The Role Of Music And Sound Effects In Marketing

Music and sound are the everyday, non-avoidable parts of our routine lives. Whether you are in a concert, a busy traffic intersection or a shopping mall, you can always hear sounds and noises that fade into the background of your conscious thinking because of how used to you might have become to them. Nonetheless, it makes sense that this most important sense of hearing is utilised in the digital marketing world too.

The Emotional Connection

Do you remember your favourite song from when you were fifteen years old? Or the way the Christmas jingles started rolling in on TV just after Thanksgiving? Or the loud way the announcements were made in school corridors?

Believe it or not, but we associate a lot of memories with the sounds we heard when we were making them. The crashing of the waves and the chirping of birds bring about fond memories of camping and going to the beach. Marketing also utilises, and rightly so, this sense of emotional connection that we have with sounds (on a much larger and universal scale) to sell their product or service. It relays the business’ or the brand’s values, principles and even theme, helping people to remember it better.

How To Rightly UseSound And Music In Marketing?

The trick to use music and sound rightly in your marketing program and SEO schedule is to know WHERE to use them.

Even though there is no rule book that restricts the usage of music and sound, there are still some rules of thumb that you need to follow while considering putting audio effects for SEO. Let’s see what they are.

1. The tempo of the music/sound must match the tempo of the visuals. If you out a fast-paced audio track behind the advert of a mattress brand, there is no chance it will prove to be successful.
2. The music/sound should reflect and reiterate the message of the visuals.Harmony is the key when it comes to marrying the visuals with the audio. The message conveyed by the display should match with the tone and effect of music.
3. Choice of music is crucial. Choosing the wrong sound will quickly turn into a disaster if the people respond negatively to your sound choice.
4. Music/sounds should represent your brand. Coupled with the logo, the definite sound can prove to be a unique identity of your brand.
5. It should be pleasant and non-threatening. Any sound that brings us a bad experience or leaves us with an unpleasant feeling will not translate into higher sales figures.
6. Creativity and originality pays bigger bucks. Don’t be afraid to mix up genres and tones, try something outside the box, to make it interesting and modern.

Because of the emotional value brought by music and/or sound and how it effectively changes our mood, SEO has now ventured in to involve sounds/audio in some form or another in each and every marketing gimmick. Advertisers have been utilising its potential for long, but the collaboration between SEO, marketing and music is going to be a stable, long-standing one.