How to Choose the Right Voice for Your Corporate Video

• An example of the first day at a new job shows how explainer videos can help simplify a process. Focus on finding the right type of voice narration to do your video justice.

• Finding that voice talent requires 4 elements:
  Research your target audience, whether internal or external. Start with basic information (age, gender, country, and other demographics). Then move on to details of the selected group. Find out what moves them and makes them use a product or follow instructions. An explainer video can do the trick for both an internal and external audience.

• Match the audience and content with the right tone of voice and style. Most corporate videos have a professional, serious, and conversational tone of voice. Don't forget to always keep the sound of a voice natural.

• Listen to several voice talent demos, and use a checklist to eliminate voice actors from your list. Compare portfolios. Ask a selection to audition. Then dive deeper into their qualities and discover nuances. This will result in finding the right voice.

• Technical recording equipment is now cheaper than ever. Define the quality level by specifying technical requirements for the video narration. Can the voice talent of your choosing actually meet these requirements? Check recording quality and skills, equipment features, and audio format. VoiceProductions offers only professional voices using only the best equipment, this will immediately make your search a little easier.

Remember the last time you applied for a new job, and you were over the moon that you were hired?

How did the introduction on the first day or week go for you? Did you get enough direction and collect all the essential equipment? Get your key card? Find out how company facilities work?

Or did you end up causing an embarrassing cue at the parking exit at the end of that exhausting first day?

Now imagine that exact same process, but having received information in advance. Your inbox is filled with an explainer video. Recorded by a professional voice actor on how to use the company’s intranet. You are shown where to find relevant newcomer documents. And there’s also a digital photo album of all your co-workers and what their expertise is.

Would this have made a difference when starting a new job? You would probably still be terribly nervous, but getting more direction at the start would take some uncertainties away.

In the upcoming paragraphs, you will learn it’s not just about (new) employees who can be helped with a corporate video. There are many more options with video narration. Meeting the expectations of your audience is essential to obtain a positive effect. No matter the subject. What will matter? The corporate voice actor you hire to be the conveyor of your video message.

Below you'll find a checklist with four main pillars. These pillars can make or break how you sell the company’s message and meet the objectives. It will make finding and hiring that one special corporate voice actor a piece of cake.

Let’s be clear. There's a big risk not investing enough time in researching who's at the receiving end of the screen or animated video. You might end up pushing them away. That means every effort to advertise, brand, train, or give instructions by voice and video goes down the drain. It all starts with knowing who the recipients of the video narrations are.

So start by identifying general factors, such as age, gender, and other demographic information. If your portfolio includes companies which are not in the same continent, don’t just look at language. Therefore, check if a certain accent would contribute to your goals set in the production stage.

Don’t just collect data, but interpret what these factors mean for your video. What does it genuinely mean for the voice actor you'll pick? Besides gender or age, should it be a script with an emotional voice to promote a brand? A video that is focussed around a certain product and its specifics should be clear and informative for example.

Telling people about the features of a new cell phone can be exciting to some. There’s no need to get all emotional about it though. Just like, a video about insurance could be more effective when the importance of their services is addressed in a serious and concise manner. These are aspects of life people worry about. As a marketing agency producing a video for an insurance company, you’ll want to succeed in taking these worries away.

It’s a different story if the corporate video involves the specifics of a new IT product and the target audience is IT departments. Then you definitely need to build trust and include details. Elaborating on technical features and using jargon will only help to build that trust.

More specific segmenting will lead to two groups:

• An internal audience
  with instructional videos for new employees, or a how-to video on a new process that needs to be implemented by everybody within the company.

• An external audience
  selling or explaining new products or services by a brand.

Explainer videos can be used for both types of target audiences. The internal audience may learn more about the inner workings of your company. Whereas with an external audience, explainer videos are used to reinforce the brand with existing or new clients. The objective can give clear and easy-to-follow steps on how to use a product.

Once you have discovered your audience's profile, you need to focus on tone and style. Match your message (giving instructions, explaining how to use a product or tool) with the people who it is destined for. This will teach you what tone fits best with your project.

Common tones for corporate videos are:

• Professional
• Serious
• Approachable
• Conversational

Never underestimate, though, how much a natural sound affects your video’s message. Voice actors receive a script with the lines they need to produce. But there are more things you must consider. Direct them to speak in a way that matches the product or service in a natural and proper way. There are some ways to help with this process:

You could also let someone tag along with that new employee on their first day at the company. The chance is high you will discover unknown obstacles that can easily be addressed in an explainer video or other voiceover project.

