Sounds are an essential part of our lives. Although we’re lucky to hear what’s around us, we don’t usually notice how the noise around us influences our behaviours. Upsetting sounds can make us more stressed, while pleasant tones can make us happy and relaxed. Since they have so much power, you can participate in a music therapy session to lower stress levels and boost your immune function.
But this is not something new. Businesses have always used sounds to make people recognize their brand and trigger a certain feeling when entering a store or website. For example, you might never forget the Nokia ringtone or the famous “Law and Order” audio that makes you feel nostalgic. These businesses have shaped our behaviours through some simple sounds, and now you’ll learn how they can help you as a small business.
What is so special about sounds?
In marketing, there’s something called audio branding. This strategy specializes in using particular sounds that are associated with a product. The audio brand of Netflix (the ta-doom sound) and the famous McDonald’s whistle show us how important this strategy is for customers to perceive the brand wherever they are because sound can easily:
- Inspire emotion. Businesses can use specific audio to make customers feel secure, light-hearted or calm when promoting their products;
- Influence consumer behaviour. In the retail business, for example, slower tempo sounds are played in the background so that customers don’t feel the need to rush but to take their time while shopping and, eventually, spend more time inside.
- Tell your brand story. You can clearly distinguish between a brand for kids and one that advertises medicine only by listening to their advertisements.
How to include audio branding in your business
The first step in this journey is identifying your brand personality. You can start by looking at your target audience and concentrating on choosing an appropriate approach for them. For instance, if you want to be more imposing, you can create your own podcast to share knowledge in your business area. On the other hand, if your business is more entertainment-related, you may want to use specific sounds for your social media posts.
Regardless of the audio, choosing a voice that can become a brand statement would also be good.
An English voice actor can help you stand out from the competition, and you can select between more feminine and masculine voices to set the tone for your brand. You have plenty of options to fit your business, like cartoon voices for companies that make toys for kids, corporate tones, perfect for software solutions and friendly sounds for entertainment businesses.
But having the voice and the sound does not get the job done. The whole process is completed by the audio post production, where the audio is edited, remixed and mastered so that the final sounds can be played on almost any device with the original quality. Of course, it depends on the channels you use to approach your customers because different customer segments choose distinct platforms for following their favourite brands.
There are six basic types of emotions, but here are the most important three of them that you may want to inspire through sounds:
- Happiness: upbeat sounds, guitar riffs, anthemic music;
- Sadness: slow music with deep piano sounds;
- Fear: slow and dramatic sounds;
Benefits of audio branding
Even though audio branding isn’t obligatory for a small business, it can bring you to the top among your competitors since customers will remember you easily because audio branding:
- Improves brand recall, as the audio has the capacity of giving your brand a more humanized appearance, generating more favourable responses from clients;
- Increases brand recognition by connecting customer emotions with certain melodies and rhythms.
- Boosts the impact of branding visuals by building a coherent brand strategy. It seems that sound can amplify visual brand messages as both the emotional impact and memorability increase;
- Rises marketing ROI by making your business more appealing to customers. Measuring your profitability through sounds is the new way companies can take better decisions on future investments;
- Attracts a younger audience, which is known to appreciate more the experiences and moments that are emphasized by music;
- Develops new brand-owned assets. By owning your music, you have complete control over how and where it’s used;
Examples of successful audio logos
Branding a business means creating a logo, and while most are simple visuals, things take a turn when it comes to audio logos. Such a trademark is only a few seconds long and contains a specific sound accompanied by the visual logo or only the audio, in cases of radio, podcasts or apps like Spotify.
Here are some of the best audio logo examples:
- Intel. The multinational corporation’s audio logo was created in 1980 by Austrian musician Walter Werzowa, and it’s only a three-second mnemonic. The company wanted to inspire reliability, innovation and trust, and the composer came up with a balanced computerized and physical audio piece that is now timeless.
- McDonald’s. The first global marketing campaign in 2003 came with the well-known slogan “I’m loving it”, accompanied by the “ba da ba ba ba” vocals. Almost 20 years later, the audio is still relevant today.
- Apple. Previous Mac models had a start-up sound that is no longer included in the current ones, but the F-sharp major was like, like the creator of Mac effects said, “like sitting down at a restaurant and being greeted”.
- Windows. Another timeless sound, the Windows chime was requested to be “inspiring, universal, optimistic, and 3 1⁄4 seconds long”.
- Netflix. The sound you hear before an episode of your favourite show starts is a combination of 16th note timpani strikes on D2 and D3, which play simultaneously with other notes, making it repetitive. It evokes a powerful emotional connection that makes you feel cosy and comfortable.
Wrapping up
Small businesses might face difficulties when building their brand. But while other strategies focus on visuals and customer service, audio branding can transform the brand’s whole image by humanizing it and placing the business on top of the competition.
