Even if you haven’t considered voice-over as a means of getting your message across up to this point, here is one reason why you most definitely should:

No less than 88 out of Fortune’s top 100 fastest growing companies for 2019 actively leverage the power of professional voice over talent to effectively inform their employees and engage with their customers.

Please note that the following article contains affiliate links, meaning that I receive commission for purchases made through them. That being said, these are all products and services I’ve personally used and can vouch for.

The first keyword here being actively. Voice over narration can be heard on said companies’ corporate websites, across their YouTube and Vimeo channels, as well as on national and regional TV and radio spots to varying degrees. This doesn’t mean that alternative methods of presenting content, such as plain text articles, statistical data, and non-narrated videos are inferior to a spoken piece of script, or that the remaining 12 financial behemoths are oblivious to the benefits of captivating storytelling. It simply goes to show that voice over is but a part of an arsenal of tools. The more varied the arsenal, the better. From there on, the informed decision as to which tool best suits their particular needs ultimately lies with the person paying the bill. That being said, it’s worth noting that not all voice overs are created equal.

Which brings us to the second keyword of relevance – professional. While a difference of opinion does exist among voice talent about what constitutes a pro, one thing remains  an incontrovertible watershed when it comes to separating rookies from veterans – quality of output. Beauty may be in the eye (or in this case ear) of the beholder, but the chasm of perceived value between a broadcast worthy voice over, produced by a trained talent in a dedicated recording environment, versus one made in an untreated space by a hobbyist with a headset, can most easily be portrayed by a couple of examples.

A captivating story listeners can enjoy

The audio equivalent of Chinese water torture

Fortune’s 88% have weighed the value of a studio-quality recording and found that the ROI makes sense for their brand/niche/campaign. But how does that relate to SMBs?

The good news is that you don’t have to be a multi-billion dollar corporation to pique viewers’ interest, produce memorable content, and inform effectively. Small and medium-sized businesses are in a better position to utilise the attention-grabbing, retention-guaranteeing potential of voice over more so than at any other point in history. With competitive prices on recording equipment and the advent of home studios, more and more talent are taking the proactive route, setting themselves up for success, and guaranteeing availability even among unprecedented economic and social disruptions.

Not sure where to start?

Online platforms such as Fiverr, UpWork, and LinkedIn connect professionals on both sides of the aisle, enabling clients to pick from a plethora of talented performers of every language, accent and dialect under the sun. Personalised email outreach hasn’t gone out of fashion, either.

So, before you decide to send John from Accounting to record your next training module on his smartphone, consider whether those 88+ Fortune companies may be on to something. Review your arsenal, pick the right tool(s), and go tell the world the next great story – your story!