GUEST POST by John Kuehne, Voice Actor:

Speaking with many voice actors recently, I’ve noticed a recurring theme.  Most still don’t understand the importance of having video as a part of their personal brand marketing.

Granted, in the past, voice talent were able to get by with having their “audio only” demo as their primary marketing calling card. In today’s visual world, voiceover talent must take the opportunity to capture the additional impact of igniting the additional visual sense to convert their brand message into bookings.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone the impact that video has for higher results on messaging. Just take some of the amazing statistics in a recent article by Jeff Bullas:

35 Mind Numbing YouTube Facts, Figures and Statistics

• Over 4 billion videos are viewed a day
• Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month
• Over 3 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube
• More video is uploaded to YouTube in one month than the 3 major US networks created in 60 years
• 70% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US
• YouTube is localized in 39 countries and across 54 languages

If you have booked projects recently, take note of what the producer was actually booking you for. My qualified guess is that, unless it was a radio spot, the project had a video component.  Your potential clients are building visual content who think and react to visual input and stimulus.

So ask yourself the question; does my “audio only” demo have the same impact as a video which presents my branding along with my voice in an impactful way?  Take for instance the fact that we often hear that voiceover talent is lucky to have their audio demo listened to for more than the first 8 seconds.  When was the last time you watched a video for only 8 seconds.  The goal is that you must capture the attention of your listener for a longer period of time and video is most certainly a way to do just that.

There is a lot of great information about why video must be a part of your marketing plan. Liis Hainla put together a compelling “8 Powerful Reasons You Need To Use Video Marketing”.   I found that every reason is completely applicable to us as voiceover talent and essentially small business owners.

It’s time to move into the world of visual brand marketing and convert your demos into real client bookings.

John Kuehne is a professional voice talent and video producer based in San Francisco.  He is passionate about delivering the highest quality performances and projects which always exceed client expectations. 

His portfolio includes 100’s of radio and television spots, corporate narration, e-learning, corporate promotional as well as other successful projects.