Musicgram – Music, Marketing & Instagram
Working Paper No. 25
Today, we talk about how Instagram strikes a musical chord with marketing music and reaching millions in a spectacularly short period of time or to say it in our industry’s favourite term - go viral. Let’s quickly dive in to discuss MusicGram!
VIDEO CONTENT IS LEADING THE WAY
Today, every second piece of content we consume is in the form of video. No agency – client meeting is complete without stressing on the need to create a video strategy to keep people engaged. The reasons are simple – video content is easier to remember, enables storytelling and adds interactivity.
But you’d ask, with so much video content around us, how does one piece of content stand out from the rest? And how does music marketing fit in the scheme of things? First and foremost, for any content to stand out, it has to be interesting to elicit a response. Secondly, relatability and influence help your message travel – which means leveraging hot topics and trends (read memes and moment marketing) that people instantly recognize, and content creators who are widely followed for their entertaining and informative content. Lastly, it’s equally important to follow what content format people enjoy the most (Reels, Stories, IGTV, Feed)
MUSIC BECOMES THE MEDIUM
Now add music and Instagram to the mix. Instagram is where the audiences are today, and so are the content creators. We are found sometimes (read most of the times) scrolling endlessly thanks to Instagram’s algorithm to deliver content that interests us the most, one video at a time. Then there are influencers and content creators dancing, entertaining and educating us all the way, one reel video at a time 😊
While we consume a variety of content, music inherently adds to the experience that makes video content so highly engaging and popular. Instagram allows you to add music to everything you create and share, with its latest update even allowing users to add music to a static post on your feed.
Music is in itself is content now, not just a mere background element. There are plenty of examples where music communicates the message or the emotion – popularly seen across content produced by creators and general users in reference to situational content, trends, memes and more.
With extensive usage of music across video content formats, we’re often discovering new music which we otherwise might not explore. Haven’t you come across new music and genres while browsing through your reels section? The lo-fi slow reverb music elevating travel and food videos, the peppy tunes accompanying trending videos, the dance challenges, etc. We’re always discovering new music while consuming content from our favourite sources, irrespective of the genre or language.
TUNING IT PERFECTLY FOR MUSIC MARKETING
With all the music exploration happening, it stands to greatly benefit music artists to popularize their work on Instagram at a viral pace. For example, a catchy tune or fun lyrics could pave the way for one’s music to sit on a variety of reels video.
Another way in which music is often popularized is when influencers and creators produce content using a specific song/tune. This often results in taking the music to a large set of audience and discovery takes place in a short span of time with massive reach.
Then there are dance and fun challenges and trending videos that float across Instagram with accompanying music, leading to more reach and popularity. Aspiring creators and bloggers, general users and brands leverage trending music as it helps them boost reach for their content. There’s a library for top trending music on Instagram reels (check the audio tab on your reels section)
HOW CAN BRANDS DANCE TO THE TUNE?
Music is powerful, it stays with us. Even today, if we hear a brand tune / jingle from the 90s, we can instantly recognize the brand. Be it the iconic McDonald’s ba da ba ba ba” vocal hook, Intel Inside’s ting ting ding ding ding piano tune to Netflix ta-dum sound, music engages us consciously while staying in our subconscious. And not just sounds, there are plenty of brand jingles we can think of that made them so easily remembered. Music helps you achieve recall, of course if done right with sustained consistent efforts. Yet, brands today seem to have ignored this powerful marketing tool.
There’s still time and a renewed opportunity that Instagram brings. Brands can invest in creating catchy tunes / jingles and reach people in a short span of time. Collaborate with content creators to amplify reach, or even co-create with them. Find interesting ways to reuse the brand tune to engage people or gratify them with fun challenges and contests.
The opportunity transcends beyond producing branded music or jingles. Brands who are serious about addressing age old stereotypes / want to champion a cause could produce music that connects with millions at large and appeal to the highly active and vocal gen zs and millenninals, group
The recent campaign by Absolut Vodka – Born to Mix – introducing cast of cocktail to celebrate the LGBQT community, is a perfect example of using the power of video and music to deliver the message
Similarly, Pepsi – positioned as a brand of and for the youth, could create a series of anthems that celebrates today’s youth and its varied wants and desires.
With tons and millions of content produced and consumed daily, and video and music content dominating the consumption, it’s time brands see music marketing as an essential, and not a mere add-on asset. All of this combined can bring in synergy and boost overall branding efforts.
To conclude on a slightly philosophical note - In a sea of brands looking to create noise, it’s time to create a sound – it stays!