Posted: July 9, 2021
We very strongly support the use of voiceover in property marketing videos. In fact, we recommend it for every property marketing video that crosses our path! Watching a video that includes a voiceover allows the viewer to fully take in the visuals of the video while also following a story led by the voiceover artist to fully understand the value that a property may hold.
Listing agents and brokers may feel intimidated writing a script for a voiceover professional to read. Although the information in a brochure or OM and voiceover script are very similar, the tone and method of writing are very different. But not impossible! Today we’ll be discussing the best tips for writing an effective voiceover script.
Decide where to start
Is it best for you to start with the script and base the video around that? Or would you find it easier to see a video and base the script around that? Neither way is better than the other but deciding where to start will keep your project moving forward effectively.
If you are starting with the script before the video, go ahead and move on to the next step so that you have a focused outline before you start writing the first draft.
If you are working with a draft of the video that you can use to tailor the script to, then start by getting a good feel for the video. Watch it several times and take notes. What are the 3-5 biggest driving points that the video is conveying? Use those as you head into the next step.
Determine the main story points
Now you’ll want to determine what the biggest focuses are for the video. While a brochure and OM can go into all the nitty-gritty details about a listing, that is not the best way to approach creating an effective property marketing video.
As you review your marketing materials and video draft (if you have it), you’ll want to ask yourself these questions:
- What are the main selling points for your listing?
- What does the video focus on the most about the property? Is it aspects of the location, nearby amenities, value of the land, office space, retail proximity, etc.
- What geographical components make the most sense to discuss during the map portion of the video? Is drive time information pertinent? What about highways, major thoroughfares, local roadways?
That’s the driving point of the script. You want several main selling points but not too many that your voiceover script is twice as long to say out loud as the length of the visuals of the video.
Brevity and breathing room
There should be a balance between the information on the screen, the accompanying voiceover, and breathing room for the viewer to take everything in. The best way to do this is to write out a rough draft of the script and time yourself speaking it to see how long it takes to read at an intermediate pace.
If you already have a draft of the video to base your script on, then you can compare the lengths accordingly.
If you are starting with the script, then you can base the length of your script on approximately how long you are planning the video on being. Timing can be tailored accordingly by the video editor.
Next Steps
Once you have a draft of the script, you'll want to read it out loud to make sure that the verbiage flows well when said out loud. What reads well in a property brochure can sound like garbled gobbledygook when read aloud. You can also send the script to another member of your team to proofread it and ensure that it reads well out loud.
After that, keep tweaking and streamlining until all stakeholders are happy with the script! Because then comes the fun part: hearing the recorded version and placing it over your property video. There are plenty of voiceover professional services online that help connect you with the perfect voice for your project. And most are reasonably priced with a quick turnaround time!