Whether it is strictly for entertainment, for the saving of many lives, or to promote education, voice overs for commercials continue to thrive and grow.
So what is the purpose of voice overs in a commercial?
The voice you hear is an important element of any commercial as it conveys the tone of the brand and provides information about a product or service.
Depending on the target demographic and market, the voice may sound like an informed professional, the guy next door, or perhaps an expert or a scholar on a specific subject.
The voice actor is selected specifically to reach the target audience most likely to be interested in the product or service.
For instance, a commercial voice over for a four-wheel-drive truck will sound different from the voice you will hear selling a luxury sedan.
However, it is not just the accent or tone that matters.
Slight nuances such as the rate of speech changes based on the target audience as well.
A slower rate of speaking is sometimes used to convey more dramatic and intimate emotion or when discussing complex topics...
...while faster, more enthusiastic voices are associated with creating a sense of urgency or selling to a younger audience.
Knowing how to properly match speech patterns, cadence, and tone consistently is an important aspect when it comes to voice overs.
This also gives the voice over actor the opportunity to add their own unique touch, helping to create a memorable and distinct voice for your brand that leaves a lasting impression.
This affects how the "ideal commercial voice over artist" is categorized.
Depending on the type of commercial being recorded and your industry, the sound you select may also vary greatly.
Many advertisers choose an age group, gender, or accent based on the commercial's specific offering and who it appeals to.
It is very important to choose a voice that sounds like your target audience.
This is because people generally like to gather information from a voice that sounds like it could be a peer, so ensure the voice and gender age match your end users.
As well as the gender and age, you should also consider the area or region where the commercial will be viewed.
Consider using a local accent for places where distinct accents can be heard.
When choosing a voice over for commercials, ensure you listen to many voice demos before deciding on what voice best suits the commercial.
Explore some of our amazing voice talent and listen to their demos to find the perfect voice for your job.
Another factor that will determine the style of voice you choose is the type of sell in the commercial script.
There are basically two selling approaches you can take.
Typically, soft sell is categorized as friendly and impressive.
So you may opt for a voice over style that is not too pushy and feels familiar to the target audience if your commercial is trying to convey this tone.
Often, the art of soft sell means infusing humor into the script.
Humor helps to get your audience's attention without being too direct in your sales pitch.
Hard sell plays upon limited time offers and is more aggressive.
You may find an attention-grabbing announcer voice more powerful.
They are designed to get the consumer to purchase a product or service right away.
Hard sells are more aggressive in nature and more serious because the products are not what consumers need daily.
They are usually items a consumer desires or wants.
Because high end or luxury items are harder to sell, a hard sell approach is generally more appropriate.
The type of voice over for commercials you choose depends largely on the messaging you have included in the script as well as the end goal of the advertisement.
If you are opting for a hard sell, then you will want to create a more aggressive script and find a voice over artist with an announcer style voice and a deeper register.
If your style leans more towards soft sell, then a friendly and pleasant voice in a higher register will do the trick.
Voice overs for commercials provide not only narration to a variety of video and audio productions...
...but they also help to alter the effectiveness of content and provoke emotion and thought in listeners and viewers.
The power of voice overs offers an effective way to spread information and pique the interest in a certain audience.
The impact of media is heavily affected by voice overs as they deliver important messages and draw in consumers.
Whether driving in our cars, watching our favorite TV shows or at the movies, voice overs affect consumers every day.
Content like movie trailers and radio commercials specifically use voice overs to attract specific audiences.
A trailer for an action movie may use a solemn and deep voice to elicit excitement over the new film...
...while a radio commercial may use a catchy and hip voice to pique interest without visual stimulation.
Regardless of the medium, voice overs for commercials serve as necessary audible markers to help get a message to the target audience.
Do Voice Overs Work on You?
Pause a second to think about how the voice in the media has affected you.
Think about your favorite character in an animated show.
Do you like their voice?
It is very likely your favorite character retains some traits you like as well as a voice that is appealing to you.
Also, think about the last commercial you listened to on the radio.
Within a few seconds, you decide whether to stay tuned in or change the station.
The voice used certainly played a big part in your decision.
Daily, we are turned off or drawn in by the voice in the media.
Whether we like the sound of a voice or not the voice tends to evoke emotion.
