Branding is made up of many things — logos, colors, messaging, atmosphere, and even a voice.
“Voice” in this sense isn’t the way you construct your words and sentences to deliver your messages.
This “voice” is the literal sound — the pitch, range, speed, and auditory tone — of the person delivering your messages to your audience.
Marketing Platforms That Benefit from Voice Talent
Voice talent connects with your customers through radio advertisements, digital display videos, in-store announcements, and most importantly, your telephone on-hold messages.
According to Telemarketing Magazine, 70% of callers to a business are placed on hold without musc or a recorded message. Of those callers, 60% of them will hang up and 30% of them won’t call back reports a CNN Survey.
Platforms that utilize voice talent speak directly to your audience, improve customer engagement, and can even increase your revenue. And these benefits can be maximized when you use the right voice talent.
Why You Need the Right Voice Talent
Most marketers already know that the right wording in a message is important. But few realize that the voice delivering the message is equally important.
The voice literally sets the tone for your brand. This is especially true when new customers that are unfamiliar with your brand hear the voice for the first time.
The voice creates your identity. The voice your customers hear immediately creates a first impression and paints a picture of what your brand and employees are like. Customers will imagine a brand and employees that match the style of the voice.
The voice reinforces your brand. If a customer who is already familiar with your brand hears your voice message, it needs to match what they already know about your brand. To keep a consistent brand image, your style and tone need to match across all marketing channels.
The voice sets you apart. Having a unique sound will make your brand more recognizable and help you cut through the noise of other advertisers and industry competitors.
Finding a voice that matches your brand’s unique vibe then using that voice across multiple platforms over time will provide a consistent, comfortable brand experience that customers will remember.
How To Pick the Right Voice Talent
As you begin to search for the best voice talent to represent your brand, consider your industry, customers, products, and services. Think about what fits best with your unique position in the market.
Pick a Style that Matches Your Brand. While it may seem like all voice-overs are the same. They can come in a variety of styles.
To define your style, first think about the words that describe your brand. Then, match those terms with words that describe voice talent. Here are some examples:
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If you aren’t sure what the style sounds like, browse through the samples from Spectrio’s voice artist library. Our library includes samples and the terms that we use to describe each voice artist’s tone and style.
Reviewing samples can help you understand what the styles sound like and further identify what you like and what you don’t. Keep these key points in mind early in your talent search. You don’t want to find a talent you really like, only to later realize they can’t meet all of your needs.
- Choose a Gender That Matches Your Defined Style. Once you have identified the style you would like for your message, consider if it would be best delivered by a female or male voice.
- Determining the style first will make this easier. Female voices will likely go better with styles that are friendly, soft, and cheerful, and male voices will likely match styles that are announcer-like and authoritative.
- Consider Language, Accents and Special Requests. Don’t forget to consider any special requests you have for your voice talent, such as a speaking a specific language or having an accent.
Use Your Imagination to Create a Spokesperson
If you struggle with defining a style for your voice talent, try this.
Think of an actor, politician, musician, or public figure that you would love to hire as the spokesperson for your brand.
Then, write down the qualities of their voice. This will help you drill down your tastes and create a descriptive list of the style you would like to represent your brand.
Pull From the Talent to Enhance Your Message
Once you select the right talent, work with them to refine the elements of your messages.
You will likely already have a script or general idea about the message you want to record. But take a moment once you select your talent to see if they have any unique abilities or offerings to add to your initial vision.
The talent may be able to offer advice on voice inflections, speed, and volume.You may be surprised by what a voice-over artist can add to your script or concept.
Ready to Find Your Brand’s Voice?
Schedule a free consultation with an on-hold messaging specialist.