How to Find the Perfect Voice Actor for Your Advertising Project
Nowadays, marketing is the backbone of any business or project. Accordingly, marketers need to be at the top of their game to guarantee the success of their advertisements. One of the methods that you can up your game with is hiring a voice actor for your next ad. As soon as you launch your campaign, you’ll watch your project blooming. However, voice-acting is a double-edged weapon; if you choose the wrong person, the ad will backfire. That being said, here’s how to find the most fitting actor.
Determine Your Target Audience
The key to a successful commercial is being catchy enough to resonate with your target audience. For instance, it should strike an emotional chord, show them what they need, or speak to them on any level. However, you should avoid offending or alienating the people watching your advertisement. Figuring out your audience’s demographics will ease the process of picking the actor.
Ethnicity and Accent
Some people despise cultural appropriation, so when you pick actors, consider their ethnicities. Figure out who will respond to the project and cast someone with a similar accent that will seem familiar to them. In other cases, it may be best to have someone with a different voice to tell your audience that they are not alone. Either way, make sure that the accent won’t seem condescending to whoever is listening.
Gender
In light of the women’s movement and their calling for taking down the patriarchy, it will be a horrible mistake to cast a man in an ad targeted at women. You should forget all about the myth that male voices are more persuading. To be on the safe side, stick to female narrations if you are advertising women’s products. If your commercial is gender-neutral, consider using a male and a female to do the voice acting; this way, you will have a balanced advertisement that appeals to both genders.
Figure Out the Needs of Your Brand
The perfect voice actor is one that knows how to convey the vision of your brand. The personality of your work will be portrayed through the tone of the actor’s voice. After figuring out your brand’s needs, make it a point to write down the emotions that you want your audience to feel. The talented person will know how to promote your company and build awareness towards it.
The voice should add value to the content, not take away from it. That’s why the pace should be considered as well. For instance, if you need people to take time to ingest the information, a slow-paced voice will be optimum. On the other hand, fast-paced audio can trigger emotions and excite people.
Go Over Different Styles
Before hiring anyone, you should go over the different voice styles to narrow down the search. A certain style will alter how your message is received and can affect the success of your advertisement. Keep in mind that not everyone can read in all available styles, so make sure to point that out in the application. For instance, state if you need an announcer who has an exciting tone, a friendly and approachable mellow voice, a narrator, or someone who can mimic different voices.
Check an Actor’s Previous Work
Hiring an amateur can have its perks if you want to sound more down to Earth or if you target children. However, investing in a professional may be more fruitful and save you a lot of time and effort. You should check an actor’s previous work to determine their level of expertise. In this digital world, finding a voice actor for your project has never been easier. This is because you can access people’s samples that are posted on different online platforms. You can schedule a meeting with them with a click of a button if you like their work.
Consider the money aspect because, according to your budget, you will attract different talents. Experienced voice-actors will refuse to work for you if the payment is not satisfying. That being said, you shouldn’t turn down less talented people if you are incapable of paying for the professional ones.
Hold Auditions
Some companies prefer to hire actors that come through recommendations to guarantee the quality of their work. However, they have to audition either way because even if their past work is great, they may not be a good fit for your project. After auditioning, hold another screening round to settle on the perfect candidate.
Look for Professional Qualities
The tone of voice and the accent of an actor are not the only determinant factors. This is because a successful project requires professionalism and awareness of different sound equipment. Furthermore, the studio you will be recording from should have a soundproof room and a high-quality microphone.
Another aspect to look at is having enough knowledge in editing to produce a perfect final version. If the actor can edit their work, it will be a great quality to make use of. However, sticking to deadlines is necessary, so if someone is qualified but known for being a procrastinator, they may not be the best fit. If they are not punctual, it will cost you time and money that you’d rather be investing in more crucial tasks.
Lay Down Groundwork in Your Offer
To ensure that the results will be according to your expectations, make sure to lay down some groundwork, this will avoid future misunderstandings, especially when you are halfway through the project. Some of the rules you should determine are due dates, payments, and the nature of the project.
Finding the perfect voice actor will be a no-brainer if you read this article and follow its lead. You need to know that your target audience is the most important aspect, so appealing to them will guarantee your success. That doesn’t mean that the actor’s talent is not crucial; on the contrary, if the voice-actor cannot deliver your message, the advertisement will lose its point. Remember that when you hire someone, you will be dealing with their talent, punctuality, and level of professionalism and remember, communication is very important, you could try softGOZA, as it is a tool that has been used lately and has brought good benefits.