They may cause concern over societal issues or excite us over a movie or product.
Either way, we have all been swayed to feel one way or the other by voice overs.
Voice overs are an important component to make your content more presentable.
The variation in expressions, accent, and style of a voice over actor can make your video more appealing than just displaying the text with background music.
The benefits of voice overs include the following:
Entering the global market means going beyond website localization to a more localized marketing strategy.
This includes adapting and translating all your contents - video, audio, images, and texts.
Whether the video is used for entertaining your audience or webinars, you need to localize them to pass the language barrier and reach larger audiences.
The same applies to podcasts, audiobooks, and commercials, but video and audio localization are far more difficult than just translating a script.
It is important to adapt your content to keep your meaning intact with the text no shorter or longer than the original.
You need the right voice and accent that can conquer your audience and this is where it pays to use our professional voice overs.
If you put a normal person in front of a microphone and give him/her a text to read, anyone listening to the recording will hear exactly what you have offered...
...a person reading a text, with too many pauses and no inflections.
Not dynamic, no passion, just loud breathing sentences and words and a lack of consistency in the message.
In real life, no one talks like that but for certain reasons, public speaking frightens most of us and our rhythm and tone are changed with a microphone in front of us.
Our professional voice talents know how to control rhythm and breathe, so the audience won't hear any disturbing pauses while listening.
They train their voice for years and know how to make any communication easy to follow and interesting.
Every language has its unique regional variations.
Think about English and the myriad of pronunciations among native speakers coming from different parts of the world.
Our professional voice talents speak a more neutral language and learn to control their accents.
Amateurs rarely realize how they speak, so they don't work on improving their skills.
But the audience can detect a regional accent within seconds and depending on the country, these differences can be disturbing.
The voice behind your videos and audio content represents you and your business, so it is just not any native speaker that can be your brand's voice.
According to 52% of marketers, the type of content with the best ROI is video.
It is such a powerful tool that simply using the word "videos" in an email subject line can increase the open rate by 19%.
Now imagine how videos can help boost your conversion rate when a professional voice over is used.
It is not just about commercial videos - interviews, presentations, and webinars can be ruined by using the wrong voices.
It can even result in the viewers moving their attention from the message to the voice behind it due to an odd accent or a wrong pronunciation.
A professional voice over will help to get and keep your viewer's attention.
They are persuasive and help to give the right rhythm to your script.
According to a study, one in four consumers loses interest in a company that does not use video.
But nothing kills a great text like a bad narrator who hesitates in front of technical jargon and long words and stumbles over words.
Regardless of how good a video is, no one will keep watching if the voice over is flat.
Depending on your script, professional voice talents follow the right approach.
Thanks to their voice quality, they know how to make every word audible.
According to statistics, high-quality videos generate 1200% more shares than images and text together.
To achieve such an engagement, you have to create unique visual stories through pleasant sounds and great text - voice and music.
Boring videos with unclear messages and bad sound won't spread the news about your business.
Professional voice overs will help you win over your audiences and convert viewers into customers.
It is easy for people to follow a balanced voice that places the right weight on the message.
Using professional voice overs for your small business may seem expensive and too much.
But when done correctly, you will see greatly increased ROI.
Our professional voice talents know how to do the job, saving yourself from days of trial and error.
One important advantage of working with professional voice talents is they understand the emotion behind each line.
They can achieve this because of their many years of experience.
The ability to deliver the right dose of emotion in each communication is vital.
Professional voice talents develop actual skills and their voice give personality to each character, making any audio or video content a success.
They not only guide your audience through the text but also towards the intended destination.
They stress specific phrases and words to draw attention to the right angles while underlining the key points you want to deliver.
This allows your audience to focus on your message, instead of raising eyebrows every time they don't understand what they hear.
We offer voice overs for any project, contact us today to find the best voice actor for your voice overs for commercials.
You want to make sure you're hiring the best voice over talent you can find. That's why you need to check out the best vocal qualities to look for when hiring.
Are you looking to define your brand voice or are wondering how a brand voice might help advance your business? You’ve landed in the right place.
Pondering on whether or not to hire a voice over company to narrate your videos? We understand; it's a crucial decision, and you shouldn't rush it. After all, the quality of your video will influence your business's course and you should make sure you're investing in all the right resources.