This is Why Sound in Your Videos Is so Important

But Daniel, maybe you can introduce yourself better than I can. Yeah, so I've been working with sound for almost 20 years now in all sorts of different scenarios. So we call ourselves a creative sound agency today. Yeah, so sound on all social levels. So that can be from the sound in a film made by a single videographer to the big things with the big orchestra and for all sorts of different purposes. So that could be marketing, entertainment and so forth. Yeah, cool. So today we are talking about sound in collision with video, obviously. Is sound... How do you see the market these days? Is sound under evaluated, under appreciated? What is the status right now? Yeah, that's a good question because, you know, obviously video has really... is thriving and more and more and more marketeers see the value of video. And video comes with sound. That was only back in the day when we had silent films. But that's not the thing today. So I think we can see that sound is getting more and more prioritized, but it's still just a small thing. Often, unfortunately, an afterthought, so we have to fix it in post. So some of the main points we have is, well, make sure that when you're on set, we'll use a microport for the sound or maybe even have a boom or have some kind of exterior recording equipment. So that's one thing. And then, of course, that's the whole process that goes on afterwards. So why is sound and why is it so important to add a microphone when... let's take it from the standpoint of a LinkedIn video, you're updating your audience. Why is that microphone, why is that quality of sound so important? Well, one thing is that you need to be able to hear what people are actually saying. And in these days where people might not be so trained before a camera, well, they act a little bit differently. Maybe they speak faster or they mumble a bit or something like that. So that's one thing, clarity. Another thing is that sound is both what goes on in the film or what you see, but also what goes on outside what you see. So, for instance, if you have a white background of some sort, but then you can hear the room. So you can hear, is this a small office space or all of these things? So it's very much part of the imagined scenario. So as a viewer, well, you take in all of those informations. You don't limit yourself to what you see. You also take in what you hear. And of course, they are like, if you do an output, well, you want to make sure that it works best. So if you take care of the sound, well, maybe also you will take care of the assignment that I bring to you and pay you for. So something like that. So if we stay on this topic before we move on to the bigger picture, what kind of pieces of advice would you give to people who are, you see today, a ton of people are doing LinkedIn updates, Facebook updates, etc. Both as a standalone one person face shot kind of thing to a little bit more environmental and stuff like that. What piece of advice would you give in terms of sound for that person? Yeah, so find a setting that sounds good. Outside can actually be really good if you don't have too much noise. I know there's the lighting issue and stuff like that on the technical side of video. But I think the simplest thing is to make sure that you use one of these. So you get the speech presence is really good because then you'll also be able to work with the... You're not so dependent on the acoustics of the room when you use one of those. And they're not that expensive, but you have to learn to use it. Speaking of the acoustics, etc. Yeah. Is that important because acoustics become a distraction or is it more the aspect of being precise, clear, etc.? Well, it's actually both. So because we want to see the people we are actually seeing. And of course, if there's an acoustic issue, you can hear certain parts of the voice being amplified in the high notes or something like that. Well, it can go from not being pleasant to listen to, to actually give up, I would say underlining the wrong things of what you say. So I think that's one thing. So that's just for video sound and when you interview sound and stuff like that. And then also think about how you can work with background music or things like that. Because music, for instance, when you add that, you get a certain continuity. So you can get away with editing a bit more and stuff like that. So there are also some tricks to be found in that. What is it about background music that makes that aspect powerful? So sound and that's quality and what's going on within the frame. And then you have music and that's where you set the mood. And there are a lot of great resources to find background music. The tapestry you can have behind that just gives it a little bit of drive. So that's the basics of things. And then you can move into working with, well, what do we actually want to express? What is the message of the video we're shooting here? So is it something about, do we want to underline authenticity in the situation? Is our brand focused on our legacy? Or is it about innovation, design? All of these domains that you want to communicate within the sound can help frame that message. So it's all part of the evidence of your message. So if it speaks to the larger message or the big message, then it's giving you kind of a communicative superpower, I would say. So that's for the background music. And then, of course, you can take it into the foreground. And that's where stuff happens. So obviously, when you are a bigger brand, maybe you can afford a team like yours with sound