We live in challenging times, with businesses and government agencies of all kinds being forced to rethink the way they work in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic…
Voiceover business as usual
Most of the world has been forced to switch to working from home, to reduce exposure and prevent the spread of the virus.
The good news is, most voiceover talent already do exactly this, and we’ve been working from our own professional home studios for some years! Which means you can carry on working with us, regardless of whether you can physically be in the same room (which you probably shouldn’t be, right now…)
Like most of my colleagues, I can either work on my own, to your brief, or I can offer live directed sessions via your phone, Skype, or even via your web browser.
So, there’s no need to panic. And plenty of ways to make sure you can still record your important message, coronavirus-related or otherwise!
Here's an example of an instructional video for Virtu Ferries, who updated their safety procedures for COVID-19.
For an example of how my voiceover might sound for your own project, click below to hear and download my updated Medical & Healthcare Demo Reel:
DOES YOUR BUSINESS NEED UPDATED MESSAGING?
If your business is facing changes as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, you may find yourself with new requirements and challenges that require a swift response, including voiceover. That could include:
EXPLAINER VIDEO
If you need to talk about your company’s response to the coronavirus, explain a change to the way you do business, or educate your audience, then a short Explainer Video can help to get all that information across to visitors to your website or social channels.
It could be as simple as a text video, or more elaborate – like the whiteboard animation below – and you should always make sure your video has subtitles available, for those who either can’t hear, or who might see your video in their feed when they’re unable to listen.
These kinds of videos can be created fairly quickly using online or desktop software, or produced for you by a company like my clients, simpleshow, who created the one below as part of a series on Coronavirus education.
But remember: a human voice still makes the best connection to your message, so don’t overlook the use of professional voiceover in your messaging.
Click to play an example of Coronavirus messaging using Explainer Video
– part of a series created by simpleshow
IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
Changing up your company’s on-hold messaging is one of the most obvious ways to disseminate information that may be changing rapidly.
This way, your clients and customers can get the most important information before they even speak to a human being. Your phone system messaging can do some of the heavy lifting for you, taking the weight off call centre staff. (You can hear an example of this kind of messaging in the demo further up the page.)
E-LEARNING & MICROLEARNING
Your training and development team can quickly create appropriate training materials for staff working from home and under unfamiliar conditions, potentially saving on calls to your IT and HR departments, among others.
Microlearning takes this a stage further, with bitesize chunks of information that can be viewed on a mobile phone or tablet in a couple of minutes.
ADVERTISING SPOTS
Just like Explainer Video, an advertising campaign may be an appropriate response to tell your clients, or the public, about what’s going on in your business.
Whether you choose to run a campaign on traditional media like TV & radio, or to run social media advertising that can be delivered to targeted groups, a professional voiceover can help, by being the voice of calm and reassurance that your audience needs to hear.
NEED HELP CREATING YOUR CONTENT?
If you need help in finding professionals to assist in creating any of the above, I’m happy to help with introductions and recommendations to trusted content creation partners in my network, in the USA, UK and Europe.
As always, remember that hiring a professional voiceover artist elevates your messaging to a level that inspires the vital trust and confidence you need. Again, if I can’t help you myself, I’m always happy to make recommendations to trusted colleagues – just ask!
Mike Cooper
Mike Cooper is a British voice talent who moved from London to a log cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Asheville, North Carolina, in 2014.
Mike spent many years with the BBC, is the narrator of countless documentaries for HISTORY, Smithsonian Channel and National Geographic in the UK, and voices commercials, promos, corporate projects, IVR, e-Learning and more, for clients all over the world.