into the script. Say the other characters line out loud to give yourself something to respond to to make it more natural.

Side note: Remember how you set up those 3 pieces of paper on the floor with the characters names on them? The camera should be placed on a tripod right in the middle. When it’s time to switch characters, just rotate the camera to the next piece of paper. This ensures the you keep the same eye line and continuity of the camera angle as you switch.

Step 6: Editing

If you’re dumping this off on an editor to finish up, they’ll take it from here. If you’re trying to edit yourself, make sure you add in all those cuts with reactions we talked about above. This is also the time to think about the mood you want to leave your audience with after watching. You do that with the music you add to the background. Music is a huge part of creating a feeling in your scene that people don’t even realize.

Here’s a little tip for getting whatever music you want. First, find it on YouTube. The URL will look something like this: www.youtube.com/videoID. Delete “ube” in the URL so it now reads www.yout.com/videoID. This will take you to a page where you can download the audio from that video. But if anyone asks, you didn’t hear that from me.

Step 7: Hit me up

If you want some help getting started in creating entertaining content, schedule some time and let's chat. I'm always happy to help: https://meetings.hubspot.com/tclouser

P.S. If you like this sort of super tactical content, let me know and I’ll create more.