Once you know the content of your message and your audience, you can determine the tone of voice and style. Then start with the next phase of finding a corporate voice actor.

You may know what corporate voice you are looking for now, but will you recognize that voice once you hear it? That is the key take-away of listening to voice demos and checking the portfolios of voice actors.

Don’t get lost in a jungle of voices. Especially if a voice actor can provide multiple voice overs. Sum up your essentials and set them as a filter in an online tool to find your next professional voice actor.

Be as specific as you can be by describing your needs for the video content. Is VoiceProductions your place to go for voice overs? Start with selecting language, gender, and medium. Then start pressing that play button to hear professional voice artists.

Comparing demos and finding a match is not just about a voice. There needs to be that perfect balance between the delivery of the content and the intended effect on the target group. That’s why finding a professional voice starts with doing research.

Even if the script is award-winning material, there will never be a substitute for talent. In other words: you can have the best script with the most perfect message. But if your voice actor cannot connect with your audience, it’s money down the drain.

While listening to voice demos, use a checklist to summarize whether certain voice actors match your tone and style. Being specific makes selecting a voice over easier. Training yourself regularly to listen to the difference in voices is essential. Start paying attention to background noise and static interference. Also, try to take notice of how certain voices influence the way in which you receive messages.

For example: What nuances can be heard in a video voice? A warm and soothing female voice can do wonders. Especially when it explains to a would be patient what they can expect upon admittance into the hospital. It can take questions away and give them a sense of comfort.

Instructing employees of that same hospital how to use the innovative linen department for company clothing is entirely different. A more firm and steady male voice describing every step will connect better with this group, as it's more clear and concise.

After the introduction of cheaper technology, you quickly came to the realization that a professional voice actor needs special skills to produce explainer videos. There are now more fish in the pond than ever. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean all these fish swim in the right direction.

Making technology available to a larger group of people to record voice overs makes your task of selecting a voice artist more complicated. It's not about being in the financial position to buy professional equipment. You would like to work with people which are skilled and know how to operate such equipment in the best way imaginable.

Wondering about which technical requirements to focus on when listening to different narrators? Think in terms of:

• Recording quality and overall sound of the video narration, which depends on professional editing and mixing skills, not just the voice

• Technical features of the equipment used by the voice over talent

• The format of the audio file

The next three tips will help you make sure technical requirements are met when creating a corporate video:

• If you’ve selected two or three potential voice actors, ask them about their technical audio recording equipment and what kind of file types they can produce.

• Ask them to do an audition by sending you a few lines of the video script, and listen to each voice artist carefully.

• Check their portfolio. Are there any specifics mentioned on past narration experiences? Did they create a video on YouTube? Maybe you have seen some of their work before and recognize their voice. If this is the case, you already know what kind of result you can expect.

• If you are working with VoiceProductions quality is guaranteed. Their voice actors have been carefully selected and all work from a professional home studio. No need to worry about booking a studio or poor sound quality.

• VoiceProductions offers a vast database of talent. In this database, you can browse through the voice actors' portfolios and listen to snippets to ensure it lives up to your qualitative needs.

If you want to reach your goal of your corporate video, you must always start with your audience. Knowing what characterizes your internal or external audience will help you find the best match.

Dive into the target group's world and emotions. Use a funnel to start with general information. Then filter as long as needed to come up with the interesting details. Find out why and how an audience can be persuaded to take action. This will lead you to the right tone of voice and style. Resulting in the target audience buying a product or following a procedure.

Your voice actor should be a professional with a great and approachable voice. Sounding natural is a more delicate aspect which takes proper communication. Make sure the voice actor knows something about the message you're conveying. You can evaluate this by listening to demos and auditions. Discover what separates one voice from another or AI voices. Search for the nuances. Then zoom in on the essential equipment you require from a professional voice recording.

Try working with the four pillars and tips in this article for your next corporate video. They will help you succeed in choosing the right voice.

If you need help with this undertaking, look no further than VoiceProductions. You can easily book a voice-over online. Their voice actors have been carefully selected. All of them working from a professional home studio. They work fast, and you can expect your recordings delivered within 24 hours. They are competitively priced and work with transparent rates.