Storytelling: Telling your brand's story with music
Hello business owners and marketing managers! I’m super excited to share with you this written piece of content because lets be honest, some of you will be reading this in the bathroom and don’t want to watch the video!
When it comes to the story of your brand or simply what you are trying to communicate with video, music becomes a very important part of the experience a customer has with your content and should not be overlooked. I cannot stress enough that simply posting a video without thinking through these details can begin to subtract from the strength and identity of your brand! You have to admit if you saw a burger shop commercial that played classical music it would seem a bit out of place.
I’m a musician so I have to admit that I can be more picky than most when I’m selecting a music track for a video. I do believe that gives me an edge when thinking through selections because I think can think through what instruments are going to create the right vibe for the song. My personal preference is a lot of electronics instruments such as drums and synth pads. It creates and edgier vibe without being agressive like an electric guitar rock style would be. In general hip hop music is VERY mainstream to what it was a while ago and classic examples of personal brands/CEOs that use hip hop music frequently would be names like Gary Vaynerchuk and Andy Frisella. The whole “hustle” movement fits in with the achievement and “baller” lifestyle lyrics that hip hop can be known for.
When I’m picking out a song for one of my videos it can take me up to 30 minutes to find one that has the right style, right instruments, and right pacing for the video I’m trying to create. I believe for clients having that conversation during pre-production (the time bracket you plan out all the elements that make up your video/photo content before shooting) is the best time to see how music choice fits in to the message your going for. If your doing this yourself, as with any marketing decisions, sometimes the best way to find out what will work for your brand messaging is looking at examples from bigger companies that are higher level competitors that have typically spent a lot of money and have incredibly experienced staff on their marketing team. Chances are they have already done research and development on what works best. The one problem with this is you don’t always know how well it’s working for them. This is when having a team of people that can do weekly or monthly reports on A/B testing their doing with your content can be hugely helpful in making long term decisions for your brand that equal the most successful dollars spend on marketing. Marketing in general is an moving target and you may not want to spend your time chasing it when you can just hire out a team do manage that for you.
Some things to think of when choosing your music for a video…
What does my target market listen to?
What is the general emotional feeling I want people to associate with my product or service?
Do I want my video to get people pumped? Feel sophisticated? Safe? Playful?
Does the music have an “arch” to it? (Does it ramp up to a climactic moment and then wrap up nicely)
Is the music copyright free?
Does my music choice fit in with previous choices I’ve made?
I hope this article helps you think through music choices for your content!
If you ever feel the need to outsource your marketing or begin a plan of content marketing to boost your Brand’s image, exposure, or sales please shoot us an email at steven@burkhartcreativeagency.com.
