Having a great script is often a requirement for your marketing efforts, but the written word isn’t really the focus here. What you need to keep in mind is that those fine words on paper need to be spoken out loud, and that is what’s really important. The voice your potential customers hear is literally the voice of your company. That means you can’t just record some random person to read it.
Why Not A Professional Voice Over Talent?
Most of us at this point are probably hoping for some authoritative news reader voice, or perhaps you may even be dreaming of hiring Morgan Freeman himself—the Voice of God—to read the script for your voice over. That’s not exactly far fected, because a quick check on Google can show you a lot of companies offering voice over talents. These actors can be very smooth and professional, but the truth is, extremely polished voice overs may not be your best choice.
The problem is that such a voice over may be too polished. In the old days, the standard bench mark of having a great voice is to sound like an ABC news reader. But that doesn’t really work, because loads of people tune these voices out. They don’t relate to your current and potential customers. They are too professional, which creates a certain divide between your company and your customers.
And that defeats the purpose of your marketing efforts.
Another reason for avoiding professional or familiar voices is that they may sound just like the voices used by other companies—or even by your competitors. And again, this is counterproductive to your goal of standing out.
What’s The Alternative?
The first thing you need to realize is that choosing the right voice is critical. Once you accept this, you now understand that you may have to spend quite a bit of time sifting through a lot of voices to find the right voice to represent your company. You want that voice to project an image that you want customers to associate with your company.
Often, you will find that the best voice will fall somewhere between the amateur and the true professional. You can start your search with just your staff members first. Maybe some of them had taken some acting lessons in the past. This isn’t just a matter of cost savings. Your staff can be a much more powerful voice than a professional, because they are real people, and they actually know all about what your company can offer to your customers.
- You need to think about the delivery. Amateurish efforts with pronunciation errors and lots of misplaced pauses simply won’t do.
- You need to think about proper pacing. There’s a rhythm to the best voice overs, and it almost feels like a musical performance.
- The tone matters as well. The voice has to be trustworthy and confident, so that your company will become trustworthy in the “ears” of your customers .
The best voice over is one that best relates to your existing and potential customers. It’s as if the person talking is one of them, except that it is also a voice they can believe and trust. Find that voice because it will make a big difference to your bottomline.
