5 Tips to Choose Great Music for your Social Media Video

Video and audio go hand in hand when it comes to social media advertising. Research shows that that viewers are more likely to click or watch an entire advertisement with well-known music, or any music in general, as opposed to no music at all. Using music that fits in well is crucial when creating a successful advertisement. Here are five tips to help you choose the best possible music for your social media video ad.

1. Determine your target audience.

The type of music selected should appeal to your focused target audience. Does your target audience prefer a certain musical genre, such as classical, or country, or Top-40 pop? Are you aiming for a broad market and need a popular genre? Or is it a more focused and distinct demographic that may have specific musical taste?  Spending some time understanding your audience and their musical preferences will help you better narrow down the best range of tune choices. 

2. What is the intended emotion?

Music often has an emotional impact on the consumer. It plays an active role on your current mood and how you feel about the product shown. Many social media advertisements have happy upbeat music to subconsciously change the way you think about the video’s message or what is being sold. The goal is to win you over and make you more interested in the product or company. Choose a song that’s welcoming to make a potential customer more likely to stay and watch the entire video.

3. Choose your music based on your message.

Think about what music would match the message your social media video is  portraying. Is the product or service something useful and important for businesses? Perhaps a song with a slower, more serious sound is the right choice. Does the video promote a product or service that offers safety and security? Perhaps a soothing and calm melody will help viewers feel that.  

4. Determine whether you want copyrighted or non-copyrighted audio.

This comes down to your budget. Free songs can work well when your budget is limited, and  there are numerous tracks you can obtain that are non-copyrighted. If you can afford it,  you’ll have more options if you purchase a standard license and get the full rights to the song. Paying for a copyrighted song will allow you to use the music in all of your ads without having to worry about the same song playing in other ads, which makes your ad much less memorable for your audience.  There are several websites you can purchase songs for a very reasonable price including https://stock.adobe.com/audio and https://artlist.io/.

5. Align the music with the brand

People will associate your music with your brand, and it matters how closely the music aligns with the brand. For example, a brand that has core values of innovation and a focus on the future may want to steer away from music that is nostalgic or “classic” in favor of the newest and most current sound. Sometimes, the right music for the brand and the target audience preference don’t easily line up. What if you are doing a video for a legacy company that is aiming to attract young customers?  The music needs to both align with the brand and attract the target audience. This is where music choice can be critically important. Having a thorough understanding your brand, audience and message will help you identify tracks that fit all three. 

Music is a highly important part of your video production. As you can see, it can impact your viewer as much as the visuals. Making a thoughtful music choice can give your ad the extra boost it needs to become successful.

Need assistance producing a powerful and effective video ad to use on social media? Contact the experts at Prototype Marketing today.