Build A Powerful Personal Brand With A Unique Brand Sound
The Impact Of Music
Music has a profound impact on human beings. It can affect our mood, emotions, behavior, physical health, and cognitive function. Here are some of the impacts of music on human beings:
1.?Emotional impact:?Music has the power to evoke strong emotions and feelings in people. It can make us feel happy, sad, excited, or calm. This emotional impact is due to the ability of music to activate the limbic system in our brain, which controls our emotions.
2.?Stress reduction:?Listening to music can help reduce stress levels. Studies have shown that music has a calming effect on the mind and body, which can help lower cortisol levels, a hormone associated with stress.
3.?Cognitive function:?Music has been found to have a positive impact on cognitive function, including attention, memory, and learning. Listening to music while studying or working can enhance focus and productivity (unless you are an auditory learning type — then you need to pay extra attention to what you are listening to so you don′t distract or block yourself.)
4.?Physical health:?Music has been shown to have physical health benefits, including the ability to lower blood pressure, reduce pain and inflammation, and improve sleep quality (this goes preferably for naturally tuned sounds and instruments and less for well-tempered instruments).
5.?Social impact:?Music has a powerful social impact and can bring people together or divide them. It can be used to express emotions, cultures, and beliefs, and can unite people across different backgrounds and communities.
Most countries actively use certain music to help build a cultural identity while religions also use certain types of sounds and music to deepen their spiritual practices.
For example, in Islam music is forbidden. Only the voice is acceptable to be used to recite the Quran.
In conclusion, music has a profound impact on human beings, affecting us emotionally, physically, cognitively, and socially. Its ability to evoke emotions, reduce stress, improve cognitive function, enhance physical health, and bring people together makes it a powerful tool to build a personal brand on social media.
The impact of sound
Sound has an even bigger impact on the human brain, development, identity, and emotions.
Every one of us grows up with a set of sounds that create memories and bring them to life whenever we hear them anytime in the future.
Growing up in Kazakhstan, I have one distinct memory that I will never forget.
When the warm morning sun beamed through the heavy white lace curtains touching my closed eyelids I could hear the birds sing lively songs as if they had already a plan for the day — a busy to-do list that they couldn′t wait to take on.
The distinct smell of hot coffee that my dad brought from Germany that year rushed through my nose while I could hear him turn the antique Asian silver teaspoon 3 times, slowly, to stir the sugar that he just poured.
The soft and quiet Russian pop music in the background coming from our old black radio created such a calming feeling in my chest that I knew the world was still ok, I was still ok, I was still alive.
At the same time, this scene created a longing and sadness that I could not be closer to my dad, that I was not able to help my dad, knowing that he preferred it that way, that he preferred to be alone, alone in his sacrifice, alone in his struggles, alone in his burden on his shoulders to get us far away from this place somewhere safe, someplace where we had enough food and freedom.
Every time I hear the same birds singing as in South Italy right now, anytime I smell coffee, anytime I hear someone turn a teaspoon on a porcelain cup, every time I hear Russian old pop music I am reminded of that time.
Remember the last time you were impacted by a movie or series (like Game of Thrones) it was the music that made the movie come to life! you will believe me when you watch the same movie or series without sound. It will be dull and lifeless, boring even.
Music and sound MOVE people emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Using sounds in your videos and reels WILL have a huge effect on your listeners and will create memories and emotions that your viewers will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
So it is quite important what sounds you use and to be conscious about what types of memories and experiences you want to create for your viewers.
Categories of sound
In general, there are various ways to categorize sounds based on their properties such as pitch, duration, loudness, timbre, and so on.
For example, some types of sounds can be classified as musical, environmental, human-made, animal, technological, mechanical, and so forth.
8 Types of Sounds
There are 8 different types of sound including:
5 Steps To Build Your Personal Brand On Social Media With The Right Music In Your Videos
STEP #1- UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE
Before you start creating a brand sound, it’s essential to understand your target audience. What kind of genre, tone, and style will resonate best with them? Think about the age, gender, interests, and lifestyle of your audience.
How to find out what music your target audience listens to?
a)?Conduct surveys:?You can create and conduct surveys through online platforms like SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, or social media to gather data on your target audience’s music preferences.
b)?Analyze your competitors:?Look at your competitors’ social media pages, websites, or streaming profiles to see what type of music they play, promote, or recommend. This will give you a good idea of what your target audience likes.
c)?Use analytics:?Platforms like Spotify and YouTube provide analytics of who is listening to what type of music. This will help you to determine the demographic of your target audience and the music they prefer.
d)?Attend events:?Attend concerts, festivals, or other music events that your target audience is likely to attend. Observe the audience's behavior, the genre of music, and the artist performing to determine their preferences.
e)?Engage with your audience:?Interact with your audience through social media comments, forums, or Q&As. Ask them about what type of music they like to listen to or share their playlists.
Remember that determining your target audience’s music preferences is important to ensure that your content aligns with their interests and ultimately leads to engagement and conversions.
What genres are relevant to your personal brand?
According to the Music Genre List, there are 41 primary genres of music, and within those primary categories, 337 subcategories of music. Globally, there are roughly 1,300 music genres.
Here are the 10 major music genres:
Every genre has 100s of subgenres and micro-niches that each has their own deep culture and influence on the emotions and memories of the listener.
The psychology of music preference
There are social influences on music selection that have increased ever since music has become more easily accessible through Spotify, Youtube, iTunes, etc., and more people have begun listening to a broader and wider range of music styles.
Social identity also plays a large role in music preference.
Personality is a key contributor to music selection.
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People who consider themselves to be “rebels” will tend to choose heavier music styles like Heavy-Metal and Hard Rock, while those who consider themselves to be more “relaxed” or “laid back” will tend to choose lighter music styles like Jazz or Classical music.
