TikTok: Insights on the effect of music in ads

It’s useful to remember TikTok’s origins, or at least its early years when a critical component of its initial growth was thanks to its lip-syncing and music capabilities – while TikTok content has developed considerably in the intervening half-decade, music remains critical, especially to the effectiveness of marketing on the platform.

Why it matters

Depending on your objectives, consider adapting the soundtrack for the part of the funnel you are attempting to speak to.

What’s going on

New research published by TikTok itself, in association with Kantar and hotspex, explores the effects of three different types of music:

• Recognisable songs
• Instrumentals
• Bespoke tracks for brands

“Recognisable songs lead to the biggest gain for likeability of ads.

“Compared to instrumentals and brand tailor-made tracks, recognisable music was 5% more liked and generated significantly higher purchase intent.”

Brand effects

Instrumental music tends to drive stronger brand recall, according to the research.

Bespoke tracks generate the most intrigue and tend to receive significantly more track clicks. This is particularly useful considering the fast growth of social commerce on TikTok, and marketers looking to drive direct sales should take note.

For more on marketing on TikTok, see WARC’s round-up here.

Sourced from TikTok, WARC [Image: TikTok]