May I have your attention, please? Will all the SMEs, please take notes, please take notes, please take notes.
Audio has never been louder in social media. From TikTok to ASMR, the audience’s ears are ready for your content – but why is that?
TikTok Won’t Stop – Make it Pop
Sound is essential for native advertising, especially on everyone’s go-to platform, TikTok.
9 in 10 users agree that sound is vital to the TikTok experience, and with the platform now home to over 1 billion users, it’s clear audiences are eating it up – or earring it up?
Audible content on TikTok is one of its strongest foundations. Creative branding with sound engages audiences; whilst allowing them to contribute to your campaigns.
Say you create a campaign with a specific song or soundbite from trending content; you allow users to creatively bounce off your content, which in return, leads back to your OG content. It’s a win-win!
Unlike other social media platforms, audible content is an absolute anti-scroll on TikTok, meaning your target audience stay engaged by your content longer.
According to Kantar, it’s impossible to separate TikTok from sound, with 88% of users saying sound is essential for creative engagement.
It’s not just TikTok, though – your brand needs to boom audio content whenever possible. Is there a reason why?
Jingle All the Way
According to a study that TikTok For Business quotes, brand linkage and recall increase 8x when distinctive brand sounds and audio integrate into ads:
Unlike slogans and logos, sound resonates with audiences the most as a creative asset.
Let’s take McDonald’s as an example. Sure, we see the M, the bright red background emphasising the logo. But it’s that sweet soft whistle that gets stuck in our heads after we’ve finished the nuggets.
A simple jingle can go a long way, even with creative changes from time to time. The iconic whistle was once, Badadadadada, I’m Loving It! What’s important is you find something that hooks the audience immediately and hums throughout the day.
And yep, you still find yourself humming that tune when you fancy a tempting triple Big Mac – we’ve all been there. But you can’t deny that the brand recall for McDonald’s is strong. Or is it just the secret sauce?
Storytime!
In line with moviemaking, music within advertising is synced emotionally with storytelling. Have you ever wondered how Jaws would sound without the ominous music? We wouldn’t be half as scared to go back in the water!
A jingle or audible hook will stick around for a while; an emotional connection heightened by music is even better. Music has the power to transport us into the narrative’s world – creative examples like Star Wars or even John Lewis illustrate this perfectly.
Social media, especially with TikTok, has a range of licensed music available, meaning there’s no excuse not finding the right tune for your adverts.
Not only will music help elevate your TikTokking to the next level, but they’ll also help you stay on-trend, capitalising on the latest bops and boogie videos.
Keeping up with TikTok’s trending sounds will help direct your content strategy while getting your videos on more FYP pages. It’s a no-brainer!
So, how do you know if your audio is adding extra flair?
We always recommend implicit testing, which immerses participants in a specific scenario where we can gather insights based on the audience’s in-the-moment actions.
Implicit testing is not just for music but for your entire creative piece. Conducting audience research (whether it’s through group testing or trying it out on others in the office) will help you understand what emotionally engages people.
Additionally, it’s important to keep the tone of your music related to your brand’s personality and identity. For example, if you’re selling an educational service, dubstep blaring in the background likely won’t vibe with your target audience.
We have a whole blog on emotional sentiment regarding ads and branding, which you can jam with right here.
For Future Ears Only
They said Mozart’s Symphony Number 40 was the peak of music and sound, then Britney’s Toxic came out. Needless to say, audio is constantly evolving and taking immersive engagement to the next step.
But of course, we’ll still remember Symphony Number 40 and Toxic like it was yesterday – that’s the beauty of music. It sticks with you, and for most of us, transports back to when you first heard it. It’s a sensory experience that is unrivalled.
Multisensory advertising could be the next big thing coming to our eardrums. 3D audio uses microphones to replicate human hearing, offering an experience where users can hear sounds based on how close they are to the mic.
Popchips Positivity Campaign integrated 3D audio into its adverts, the crackling and crinkling of the crisp emphasised through an autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR).
Creative campaign opportunities will only get weirder as we move closer to the Metaverse. However, let’s remind ourselves of the key takeaways when applying audio to our ads:
Understand your platform
All social media is distinct. Your audible ads may work wonders on TikTok but not for Reddit. It might not be the sound that isn’t engaging, more so the campaign’s style for that specific platform, so make sure to experiment with your creative!
And yes, we’re talking about A/B testing – where you have multiple versions of your assets and copy for a campaign and tweak them to see which performs best.
But, as always with TikTok, there’s no hard and fast rule as to what works, which is why testing is vital.
Emotional Branding
Don’t use audio for the sake of it. Make sure the music or sounds in your campaign align with the message/tone of your campaign whilst also representing your brand’s identity. Do the other assets of your campaign work without the music? If not, perhaps a re-tuning is in order.
We’re going to see audio rock n’ roll into even bigger branding campaigns throughout the year, and we’re ready to boogie alongside them. Be sure to keep up-to-date with all things audio right here.
Until the next time, if you’d like further insights into maximising audible ads or want advice on emotionally engaging your audience through campaigns – contact our heavy-metal marketing team now.
