I asked ChatGPT to write the introduction for this post. Here’s what it gave me:
In the world of B2B marketing, creating engaging and effective content is crucial for attracting and retaining customers. However, the process of brainstorming ideas and putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) can sometimes feel daunting and unproductive. That’s where music comes in. Listening to music has been shown to have a multitude of benefits for the brain, including improved mood, increased focus, and enhanced creativity. In this blog post, we’ll explore how incorporating music into your writing process can help B2B marketers produce better content and connect with their audience on a deeper level.
Now, that’s not a bad introduction, per se. It reminds me of a high school student writing a 5-paragraph essay. It knows the notes, but not the music — it’s hard to imagine someone feeling passionate about this content, its author, or the brand that brought it to you.
But the problem here isn’t AI. B2B brands have been putting out robotic, commodity content for years. AI just makes it possible to churn it out faster.
How can B2B content marketers make sure audiences will love their content? How can writers create content that builds a relationship with the brand?
Make it sing.
As a writer, I find listening to the right mix of music helps me put soul and personality into my stuff.
Why Music?
Great writing has rhythm. It ebbs and flows, sometimes speeding up and up and up and up until it seems like it can’t go any faster…sometimes…slowing. To. A. Crawl. It shimmies. It jives. It shakes all over like a jellyfish (sorry, Freddie).
If a song has the same rhythm, tempo and melody all the way through, it starts to grate—think “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.” The same is true with your writing. A little music in the background will work its way into your subconscious and out through your content.
What Music?
Taste in music is highly subjective (except for mine, which is impeccable), and the right music for productive writing will vary from person to person. For example, I can’t write to songs with lyrics—the vocal track captures my full attention.
So when I need an energy boost, I go for synthwave music. Think of it as a never ending soundtrack to the best 90s video game that never existed.
For editing, I switch to “lo-fi hip-hop” music. The dirty secret: It’s really just smooth jazz with a makeover to appeal to the youths. Just the same, it’s good for covering up distracting background noises and getting into deep concentration mode.
Finally, for a brain break and quick burst of energy, some new-school pop punk is just right:
You might substitute gangsta rap for high-energy, classical for editing, and country and western for your brain break. Find what works for you; just don’t sit in stone-faced silence writing staid and bland content.
Music and Your Brand
So far, we’ve been talking about how music can liven up your B2B content and boost your creative process. But music can be more than just a conduit between your brain and your keyboard.
Part of differentiating your brand in a sea of B2B content is developing a unique brand voice. That voice should come across not just in written content, but in every type of media you put out.
When you make social media videos for your brand, what’s your soundtrack? It’s not enough to go to your favorite stock music site and search for “Inoffensive Corporate Vibes.” You’ll either get something that sounds like the intro to the nightly news, or one of those ukelele/fingersnap/whistling monstrosities that pass for breezy corporate pop music.
For TopRank Marketing’s Break Free B2B Marketing series, we wanted something with a little attitude, something attention-grabbing—the audio equivalent of a grizzly bear shooting laser beams. So we did this:
As our brand evolves, we’ve been exploring more chill, sophisticated, but still unique sounds:
Which type of music matches your B2B brand will vary. What’s important is to be mindful of music whether you’re using it to set the mood for creativity or picking the background music for a content marketing project. Don’t throw in whatever comes up on your first search. Be just as strategic developing your brand’s musical personality as you are with the rest of your branding.
Face the Music and Dance
B2B content marketing is currently getting flooded with repetitive, bland, AI-generated content. This is different than just a few years ago, when content marketing was flooded with repetitive, bland content written by humans.
The only way to rise above either of these content deluges is by writing with passion, personality and style. It’s developing a brand identity for your B2B business that’s consistent across media, including the soundtrack that plays in the background.
So crank up the tunes, keep your content fun, and dance your way into your customers’ hearts.
Want to step up your content game? We’re here to help.
