Explainer video voiceover is used for a short, informative video (usually between 30 seconds and 3 minutes long) that explains an idea, a product, or a service in a straightforward, concise, and engaging way. They can be made using live-action, 2D animation, or whiteboard style where the action is hand-drawn. Explainer videos appear on landing pages, a website’s homepage, a primary product page, and YouTube or crowdfunding platforms.
Benefits of Explainer Video Voiceover
Explainer videos positively affect SEO results and can increase traffic by up to 15%. Additionally, explainer videos speed up decision-making. After watching YouTube videos about a product, 80% of customers decide to purchase it, and Explainer videos are often instrumental in that decision.
They’re short and sweet: Working on long-form projects can be challenging for several reasons (kids, time, kids, and did I mention time??), but nothing stops me from saying yes to an explainer video voiceover! Also, I can deliver a finished explainer voiceover in less than a day, so my sense of productivity gets a welcome boost.
No gratification delays: Because explainer videos are so short, there’s always a sense of immediate satisfaction. I can turn an explainer script around quickly and sometimes see the finished video out in the wild the next day!
Learn something new with every script: I’m busy with three kids and a household to run. My spare time is minimal. Therefore I relish every opportunity to learn from the explainer video content I narrate.
Why Use a Professional Artist for Your Explainer Video Voiceover?
If you’re beginning the process of creating an explainer video, you’re going to need to add a voiceover. You might be an expert on your subject, but that doesn’t mean you should be the one to record the voiceover. And Jack, who works on the front desk, might have a ‘nice phone voice,’ but that doesn’t mean he will be any good at voiceovers.
Professional equipment and a quality recording space mean excellent audio quality. If you invest in a videographer to put your visuals together, don’t skimp on voiceover. Using an amateur risks undermining the project. How will your target market be able to focus on your message when it’s delivered poorly?
More Reasons to Leave it to a Professional
Microphone technique. A professional voiceover artist should make what they do look like a walk in the park. That’s what being a professional is all about! Listen to a sub-par voiceover and you will start to realise just how much skill goes into performing a flawless voiceover. Moreover, and without getting too technical about it, lousy microphone technique can really mess up a voiceover recording. Good microphone technique includes knowledge of:
- Distance from the microphone
- Breathing techniques
- Projection consistency
- Awareness of thumping speech sounds and the skill to reduce them
- Hydration
- Posture
- Awareness of physicality
Without it, your voiceover will lack professionalism and have your audience listening to the wrong things instead of what you’re trying to tell them.
Elements of Excellent Explainer Video
A professional voiceover will have speech clarity to tackle words that might be difficult to pronounce. An experienced and professional Voiceover artist has the skills needed to make voiceover conversational and natural or bright and happy. In the Voiceover Code of Practice, mumbling is out, always, and mispronouncing words is illegal.
You want to engage your audience and hold them. They won’t hang around for long if the voice sounds disinterested and monotone. A professional voiceover has experience and training in the art of performance, which is the key to vocally connecting to a target audience. Pitch, pace, pause, volume, and vocal vitality deliver an engaging voiceover performance. A professional voiceover artist knows how to adjust the dials on each of those elements. This is what will keep your viewers engaged and interested in your message.
A professional voiceover artist is versatile. You don’t need a background in acting, but it helps to have good acting skills! A voiceover artist has a few minutes to take the viewer on a journey and convince them to act. Having versatile acting skills is an absolute must.
Explainer videos are such an integral and vital part of any marketing strategy, and a great voiceover can make all the difference in the success of your project!