Text vs. Voiceover: The B2B Product Video Strategy That Actually Converts

Stop Guessing: Why Your Narration Choice is a Strategic Decision

Most B2B teams treat the decision between text-on-screen and voiceover as a matter of creative taste or budget. That's a mistake.

In a world where you have three seconds to stop a busy Product Marketing Manager's scroll (or risk a pricey ad impression being wasted), your narration strategy is the invisible engine of your video's performance.

It determines where the video will live, who will watch it, and how they’ll absorb your product’s value. If you get it wrong, you end up with a high-production video that no one finishes.

Let’s break down the strategic pros, cons, and use cases for each.

Voiceover: When Narrative Depth Trumps Scroll-Stopping

A professional voiceover can instantly elevate your video's production quality and allow for a richer, more detailed narrative. It’s the closest thing you have to a guided demo without a live person.

The Pros of Voiceover:

• Narrative Depth: Allows you to convey complex features, technical explanations, and abstract concepts with nuance and precision.
• Brand Authority: A consistent, high-quality voice lends immediate professionalism and trust to your brand.
• Pacing Control: The narrator's cadence controls the speed and emotional tone of the viewing experience.
• Accessibility: It's essential for vision-impaired audiences and creates an audio-first experience.

The Cons of Voiceover:

• Sound-Off Risk: Completely ineffective on platforms where 85%+ of viewers watch on mute (think LinkedIn or X feeds).
• Higher Friction: Requires an active viewing experience. The viewer must click with the sound on, or at least have the option to.
• Production Overhead: Requires professional recording, talent fees, and potentially localization costs for other markets.

Voiceover's Best Use Cases:

1. Explainer Videos for the Website: High-intent viewers who've already landed on your product page are ready to commit their attention. This is your chance for a deep-dive.
2. Internal Training/Customer Onboarding: A guided, detailed tour is critical for maximizing user adoption and long-term retention.
3. In-App Feature Walkthroughs: A friendly voice guiding a user through a new feature release within the product itself.

Actionable Takeaway: If you choose voiceover, you must include closed captions or subtitles. This is not optional. According to a recent survey, captioning significantly improves comprehension and enables sound-off viewing for the 85%+ who need it.

Text-on-Screen: The Scroll-Stopping Powerhouse

Text-driven videos are inherently motion-first. The animated text and visuals must work in lockstep to communicate the value without relying on sound. This makes it a high-impact choice for the attention economy.

The Pros of Text-on-Screen:

• Platform Agnostic: Works perfectly in every social feed, email campaign, and silent lobby screen. It's sound-off native.
• Immediate Value: Delivers the core message instantly, without relying on a click, a sound toggle, or a heavy narrative build-up.
• Higher Finish Rate: Short, punchy sentences and motion keep the viewer engaged and prevent visual fatigue. It’s designed for rapid consumption.
• Motion Priority: It forces the content to be visually engaging—exactly what's needed to stop the scroll.

The Cons of Text-on-Screen:

• Limited Detail: You can only convey a few key messages before the screen gets too busy or the video becomes too long. Complexity is the enemy.
• Higher Design Cost: Motion design needs to be flawless. Text that flashes too fast or looks generic is often worse than no video at all.
• Tone Difficulty: It can be challenging to infuse personality and emotional connection without a human voice.

Text-on-Screen's Best Use Cases:

1. Demand Generation Ads (LinkedIn/X): Your goal is a click, not a dissertation. Use the text to highlight a single pain point and a single, stunning solution.
2. Email Marketing & Newsletters: Ensure your video's message is delivered instantly in the inbox preview, regardless of the user’s mail client settings.
3. Website Heroes/Banners: The ultimate silent salesperson that communicates your core value proposition above the fold in a visually dynamic way.

Actionable Takeaway: When using text, apply the "Five Second Rule." Every segment of text must be readable and comprehensible in under five seconds. Use dynamic typography and contrasting colors to make the text a focal point, not an afterthought.

The Best Strategy: Knowing Your Goal

The most effective B2B video strategy is rarely an "either/or." It's a strategic "when and where."

If your goal is Top-of-Funnel Awareness—you're running LinkedIn or X ads and need to stop the scroll—the clear winner is Text-on-Screen. It's sound-off native, delivers instant value, and is designed for rapid consumption. Don't waste money on a voiceover your audience will never hear.

When your goal shifts to Middle-of-Funnel Evaluation—a viewer is on your landing or product page and ready to invest real attention—you should pivot to a Voiceover with mandatory captions. This is where you leverage narrative depth to explain complex features, build authority, and answer technical questions. They're asking for the deep dive; give it to them.

Finally, for Bottom-of-Funnel Conversion and Sales Follow-Up, use a more tailored Text or Hybrid approach. The video can be shorter, more direct, and personalized to the prospect. You can mix in just enough text and motion to drive home a single, strong closing point before the CTA.

The real secret to high-performing video is using motion design to make the text, the voice, and the visuals work together as a single, unskippable unit—regardless of the volume setting. That requires a strategic partner, not just an animation vendor.

Want to stop making videos that look great but don't convert? Let’s map out a video strategy that actually moves the needle for your demand gen team.