Most often, introverts favor sophisticated and more complex music and/or meaningful lyrics. Inward-directed introverts tend to be in touch with their creative side and deep thinking. As a result, many introverts love Classical music, Jazz, Singer-Songwriter genres, etc.
Extroverts on the other hand have a preference for pop and electronic dance music. They prefer energetic and rhythmic and conventional genres with light lyrics that are not too deep, dramatic, melancholic, or sad.
There are five factors that influence music preference and reflect emotional and affective responses.
These 5 factors are:
A?Mellow Factor?consisting of smooth and relaxing styles (Jazz, Classical, etc.).
An?Urban Factor?is defined largely by rhythmic and percussive music (Rap, Hip-Hop, Funk, etc.).
A?Sophisticated Factor?consisting of complex harmony and modulation (Operatic, World, etc.)
An?Intensity Factor?is defined by forceful, loud, and energetic music (Rock, Metal, etc.).
A?Campestral/Rural Factor?refers to Singer-Songwriter genres and Country.
2. Individual and situational influences
Studies have shown that while women prefer more treble-oriented music (meaning higher-pitched music), men prefer to listen to bass-heavy music.
Age is another strong factor that contributes to musical preference. There is evidence that shows that music preferences can change as people get older.
A Canadian study showed that adolescents show greater interest in pop music artists while adults and the elderly population prefer classic genres such as Rock, Opera, and Jazz.
STEP #2 — IDENTIFY YOUR BRAND VALUES
What do you stand for as a brand?
What sets you apart from your competitors?
These values should guide the creation of your brand sound. One of the major influences will be your Brand Archetype.
Depending on what brand voice your Archetype has you will be able to exclude certain music genres and niches completely.
For example, if you are The Caregiver Archetype you will not choose Metal or a subgenre called Black Metal or Death Metal for your brand sound as it will collide with your brand message, mission, and brand voice.
The Caregiver generally wants to take care of others, and create peace of mind, health, wellness, and more. Metal is a highly energetic type of music that will create a different vibe for the listener. Your audience will either be disgusted, angry, scared or confused if they watch your video or reel with Metal music in it.
So your Brand Archetype and the music genre, subgenre, and micro-niche need to be aligned and speak the same language. Both need to evoke the same type of emotions in your listener to inspire positive engagement and conversion later on.
If done correctly, you can actively increase your conversion rate by using the right type of music for your videos and reels.
STEP #3 — CHOOSE THE RIGHT MUSIC
Music is a powerful tool that can evoke emotions and memories. Choose music that reflects your brand values, and that your target audience will connect with.
You should choose the music that your target audience most likely will feel comfortable with and that aligns with your Brand Archetype and brand voice as well as your vision for your personal brand.
You do not want to choose music that will only create short-term gains (like trending music) because that will always harm your business and personal brand in the long run and decrease your reach.
You also want to avoid just choosing your favorite music because it might not align with your personal brand, your target audience, your product or service, or your Brand Archetype.
After you have made the choice of the right music genre, subgenre, and micro-niche, you need to consider the tempo, pace, and structure of a specific song so it is aligned with the video tempo and pace and thus enhances the visual aspect of your video.
If you make the mistake of not caring enough about these factors very quickly will you see that people will either not watch your videos, swipe away after 2 seconds, drop off quickly, or unsubscribe from your channel.
This will drag your content and the algorithm will not push your videos anymore if you don′t have enough engagement in the first 24h.
STEP #4 — BE CONSISTENT
Consistency is key when building a personal brand. Use the same music, sounds, and tone across all your marketing channels, from your website to your social media profiles.
Here are 6 tips on how to be consistent:
1.?Set clear goals:?Define what type of music genre or micro-niche you want to use and create a plan to help you stay on track.
2.?Create your music library:?Create a folder on your device with music that fits your personal brand and commit to adding new songs each week. You can add 9 new songs each week to get a list of at least 30 different songs to use for your videos and reels.
Don′t overwhelm yourself and your listeners by using too many different songs. You want people to remember you and this is only achieved with repetition.
3.?Hold yourself accountable:?Have an accountability partner that follows your channels and can let you know whether your presence is cohesive and consistent or not.
4.?Avoid distractions:?Limit the amount of time you spend on social media to not be distracted by trending music and the urge to save and download each one of them.
5.?Learn from your mistakes:?When you stumble or fall off track, use the experience as a lesson and adjust your approach accordingly.
6.?Celebrate your achievements:?Recognize and reward yourself for your progress and accomplishments along the way.
By following these guidelines, you can develop good habits and practices that will help you stay focused and committed to achieving your goals consistently not only by using the right music for your videos and reels but also in other areas of business.
STEP #5 — GET PROFESSIONAL HELP
Creating a brand sound is a job for professionals. Consider working with a music composer, sound designer, or brand consultant to create a unique and impactful brand sound that will help you stand out in a crowded market.
By making a conscious choice of the sounds and music you use in your videos you can 10x your visibility, reach, engagement, and conversions because people will more likely recognize, remember, know, like, and trust you.
If you need help developing your unique brand sound to increase conversions and build a powerful personal brand on social media, as well as hold you accountable to your goals join the Brand Master Club.
This is a group coaching program in which I am teaching all areas of business that are relevant to your coaching business (such as mindset and heartset, personal branding (including brand sound), marketing, sales, personal style, voice training, and automation).
Find out more about the BRAND MASTER CLUB?HERE or DM me the word SOUND if you need help finding your unique Brand Sound.
ELLA RAY | Personal Brand Consultant, Personal Stylist, and Voice Trainer for female coaches. www.ellaray.com