Are you a company owner with a broader vision? Perhaps you sell a product and create ad content around it to reach a wider audience.
A voice over can be one of the best investments you can make in the long term, especially when you choose the right one. This post will take you through the reasons why a voice over may be worth investing in, and the benefits of doing so.
They know how to speak to your audience
Voice overs are one of the few professions where the professionals specialise in speaking to an audience.
Not in terms of brand copy, but literal vocal speaking to an audience, be it via a standalone soundtrack for an ad, a narration for an elearning course, or a backing track to a well produced visual ad.
Whether we’re referring to their tonality, the ability to switch between corporate and informal, or even regarding male or female dominant audiences; voice overs are specialists in speaking to a wide array of people, in their language.
Adds a level of professionalism
Hiring a voice over for your company can help add that extra level of professionalism that you may not have had before.
Say you have a brand that produces elearning courses. You could be the best teacher in the world, but still find it hard to communicate the message in a way that’s engaging to your audience.
The same could be said for the head of a corporate company. You could produce a video highlighting all the positive parts of your company and what you do, but you might struggle with communicating the message vocally, no matter how much of a higher up you may be.
Voice overs add that level of professionalism so you don’t have to. They’re literally specialised in the art of cohesive speaking, meaning no matter the tone you wish for them to convey, they will always deliver a result that is on par with your expectations.
Enhances your ads
As mentioned previously, the level of professionalism added can also enhance your ads.
If you already have a dedicated ad budget for your brand, taking into account marketing personnel, editors and producers, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t include voice overs in this budget.
Specialised in encapsulating your brand voice, voice overs help enhance your ads by providing the voice in question, which you can leverage and have represent your brand for the long term.
Finding the perfect voice is one of the most important things you can do for a brand looking to make a great first impression. Especially if you’re attempting to appeal to people on a personal level, you need a great voice over to do just that.
What would the world be without smooth, buttery voices anyways? Just billboards and ads with background music…
Breathes life into your company
As far as first impressions are concerned, a great voice over has the ability to breathe life into your company.
You may know exactly what you sell and your target market, but not every entrepreneur has the ability to communicate effectively, let alone bring a whole new level of life to your overall branding strategy.
You’re better off hiring experts that are specialised in creating something out of nothing, that’s where voice overs come in.
Extra things to consider
It’s especially important to ensure that you spend ample time exploring your options and not just settling for the first voice over you find.
Much like those who aren’t voice overs, some voice overs may have lovely voices but are simply not experienced enough to provide the results you’re expecting.
Ensure you set aside a decent amount of time to explore different voices and their showreels. This will allow you to see if they’ll fit your requirements beforehand, and influence your decision.
Another important factor to note is that a voice over isn’t worth much without a well-thought out script. You need to ensure you cover all information needed and also have it in spoken language, not written form. Some voice overs can assist in rewriting your script for a fee, but you’re better off using a scriptwriter or voice over agency from the get go.
It’s also important to note that once you’ve made your decision and found the perfect voice over, there can be extra costs involved, such as buyout fees.
Voice over buyout is when you secure a voice over audio for a set amount of time, say a year. If you have a successful campaign that converts, you may wish to use that recording for longer than a year.
A buyout is a set fee that a voice over charges for the use of their intellectual property over time, which of course gets renewed the longer you plan to use it for.
Are voice overs worth the money?
You can hire a great voice over without needing to break the bank. In fact, voice overs are relatively cost-effective when looking at the broader spectrum of things, considering they can only set you back a couple hundred.
For the more experienced and notorious voice overs, you’ll find that they cost a lot more than the everyday one you’d find at a voiceover agency. It’s even more expensive if you’re looking to hire a celebrity voice over.
That being said, a great voice over is an investment, and well worth the money considering the value they can provide for your brand.
Hopefully this post has provided you with some good insight into why you should invest in a good voice over. If you’ve any thoughts/comments, feel free to leave them below!