Music has always played a key role in advertising campaigns and creative works. When you think about commercials back in the golden era of television, you might remember the sounds as much or even more than the images. That is true for advertising, but is the same in the filmmaking industry. Music has always been a crucial element in films of every genre.
As people, young generations in particular, are shifting towards social media rather than traditional entertainment mechanisms, much is evolving. But while things are changing, music still has a key role in enhancing any content, whether it’s marketing or cinematographic work.
Let’s see why music can boost your social media content!
Why does music matter more on social media?
Let’s start with the obvious–things are faster on social media. You scroll, you click, you skip, you like, you share, you close. On Facebook, mobile users have an attention span of 1.7 seconds in average, compared to desktop users that will spend 2.5 seconds on a single piece of content. But at the same time, social media platforms (like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc…) utilize a lot of suggestions and recommendations, showing content you didn’t ask for but are still shown. That type of content can be promotional in the case of advertising on YouTube (pre-roll ads), or paid posts on Instagram for example. Those two factors point to the fact that you need to get your viewer’s attention quickly, and music is your best tool to do so.
Use music to get your audience’s attention
Music definitely has a huge influence on social media. According to a study from MusicWatch, 90% of social media users have an activity related to music in their daily use of apps. Whether it is following a popular singer, viewing music videos, or even sharing your own work, music is everywhere online. Thus, in order to boost your social media posts, it is pretty clear that you should create content that fits organically into this music-oriented social media world. Adding the right music to your content will make it flow more smoothly and naturally with a user’s video flux. The idea is to offer content that, while being original, does not detract too much from the other content a regular user is seeing simultaneously.
Using YouTube as an example, if you use music that fits into the user’s video flux, the chances are higher that your content will be appreciated or will attract the viewer’s curiosity.
Think about new platforms like TikTok where music is the main point of focus. If you’re not using the right music or no music at all, you are basically sure to obtain bad results on your content’s performance.
Music targets consumers
And that leads us to our next point. Music targets consumers, so you should be careful in your choice according to the platform you’ll be posting on and the audience you want to reach. On TikTok, for instance, 60% of users are between 16 and 24 years old. But for Instagram, the main audience group in the USA is 25-34 years old (33.2%), followed by 18-24 years old (22.9%). Here are some figures about favorite music genres among different age groups, to give you an overview: hip-hop and rap combined are the favorite genre of 54% of the 20-24 age group; classic rock is 62% of the 45-54 age group; and pop music is 56% of the 25-34 and 52% of the 16-19 age groups, all in 2020 in the USA. If you want to learn more about the best music to choose for your content, you should definitely check our other articles here.
Music helps you build your brand identity
Audio definitely defines your brand’s identity, adding a second layer to the message you want to send to your audience. When you think about any famous brand, you associate it with an audio identity, a set of precise sounds that match the brand’s image. It is not something that is taken lightly. On the contrary, it is studied in detail by marketing professionals within those companies. As we previously said, the sound should match the idea and image you want your brand to be associated with. I recommend this article to help you develop a more concrete approach to the subject.
In conclusion, you now see why and how music can boost your social media content. Truly, music can be your best asset to help catch your audience’s attention, enhance your content, and make it more successful overall. While useful to attract viewers interested in your content, music also gives meaning in a way words cannot.
Looking for cool tracks for your content? Be sure to check out this Feelgood Pop Playlist from BAM Music!
