what is voice-over and why are they important?

Voiceovers are a vital part of making your presentation more engaging. Your video will come to life when voice-over actors use different accents, styles, and expressions. 

Among the benefits of voiceovers are: 

  • You can make otherwise dull videos more engaging.
  • A great narrator can help you to stand out from your top competitors. 
  • They also make your story more relatable and engaging by giving a narrator’s perspective. 
  • It is more visually appealing because the expressions are varied, accents are pronounced differently, and the voices are more precise. 
  • During the video, narrating the scene in the background makes the audience more aware of the situation and why they are watching.
Voiceovers:-
  • are an integral part of any commercial.
  • convey the brand’s tone and provide information about a service, new product or brand.

Depending on the intended market and demographic, the voice may sound like a knowledgeable person, a loud neighbour, that perfect guide or perhaps an expert or scholar on a particular subject. Voice actors are carefully selected to appeal to the most likely audience for the product or service. Voice-overs for commercials for four-wheel-drive trucks will sound different than those for luxury sedans. The accent and tone are not the only factors that matter. It is also essential to consider the target audience when adjusting the rate of speech. Slower speech is sometimes used when conveying more intimate and dramatic emotion or when discussing complex topics. In contrast, swifter, more energetic voices are often associated with sensationalism or selling to a younger audience. An essential part of the voice-over work is matching speech patterns, cadences, and tones consistently. As well as bringing their unique touch to the product, the voice over actors can create a memorable and distinctive voice for your brand.  

Conveys Emotions

A seasoned voice talent understands the emotion behind each line.  As a result of the talent’s many years of experience, they can accomplish this. Using the right emotion in every communication is imperative. Voice actors develop fundamental skills and give characters personality, making audios or videos successful. In addition to guiding readers through your text, they also direct them to the intended destination. To emphasize the critical points you want to convey, they emphasize specific words and phrases that draw attention to the right angles.  You can focus on your message rather than raise your eyebrows whenever you don’t understand something the VO has said. 

Casting for Commercials

Demographics of your target audience

Commercial voice over artists is classified differently depending on what their ideal clients are. In addition to recording type and industry, you may also need to choose different sounds.  Age, gender, or accent are factors that advertisers consider when selecting a target group, gender, or accent. It will be good to browse through samples before making that choice.

Vocal Character of the Voice Talent

The voice you choose may sound like the target audience. Because people generally want to gather information from someone that seems like a peer, be sure to match your voice and gender age with your end-users. Consider the age and gender of the viewers as well as their location. Where distinct accents are heard, use a local accent. Be sure to listen to several voice demos before deciding on the best voice for your commercial.  Listen to my samples, and you can decide if I fit the voice you had in mind for your project.

Commercial Style Narration

A commercial script’s type of sell will also influence the voice you choose. There are two basic approaches to selling.

Soft vs Hard Sell

Soft Sell

Generally, soft sells are friendly and impressive. If your commercial conveys a relaxed tone, you may choose a style that doesn’t seem too abrasive and sounds familiar to your target audience. When it comes to soft selling, humour often plays an important role.  Your sales pitch will be more effective if you incorporate humour.

Hard Sell

Hard sells are more aggressive and usually involve limited-time offers. Those advertisements are designed to encourage consumers to make the purchase soon after seeing or hearing it. The products offered in hard sells are not what consumers need daily and are therefore more aggressive. Consumers usually purchase these items because they desire them or want them. A hard-sell approach is generally more appropriate for items that are on sale, stock clearance or a limited period activity. The type of voice you pick for your commercial depends mainly on the message you want to convey and the goal of the commercial. In the case of a hard sell, you will be looking for a talent with a deeper register and an announcer-style voice. A pleasant voice in a high register, coupled with a friendly approach, will work well if your approach leans more towards the soft sell.

How are listeners affected by Voice-Overs?

Every day, consumers are impacted by voice-overs, whether they listen to them while driving, watching their favourite TV show, or at the movies. VOs are used in medias specifically targeted at a specific audience, such as movie trailers and radio advertisements. To arouse excitement over an upcoming action movie, a trailer may use a deep and solemn voice. An exciting voice may pique the interest of listeners without physical stimulation in a radio commercial. The goal of  VOs in commercials is to effectively communicate a message to the potential audience regardless of the medium. 

Do Voice Overs Work on You?  Take a moment to consider how the voices in the media have affected you.  Think of your favourite animated character. Is their voice appealing to you?  Your favourite character likely has features that you like, along with a voice that appeals to you.  Remember the last commercial you heard on the radio or tv?  The voice used made a significant impact on your decision. The voice in the media either turns us off or draws us in. Regardless of how we feel about the sound of a voice, it tends to evoke emotions in us.  There may be societal themes that cause us concern or movies or products that excite us.  In any case, voiceovers can sway one’s feelings in either direction.

Voiceover Talents can help to localize your message.

Getting into the global market requires a more localized marketing strategy than just localizing your website.  All your videos, audio, images, and texts – will be adapted and translated. To pass the language barrier and reach a wider audience, you need to localize any video you use for entertainment or webinars. Narrations can also localize podcasts, audiobooks, and commercials, but video and audio localization are more challenging than a script translation. Your presentation needs to adapt while the meaning remains intact, regardless of the reduction or extension of the text.  My services proves valuable when finding the proper accent and voice to appeal to your audience.  I can also help with English to Malay translation and vice versa. Rest assured that I do not use machine translation for my work. 

A Voiceover keeps the viewer’s attention.

According to Biteable 68% of marketers, videos has the highest ROI.  It can increase an email’s open rate by 19% by using the word “videos” in the subject line. With the addition of a professional narration, imagine how effective videos can be for improving conversion rates.  Videos for commercials aren’t the only ones that the wrong voices can wreck. The same goes for presentations, interviews, products, corporate and training videos. A strange accent or an incorrect pronunciation can even cause viewers to focus on the speaker rather than the message. Your viewers’ attention will be captured and maintained with a professional voIn addition to being persuasive, they provide a rhythm to your script. 

Your Content is Delivered in an Elegant Package.

Consumers lose interest in a company that does not utilize video, according to a study. But nothing kills an excellent presentation like a bad narrator who hesitates in front of technical jargon and long words and stumbles over words. Regardless of how good a video and script is, getting the viewers engaged will be an uphill task if the voice over is flat. Professional voice talent follows the right approach according to your script. They have a way of making each word heard because of the quality of their voices.

Your Online Visibility Increases with Good Vibes

According to statistics, high-quality presentations generate 1200% more shares than images and text put together. To achieve this kind of engagement, you must create visual stories that involve pleasant sounds and excellent text – voice and music.  Videos with sub-standard visuals and inferior audio will not draw more viewers to your business. Your audience will appreciate the inclusion of a professional voice-over, and you will convert them into customers. When a balanced message is conveyed, people can follow it easily. 

Time and Cost Reduced During Production

The cost of professional talents for your small business may seem excessive. Nevertheless, when done correctly, you’ll see a much greater return on investment. You’ll save yourself from days of trial and error by hiring professional voice talent.

Most VO talents have their recording studio. Perhaps offering some form of additional remuneration can help with not just recording your script but assist you in laying the audio for your presentation. This extra work can be beneficial if filming and editing your video is what you have been doing or intending to do.

There has never been an easier time to engage the services of a professional voiceover talent in Singapore. Make that call today!