engineers, etc. who are really specialists in this. You also mentioned that there are resources out there for the freelancers, etc. to leverage. What could you recommend for people just starting out? Any kind of platform to get that, either background music and sound? There are various very good services. And I'm having a hard time just pinpointing one because there are different levels. I think if you just go for a find a sound library, then you have to use your ears. And I think that's one of the basic rules. And then it's a question of pricing sometimes. But I think there are some great resources out there. But some of them are also a little bit controversial in terms of the rights for the musicians behind them. But I think for all of them, they have the single purpose of making things accessible. And I think that's the most important thing to stress. Well, with high accessibility, then you can do some great outputs. But you also highlighted in a recent talk I heard you gave the fact that both when you have to utilize whatever piece of music that you bought, etc., the second time and the third time it's getting more and more expensive, right? Yeah, that's true. So that could be like the background music you license to use how much ever you want. But when you go for a campaign, for instance, when you are buying a license for maybe a known song, might not be a top 10 hit, but somewhere in between, well, then each time you use it for a campaign, well, then of course the owners of that piece of music think, well, okay, the next time it will have increased in value for you because your audience will have heard it. And repetition is part of the key to successful marketing and branding. So that's the model. So it's always a split between if you're a CMO and say, well, I want the immediate identification so the audience can like, oh, that's the hit from my teens or that's music I can identify with. So that's what we call like a music superpower. But you also pay for it down the line. So we always say, well, do that because that might be the right thing for your campaign to do that. But then also work with your own assets. So that's where we could recommend like the sound logo, as we know it from all sorts of especially American brands. But European brands are starting to smell the coffee in that sense and have strategies also because one thing is the campaign. You might do it on TV. You might do it digitally, of course. And digital is like number one now. So actually starting to build your own sound you can be recognized on is, you know, there's actually a way now. So can you give some examples of some good or, you know, or so bad sound brands out there? Yeah. Well, I think that the best sound brands are the ones that are authentic to what they're doing. So one instance or one example could be MobilePay. So they have a sound. So when you transfer money from one phone to another, well, then you get a small sound, a little receipt sound. And that was the purpose to begin with. And MobilePay has they have recently evolved that into an actual sound brand. So they have various pieces of music and so on they use on their digital video. So you get the recognition from the actual service on the app. But then you also start to recognize it in the outputs for marketing or, you know, tutorial videos and all sorts of stuff like that. So that's of course it's a strategy that takes some time, but it pays back hugely. And they actually have it as a registered sound mark now. And it's been played like two billion times or something crazy like that. So that's a really good way of or a good example of how you can take something that's authentic to your service and your brand and start integrating it into your communication. Another example could be Danskenspil. That's really repetition on a high level. I think most Danes have heard that sound at some point. And the strategy has been well, we have we have whatever film or whatever TV campaign and then we have it, you know, as the payoff in the end. So you get that unification between all of the sub brands and you get a very strong brand identifier for Danskenspil. So and whether you love it or not, you recognize it. So I think that's that's an example for on the recognition part. So basically here, you know, you're talking about the payoff. So that's basically a classic Pavlov's dog kind of example. Yeah, it's like classic marketing theory, actually. Yeah, it definitely is. So and that's one thing that's the trigger. And, you know, every marketeer wants one of those. So so that's one thing that's also the with the mobile pay example that works the same way. But then you can expand it into also having something to do with your tone of voice as a brand. So and that's where mobile pay really have have done some stuff to say, well, let's let's combine recognition with the brand feel. So we get like two for one. And then, of course, they take it on a case by case basis. Do we have a film or is the creative idea? How do we integrate these things? So it can both play a big role or it can be a smaller part, but it's always there. And I think that's that's that's that's the key. So that's where you take Pavlov and combine it with, you know, the artistry of of of sitting in the mood. Right. So so today we see, you know, a trend that, you know, a ton of the video plays, especially on social, is actually muted. Yeah. How is there, you know, any way to get around this trend where, you know, then you don't have sound? Yeah. So and of course, we recognize that, especially, you know, on the on the on the social media feed. Well, then