Evolution of Sound Volume 2: Storytelling through sound

"My love of cooking is clear on screen, but without sound, that's all it would be: just another cooking tutorial,” explains Joanne L. Molinaro, the chef behind @thekoreanvegan and her 3M followers on TikTok. “With sound, it's so much more - my family, my struggles, my joys, my story all told through my own voice."

On TikTok, our community tells the story and they tell that story through sound. Sound powers their stories, their connections, their communities. They are immersed in TikTok’s sound-first experience and as a result, they skip less, watch longer and feel more positive.¹ This means brands feel the power of TikTok’s community through increased engagement as they find a deeper connection with their audiences, largely through the power of TikTok’s sound-first experience.

How sound discovery works

Everything starts on the For You Page, where users can scroll through and explore an unending library of sound-on content. Great sounds are discovered and rewarded on the For You Page. In fact, one in three TikTok users say they’ve discovered a new video because of its sound through their FYP.²

It works like this: when TikTok audiences hear a sound that clicks, they can immediately tap on the spinning record icon to enter a page dedicated to just that sound. This is how music and sound start and continue to grow through TikTok. The sound detail pages gives users a chance to learn more and engage with a specific piece of audio in different ways.

On the sound page, users can…

🔈  Save the sound to use later in the creation of their own TikToks.

🔈  Check out the original sound creator and gain insight into where different audio trends got started. Information about the source of the audio is presented right at the top of the sound detail page.

🔈 See how the rest of the TikTok community is joining in the conversation around a single piece of audio, and gain inspiration from the TikTok community’s boundless creativity. Just below the sound source information, users can find a gallery of other popular TikToks from the community that make use of that specific audio.

How brands can lean in

When @heyitssarahw shared her comically misunderstood McDonald's drive-thru ordering experience on TikTok, she probably didn’t anticipate the massive reaction she received. 14.1 million views later, her audio attempt at ordering a blue raspberry slushie became the source of inspiration for more than 100K TikTok creators, sharing unexpected twists in their lives in time with the audio punchline, "A sausage McMuffin?"

McDonalds responded by leaning into the moment, and joining the community conversation. When they created their own meme as a response and shared it through various social channels, the community reacted with more content on TikTok, further amplifying the brand story.

McDonald's saw all the engagement and love their meme attracted on TikTok, and kept the conversation going with a funny TikTok video in response. This story is a perfect example of how a powerful snowball effect of content can all start from sound. Subsequent interactions between the creator, the community, and the brand build on each other, with each interaction becoming an opportunity to gain momentum and amplify a message—and all from a single sound. And that phenomenon is only happening on TikTok.

Elements of sound on TikTok

TikTok has reinvented how we tell stories online, and we’ve done it by placing sound first. Sound on TikTok acts as a foundation, and all other content pieces play on the groundwork the audio provides.

Sound can come in different forms and formats and each can have a unique impact on how a TikTok is received and how it resonates with audiences. Let’s break down the types of sounds on TikTok:

Music

Music sets the scene. The beats and rhythm of the music build the story and lyrics add a layer of commentary to the visuals that our community finds relatable and creatively rewarding. The use of music on TikTok has also become a powerful driver for new music/musician discovery.

The 2016 track “Pope is a Rockstar” caught fire on the platform when the TikTok community reimagined the title lyric as “Go little rockstar.” The result was 2.7 million videos using the song, and the band Sales couldn’t have been more thrilled.

The interaction between creator and community isn't just about amplification but also interpretation. In this case, the TikTok community essentially rewrote the lyrics to an artist's song, and artist responded by embracing the new interpretation and engaging with a new community of fans.

A 2021 Global Entertainment Study from Material showed that TikTok was 2.5x more likely to lead people to discover new music than other platforms.³

Narration

Narration speaks your story into life by revealing details, adding unique personality, and sharing real authentic moments through speech. On TikTok, our community is shaping language and driving real conversations.

They build communities and create safe spaces for authentic self expression, largely through the power of narration. According to a recent study by Nielsen, 77% of TikTok users say TikTok is a place where people can express themselves openly.⁴

Joanne L. Molinaro’s @thekoreanvegan channel uses narration to powerful effect by communicating the personal impact and joy for cooking in her own words. “As a creator myself, narration is the tool I use to share my story with the world," Joanne told TikTok.

Sounds

Sounds and sound effects create impact, they amplify key moments and help push your story forward. Sounds can help accentuate a narrative twist, a plot turn, or magnify a key payoff.

A great example is the way that cooking videos have evolved to be sound-led on TikTok: fast-paced montages show each step of the recipe in quick succession, soundtracked by a chorus of chopping, mixing and sizzling sounds that are as much a focus as the food itself.

Captions

Captions make your videos accessible, and help build a consistent experience for everyone on TikTok. While you can easily overlay text when editing your videos on TikTok, you don't need to transcribe everything you're saying—our auto captions feature adds subtitles automatically. You have the option to switch these on for any video, and to edit the captions before they go live.

When it comes to sound on TikTok, the possibilities are endless, and finding the right mix to these sonic elements will be key in telling your brand’s incredible story.

How can brands harness the power of sound on TikTok?

All this may have brands wondering, “Why have we allowed our advertising to be on mute?” It’s time to steer away from the limitations of other platforms, and don't let creative restrictions stop you from telling your story.

Sound should be a starting point for all your TikTok content. Sound on TikTok makes users less likely to skip, watch longer on average and feel more positive.1 Kantar, in a 2021 cross-platform study, found that 73% of TikTok users say they “stop and look” at ads that utilize sound.⁵

Brands should start creating and connecting with a sound-first strategy immediately. You can do this on your own or collaborate with experienced Creators via the Creator Marketplace to:

🔈 Craft your own custom sounds. @sallybeauty collaborated with creator @hebontheweb after spotting their viral TikTok song and the result was a fully custom brand anthem embracing vivid hair colors of all shades and at any age.

🔈 Remix a trending sound. @sunbum took advantage of the TikTok Sea Shanty craze by collaborating with TikTok creator @alexaiono and creative agency @weareshadow to remix a trending moment on TikTok and really make it their own.

🔈 Lean in and license popular TikTok songs. @champion worked closely with @jalaiahharmon—creator of the viral dance "the Renegade"—to capitalize on the Evolution of Sound movement by combining the popular dance trend with the TikTok bop "Lottery (Renegade)."

🔈 Authentically tell your brand story. @clearly leveraged custom music that directly featured the brand's name in the lyrics. The catchy music caught on with the TikTok community and, combined with their branded hashtag challenge campaign, inspired independent creators to join in on the challenge and embrace the brand's authentic story.

But the single most important piece of advice we can offer to brands is this… Meet the community where they are!

Sound good?

This is Volume 2 in a series on the Evolution of Sound. Stay tuned for Volume 3, coming later in 2022! To learn more about telling your brand’s story through sound in TikTok marketing, contact your local sales rep.

Sources

1. TikTok Marketing Science EU Music in Ads Research 2021 conducted by Hotspex

2. TikTok Marketing Science US Music Perceptions Research 2020, conducted by MRC Data.

3. TikTok Marketing Science Global Entertainment Study 2021 conducted by Material

4. TikTok Marketing Science Global Authenticity Study 2021 conducted by Nielsen

5. TikTok Marketing Science US Cross-Platform Sound Research 2021 conducted by Kantar