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In the age of fleeting attention spans, capturing the hearts (and ears) of your audience requires creativity and a keen eye for trends.
Enter the power of trending music on Instagram Reels, the platform’s hottest content format, where incorporating trending songs into your Reels can supercharge your marketing efforts.
Why Songs Rule Reels
Ever scrolled through your feed and found yourself inexplicably humming the same tune across multiple videos? That’s the magic of trending music. It’s catchy, familiar, and instantly grabs attention.
Here’s how utilizing popular songs in your Reels can supercharge your marketing:
- Boost Engagement: Upbeat music subconsciously invites viewers to pay attention. A well-chosen song can set the mood, enhance the message of your Reel, and encourage viewers to watch it all the way through, increasing engagement metrics.
- Ride the Algorithm Wave: Instagram’s algorithm prioritizes Reels with higher engagement. Trending songs are more likely to be watched and shared, potentially boosting your Reel’s visibility and reach.
- Expand Your Audience: Trending music transcends language barriers and cultural divides. Utilizing popular songs opens your content to a broader audience, attracting viewers who might not have otherwise encountered your brand.
- Spark Creativity & Challenges: Trending songs often inspire creative challenges on Instagram. Participating in these challenges offers a fun way to showcase your brand personality and connect with your audience on a deeper level.
Finding the Perfect Melody for Your Marketing Mix
Not all trending songs are created equal. Here’s how to choose the right music for your Reels in 2024:
- Relevance: The song should align with your brand image and the message you’re trying to convey. Upbeat music works well for energetic product demonstrations, while soulful melodies might complement heartwarming customer testimonials.
- Authenticity: Don’t force a trend if it feels inauthentic to your brand. Choose a song you genuinely like and that resonates with your target audience.
- Originality: While riding a trend is good, stand out from the crowd. Put your own unique spin on the song within your Reel.
Mastering the Art of the Trending Tune
Here’s how to leverage trending songs to elevate your Reels in 2024:
- Spotting the Hottest Tracks: Instagram makes it easy to identify trending songs. Look for Reels with the little “up arrow” icon next to the audio title. These are the chart-toppers of the Reels world.
- Saving Sounds for Later: Found a perfect song you want to use later? Simply tap the audio title and select “Save Audio.” This builds your personal library of trending tunes for future Reels. (Note: This feature might require switching to a Creator Account)
- Accessing Your Saved Soundtrack: When creating a Reel, tap the music icon and navigate to the “Saved” tab. Here you’ll find all your saved trending hits.
Beyond the Music – Optimizing Your Reels for Success
Music is a powerful tool, but it’s not the only ingredient for a successful Reel.
- Compelling Visuals: Eye-catching visuals remain crucial. High-quality video clips, creative transitions, and captivating graphics will keep viewers hooked alongside the music.
- Strong Call to Action: Don’t let the music do all the talking. Tell viewers what you want them to do, whether it’s visiting your website, subscribing to your channel, or trying your product.
- Hashtag Strategy: Include relevant hashtags along with trending music hashtags to increase discoverability.
Bonus Tips for Exclusively for 2024
- Harness the Power of Templates: Instagram’s new Reel templates can simplify video creation and often feature trending sounds. Explore these options for a quick and trendy Reel. (A recent example: “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machines with over 683K Reels.)
- Embrace the Cross-Platform Inspiration: TikTok trends often bleed into the Instagram world. Scroll through TikTok to discover trending sounds and video concepts that might translate well to your Instagram audience. (Check out our weekly Top 10 TikTok Songs for inspiration.)
The Soundtrack to Success Starts Now
By incorporating trending music into your Instagram Reels strategy, you can unlock a world of creative possibilities. Choose your music wisely, focus on high-quality visuals, and encourage engagement – and watch your brand’s voice rise above the noise and resonate with a wider audience. Remember, on Instagram, sometimes the best marketing strategy is simply a catchy tune in 2024.
The 4 Words That Earn Former Failure $25K a Month
Let’s talk about startups. Sure, they’re exciting, innovative, and hold the potential for massive success. But they’re not always a walk in the park.
One online marketer – let’s call her Sarah – readily admits she’s had her share of stumbles. We’re talking multiple failed ventures, each gulping down precious months and a significant chunk of cash – all for products nobody seemed to want.
Sarah says it was painful and humiliating, and if not for her husband continuing to believe in her, she would have given up long before she finally found success.
How much money did she lose? While she wouldn’t tell me the exact number, she did admit it was a great deal more than $50,000 of her own money. I suspect it may have been twice that.
But the good news is Sarah turned things around. She’s now pulling in a cool $25,000 per month from her two main projects, and she credits this shift to a crucial change in mindset. So, what was her secret finally finding success?
As Sarah tells it, she used to prioritize building over selling. She’d spend months meticulously crafting her product, convinced it was perfect. The problem? Customers weren’t exactly lining up to buy it.
