Permanent link for Sounds in Social Media: What Should and Shouldn't be Used on June 26, 2024

Written by Ava Grillo

As vertical videos are becoming more popular across different platforms, content creators realize how important audio is in the video… whether it's faintly heard in the background or chosen to be used for a trend. Audios on social media are used to boost engagement on videos that may seem dull.  TikTok videos and Instagram/Facebook Reels use this form of video content the most out of any other platform. The audios can range anywhere from a snippet of a song, a person talking, background instrumental music, or a comedic sound effect. Some audios become more popular if people use a certain niche under the same audio. For example, lots of content creators lately have used the song “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter behind their videos purely because of its popularity. This brings a higher chance for people to see the creator’s video. However, if you are posting social media content for a brand, company, or organization, you may run into a few obstacles in determining which type of audio to use. Let’s dive into some details on what is best for your accounts.

 

Copyright
Have you ever tried to use a popular song for your brand’s video, but it doesn’t let you due to copyright restrictions? This applies to all business accounts on social media to avoid copyright infringement. The song is already owned by a record company or label that owns the rights to that song. If you don’t own the song, you can’t use it! Fortunately, there are ways to work around this. 

Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok have taken the rocky copyright rollercoaster into consideration for businesses and created different categories of copyright-free music that can be used on any video. For example, if you have a business account, TikTok automatically recommends all “Commercial” sounds to you, giving you access to thousands of free songs and audios to use. There are different categories such as “TikBiz” (recommended background music that works for businesses), TikTok Viral, New Releases, Vlog, Unboxing, 60s+, and more! Instagram has similar categories to choose from for a post or story such as Dreamy, Bright, Discover Black Artists, Groovy, etc.

Other ways to work around not using copyrighted sounds is using comedic, original sounds that content creators have already made. This can help both increase engagement with trends, and takes away the fear of your video being muted or deleted! Content creators also create sped up or slowed down versions of popular songs that are more than often approved to be used on a business account due to the song not sounding EXACTLY like the original. For example, on TikTok, if there is a popular Meghan Trainor song used for dances or trends, try looking up “Meghan Trainor *song title* Sped Up” in the search bar, and you should have different options of audios people have made for you to use!

 

But what type of audio should I use?
Great question! When it comes to choosing the best audio for your video, it all depends on which kind of video you’re creating. Here is a list of the types of videos businesses and brands often create followed by which type of audios we suggest are best to use.

Recap/Highlight of Event, Interviews: 

• Instrumental and Upbeat
• Ideally 60 seconds or longer to have room for adjustments in editing
• Keeps Audience Engaged, yet not distracted
• Anything in the “Vlog” category works well

Comedic/Trendy:

• Short audio, ideally not longer than 15 seconds
• Often found on the TikTok For You Page
• Nothing with inappropriate words or phrases to maintain professionalism
• Sped up or slowed down versions of popular songs

Holiday:

• Holiday-themed, copyright-free Audios
• Instrumental
• Sped up or slowed down versions of popular holiday songs

 

It’s also important to recognize a few specific pointers when editing a video with audio:

• If someone is talking in the video, be sure to keep the volume of the audio very low so it is not distracting to the viewer
• When someone is not talking, the audio can be at a normal level
• If you are editing a video on another app such as CapCut, Adobe, iMovie, etc., be sure to add your audio of choice in your “Favorites” folder on TikTok or Instagram first. Then, when you bring your completed video back into one of those platforms, mute it, and add your “favorited” audio on top. Using this will increase engagement as it has been used multiple times before.
  • However, if your video has talking/audio that you would like to be heard, you must edit your audio underneath, and keep this completed audio as an “Original Sound” on TikTok or Instagram/Facebook.
     

Overall, it can be very fun to use different songs, audios, and sound effects in a video to avoid any awkward silence (unless that is intended for comedic purposes, of course). But, there are always some things to recognize along the way to make sure your video can safely stay online, while maintaining the appropriate trend or purpose. Remember to avoid copyright infringement and stick to the purpose of your video as best as you can! If you are looking for further assistance in using audios for your videos, feel free to reach out to our social media team ([email protected]) to set up a consultation. We are here to help in any way that we can. 

Posted by Sarah Dudinetz on Permanent link for Sounds in Social Media: What Should and Shouldn't be Used on June 26, 2024.