There are a lot of benefits to adding a voice over to your video, but how do you choose the perfect one for you? Read on for our six top tips to help you make the right decision.

Too big a responsibility? Squideo offers a range of voice over options. Get in touch with the team and we’ll help you find the right one for your project.

Squideo's Top 6 Tips

1. Agency vs. Freelance

Voice over artists typically work for an agency or work freelance. Freelancers can be sourced on websites like Fiverr and Freelancer. 

Regardless of where you find a voice over artist, the first step is to ensure they are offering quality services. Their website or profile should have multiple example recordings available for you to listen to. These will demonstrate the range of tones and accents they offer. 

Listen carefully to ensure they are using good quality recording equipment. If the quality is poor, it will also drag down the quality of the video it’s attached to. 

2. Follow the Budget

The next consideration is your budget. Some voice over artists can charge a lot for their services, especially if they’ve been working for a long time and have put their voice to notable work. With this price comes a lot of experience, however, and professionalism. 

To find the right artist for your budget, collect estimates from several sources before making your decision. 

3. Pick a Tone

At Squideo, one of the first questions we ask a new client is “what tone do you want?” What this means is, do you want a video that’s corporate and formal? Something neutral and easily accessible? Maybe the tone should be energetic and friendly?

Getting an answer to this question doesn’t just inform the script and visuals, it also gives us an idea of the type of voice over you’re looking for. 

To decide on the right tone for your business, ask yourself two questions: 

• What tone reflects your brand?
• What tone will your target audience respond to?

Once you have the answers to these questions, the correct tone for your video will become obvious. 

4. Do You Want a Dialect?

We’re narrowing down the search to find the perfect voice over for your animation, but there’s three more things to consider. Next up is the choice between a generic accent or a specific regional dialect. 

If you’re targeting a large audience, a generic accent is usually the best call. For a UK video, this would be received pronunciation (RP) – also known as Queen’s English, BBC English or Oxford English. It is clear and commonly heard, making it likely that the majority of people will be able to understand the voice over without any issues. 

Or perhaps you want something more distinctive? If you’re a local or regional company which delivers services to a niche market, you may want a voice over that reflects the accent of your customers. 

5. Pick a Gender

The penultimate question is a little trickier. Gender. 

For some videos, the gender of the voice over artist is interchangeable while in others the audience may respond better to one or the other. This will vary depending on your audience, so do your target research here. 

A study by CXL in 2016 found that female voice overs were considered more “trustworthy” than male voice overs. In 2003 the Journal of Advertising also found that male targeted or gender-neutral products could use either a male or female voice over without any impact on the audience’s reaction. When it came to female targeted products, however, gender mattered much more and audiences preferred a female voice over.

There’s also the option to use both. If your video features dialogue between multiple characters, using female and male artists can help the audience differentiate who is speaking. Of course, this can drive up the costs!

6. Let the Company Speak

The final question is whether you want to hire a professional voice over artist at all. For B2Bs, using the voice of someone from your company can add a personal touch that customers will better connect to. However, this is not the easiest undertaking and can be costlier than hiring a professional. 

Professional voice over artists supply their own recording equipment and are familiar with audio editing. Take into consideration that these are responsibilities you will have to take over. It’s important to use high quality recording equipment to ensure the recording is usable in the video. Anything of too low a quality might be rejected on hosting sites. 

Get Started with Your Video

Squideo offers a range of voice over options. Get in touch with the team and we’ll help you find the right one for your project.

Watch our video below to get a better understanding of how we create videos to suit your project brief. And if you want to discuss how our videos can benefit your business, get in touch with the Squideo team today!