This might resonate with some of you reading this – the fear of rejection can be a powerful deterrent, especially when you’ve poured your heart and soul into something.
But here’s the harsh truth Sarah learned…
…Launching before you feel 100% ready is almost always the better move.
This was particularly true for Sarah, who admits to having a subconscious aversion to rejection. But the cost of that aversion? Well over $50,000 wasted on development and product costs for projects that ultimately went nowhere, not to mention years of lost time.
So, the golden nugget of wisdom Sarah wants to share?
Launch before you build.
Validate your product idea before you even start creating your product. Talk to potential customers, and ideally, even try to sell to them.
This way, you can avoid pouring time and money into something nobody wants, and instead, focus your energy on building a product that actually solves a problem for real people.
Why Launching Early is Your Secret Weapon
So, you’ve got this brilliant startup idea buzzing in your head. It’s time to turn that idea into a reality, right? Hold on a second. Before you dive headfirst into building, launch your product first.
Yes, I know how crazy this sounds, but it works.
Think about it like this. When you’re in the early stages of your startup, there are three main scenarios…
1: The Wrong Path
Maybe the problem you’re trying to solve isn’t actually a problem anyone faces, or perhaps there’s already a better solution out there. Yikes!
Launching early allows you to discover this harsh truth quickly. Instead of wasting six months building something nobody wants, you can course-correct and chase a more promising idea.
2: Room for Improvement
Let’s face it, perfection is a myth. Most startup ideas are works in progress, even if they address a genuine need. Here’s where the magic of “launching before you build” comes in.
By getting your product or service in front of real people, you can gather invaluable feedback. Embrace the rejections – they’re lessons in disguise, helping you refine your approach and get closer to the perfect solution.
3: The Unicorn Idea
Okay, so maybe you’ve struck gold and stumbled upon the perfect idea right off the bat. Even in this dream scenario, launching early is still beneficial. The only way to truly know you have a winner is by putting it out there and seeing if real customers are willing to pay for it.
In all these situations, launching before building a fully-fledged product is the smarter move. Unless you’re developing something hyper-technical like the next SpaceX rocket, validate market interest first, before sinking months into development.
Turning Ideas into Reality: Sarah’s Guide to Launching Before You Build
So, you’re sold on the concept of launching early, but how do you actually do it? Sarah shared some concrete tips she’s learned from launching both software-as-a-service (SaaS) and e-commerce businesses.
Here’s how Sarah recommends you launch before you build:
1: Craft a Quick Landing Page – This is your launchpad, even if it’s basic. A simple description of your product’s features, a few visuals, and an email capture form can be enough.
2: Speed is key – Free website builders offer nice templates and editing tools to get you up and running fast. Think of Sarah’s suggestion for Framer or explore open-source options like WordPress.org. While a polished site is great, prioritize getting something live quickly to gauge interest.
3: Leverage Online Communities – Platforms like IndieHackers and ProductHunt are goldmines for early feedback and engagement. Don’t shy away from negative feedback – it’s valuable for refining your concept.
Reddit has communities for almost every niche. Start interacting with potential customers where they gather, and once your landing page is live, share it in relevant online communities.
4: Explore Paid Advertising – Forget waiting months for SEO results. Paid ads on Google or Bing can quickly validate your market size and customer response to your pricing and messaging. These platforms often offer generous signup credits, so experiment and see what works.
For e-commerce, paid ads can be a powerful validation tool, while Sarah suggests caution for “innovative” SaaS products where in-depth customer feedback is crucial. However, platforms like Reddit Ads offer free credits that are worth exploring for initial testing.
5: Consider Taking Pre-Sales (Cautiously) – Positive feedback is great, but there’s nothing quite like a real sale to validate your idea. Depending on your industry, there are creative ways to do this.
For example, with e-commerce, you could offer a full checkout process with immediate refunds due to being “out of stock.” This validates purchase intent at your desired price point without needing a fully functional back-end system.
Or if you know when you can have a minimum viable product ready, you could take pre-orders. Let them know when to expect delivery, and that they are getting a discount for pre-ordering. You might also let them know they will receive upgraded versions for free as they are issued.
6: Embrace the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Concept – When you do start building, prioritize getting a simple, functional product out there quickly. Don’t be afraid of “hacky” solutions – workflow automation tools like Zapier or even Google Sheets with a form can be surprisingly effective.
There are also no-code development platforms like Bubble that can help you build functional prototypes without extensive coding. Remember, your MVP doesn’t need to be perfect for a massive user base – focus on core functionality and gather feedback for future improvements.
7: Set Focused, Achievable Goals – Stay organized and focused throughout the process. Break down your goals into weekly sprints to keep moving forward and avoid feature creep.
Finally, Sarah emphasizes the importance of setting a deadline for launching or promoting your product. This creates a healthy pressure to move forward and prevents you from getting stuck in an endless cycle of “improvement.” Embrace the launch, gather feedback, and iterate – that’s the recipe for startup success!