we don't want sound in there to, you know, pop on when pop up when we're in the office or, you know, in some kind of setting where we don't want to disturb. But I think it's also a question of of how people's habits are changing. So like in the beginning, like in 2005 or something like that, sound on a website was like no way because no one knew where the volume button were and stuff like that. But it's a different scenario today. And we and we and we see that that more and more content is actually played with, you know, then they press the unmute button. And that's and and when you do that, you want to be met with sound, because if you don't have sound on there and you press the unmute button, well, that's kind of a, you know, that's a bit of a disappointment. So you get that that really so so your experience will actually take color off of that disappointment. And we've seen studies where it actually affects the message you're sending that when you put on the sound and there isn't any, well, you might stop the video. So so so it has some implications. It's not like a catastrophe, but it's worth thinking about, especially in these times where podcasting, you know, audible media is, you know, getting more and more into the daily lives of the consumer. So we have the headphones attached to our phone most of the time and now with wireless and so on. Well, sound is is it's more of a natural thing that we that for us on a daily basis. So I think and but let's I don't know where the end of that development will be. But but of course, that's something that we take into account and and thrive off. Do you have any stats on examples or stats on what sound actually can do for brand in terms of, you know, either conversions or or, you know, generating those goals that you set out to to do? Yeah, yeah. So so one example from from the branding world is that brands that are recognized on the sound, you know, and identifier is in ninety nine to ninety six percent more likely to be recognized the second time around. So so that's that's significant. And it's basically because our our memory in terms of sound is is, you know, it's it's it's a different area in the brain from the from the visual part. So so it doesn't take bandwidth from the visual recognition. It's simply just adds to to the to the bandwidth. So so so that's that's one very interesting facts fact that we use. Another one is that in terms of conversion is that and that has to do with the identification. So if you do like a radio ad, you're two point four times more likely to get to get a conversion or, you know, actually your audience to act on your message if they can relate or identify with the sound. So that so of course that talks to your to your choice of music maybe, but also to just your presence as a brand. So we see that that factor also is also part of it if it's your own sound. So if you develop your own brand music, for instance, because we we learn to recognize that as well. Of course, if it's a song we love from the beginning and it gets related related to a brand, well, then we we will tend to identify instantly. But if it's like the third radio ad we hear or the third time we we we, you know, when browsing through the tutorials on a on a YouTube channel or something like that. Well, then we will tend to start to identify with the brand because we know it. So the relatability is based on the recognition factor as well. So so that's also something to take into account. So just think a little bit about how can you be consistent across the board because you don't really know which video will meet your audience first. So so so when doing that that browsing, well, then then that identification or music as the unifying factor can actually help in that sense. On on an end note here, what would you recommend to to marketeers that are just getting started with sound thinking about, you know, Listening to this and starting to think about, you know, sound branding, etc. How do you get started with this? Yeah. So so for one thing, it's it's it's in line, of course, with what you do when you build a brand. And but it's not as a bigger thing as when, you know, taking on a new visual identity or something like that. So I think just just do some, you know, a little bit of research because then you will get the the main points will pop up quite fast and then find find a partner. You know, this world of sound and branding with sound is quite young. So so we're a lot of people out there trying to spread the message and just, you know, to to to take the talk. So you don't, you know, when we get in the door, it doesn't cost you anything at the first meeting. So so these things just just, you know, and and and investigate a little bit of how you can could work with a sound identifier or something. Just just get started somewhere. You don't have to take on the big thing. So think a little bit like mobile pay. Well, where's the obvious place we could have something? So if you do a lot of video, for instance, think about your intro and your outro, because that's that's a perfect place to do something. It's like the, you know, the end note or or, you know, the beginning. So you really get that that that's where your audience is opening up for either your end conclusion or, of course, the just what is this video all about? So so so you have the attention at that place. So think about that. I think that would be a good place to start for for most of my ideas. Good advice. Thank you so much for joining today. Thanks for having me. And I hope our audience also enjoyed it. Thank you so much for tuning in. Bye bye.