Do You Really Need a Voice Over For Your Video Content?
The age old question: do you really need to use a voiceover for your video content? You’ve got a killer brand and an enticing story to share with some awesome animation or videography. Job’s a good’un. BUT…are you on the fence as to whether or not to include a voiceover on it?
Well, there are plenty of ads and content out there that DON’T use voice overs. When you’ve got a hero piece of content that’s musically driven or you’re introducing a relatively simple concept, then perhaps a voiceover isn’t necessary. There, I’ve said it. #ripmycareer
BUT, if your audience is already aware of your brand and your basic existence, then perhaps it’s time to entice them “further down the funnel” so that your consumers actually start considering you, rather than just being aware of you. By talking about your benefits, delving deeper into your brand values or simply explaining how your product/services work a little further.
To facilitate that through your video content, you could just have text on screen or leave the visuals to speak for themselves. OR…you could use a voiceover that will work a LOT harder in helping your audience comprehend and retain the information you’re sharing.
A voiceover will effectively personalise your brand, giving it a unique fingerprint that will help ‘humanise’ it, and which will in turn build trust
A voiceover can help guide listeners more effectively through difficult or lengthy concepts, by employing emphasis, tonality, pace and emotion
Apparently for gender neutral brands (ie. with no specific gender skew), a female voice can spark 15% more brain activity than a male voice. Sorry boyzzz.
Well-known talent can increase attitude, memory processes and engagement by up to 10%. Well, I may not be well-known just yet, but having the RIGHT kind of voice, or perhaps a voice that has the same qualities of a well-known voice could be a pretty awesome solution if your budget doesn’t allow for the celebs! ;)
There may not be a great deal of empirical evidence confirming that using a voiceover will definitely improve your video content, but not having one is basically akin to making a really delicious cake and then NOT having any icing or ice cream with it. The cake will be dry, and will be remembered with an ambivalent shrug. So don’t let the same thing happen to your video content! Let a voiceover help bind it all together, and make it sound even more delicious!
(Source: ARN, 2021)