A Simple Hack to Easily Improve Your Videos
Spoiler alert: It’s voiceover. The simple hack to improve your video? Professional voiceover.
You’ve just thrown together a presentation for that big meeting next week… or maybe you outsourced it to the pros to make sure it would look really good (tip of the hat, smartie-pants). You present, the meeting ends, and as people are filing out you get a tap on the shoulder, and hear one of two things…
1. Wow, nice job on the presentation! Everyone really enjoyed it, including [insert manager’s name here]. I’ve sat through about a dozen of these meetings and honestly, that’s the first time I learned that [insert information about a subject that was covered and actually retained by watching your video].
2. Crickets
Let’s Break It Down
Even if the quality of the video was in the good-to-excellent range, it might have suffered from:
Using a robo-voice. AI voices have come a long way and are actually pretty remarkable, but frankly they’re hard to listen to (uncanny valley much?). People won’t stay focused.
Or worse, maybe you got someone in the office to do the voiceover (VO) using the mic on their laptop, a phone, or a “professional” mic they bought online somewhere. Hey, everyone loves a team player! But nobody likes a bad recording.
“…[it’s] like the difference between seeing a movie that gets 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, versus a student film”
Dooley Media Works
How Voiceover Elevates the Quality of Your Videos
The person in that first scenario wasn’t aware of it, but they actually paid attention in a meeting for the first time because there was something arresting about the presentation. Using professional voiceover for your elearning course, product explainer video, or presentation instead of doing it in-house is like the difference between seeing a movie that gets 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, versus a student film.
A powerhouse one-two-punch happens when you combine video with professional voiceover. Sure, you could use a robo-voice for your learning programs but that’s more likely to distract the viewer and inhibit them from absorbing the material being shown. For example, explainer videos deliver messages faster, engage the viewer, improve conversion rates, and boost SEO ranking, just to name a few of the benefits. That’s assuming the video AND the audio are professional.
Studies show that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text.
Professional voiceover is more affordable than you think
“Oh, we don’t have the money, so we just do it in-house ourselves”. Guess what. It’s probably cheaper than you think. Those major market TV commercials with the silky smooth VO? Yeah, the ad agency probably had to fork out some serious bucks for the voice talent. Wanna know a secret? (brace yourself) You can get that same voice actor to record your script for a few hundred bucks, not a few thousand. It all comes down to usage. A presentation being shown at the office isn’t reaching the same audience as a beer commercial that’s airing in all of North America. Your presentation is what’s known as non-broadcast. But I digress…
Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in the text
Insivia
What to Do Next
We can help. Professional voiceover is what we do. New clients can take advantage of an introductory discount and we also offer bulk rates.
Need the video and the whole shebang? You’re in good hands – from scriptwriting, storyboarding, to voice casting, we specialize in elearning, product videos, training videos and more. Take a look at some examples or shoot us an email and let us know what you need.
Let’s get some oooohs and ahhhhs at those meetings.
James Dooley is the owner of Dooley Media Works, a voiceover recording and video production company. When he’s not being the “friendly, yet authoritative” voice of brands like KAYAK, Dove Soap and Honey Nut Cheerios, he provides voiceover coaching and professional voiceover demo production for aspiring voice actors looking to succeed in the business.