From Songs To Shares: How Brands Use Music To Drive Engagement On Instagram Reels

As Instagram Reels becomes an increasingly important discovery and engagement channel, brands are turning to music not just to amplify reach, but to build emotional connections, strengthen recall and create distinctive identities.

For brands fighting for attention in an increasingly crowded social media landscape, the first challenge is simple: getting consumers to stop scrolling. Music has emerged as one of the most effective tools in that battle.

From familiar tracks and trending sounds to original sonic identities, brands are using music on Instagram Reels to make campaigns more engaging, shareable and memorable. But while a trending song can potentially help a Reel travel further, the bigger question is whether that attention translates into brand recall.

According to Karan Kumar, Founder, Inflection, Business Advisory & Executive Coaching and former CMO, DLF, music can play a crucial role in capturing attention and establishing the emotional context of a piece of content.

“Music can give people a reason to stop, watch, and share. It can also tell them how to feel before a word is spoken. But it should fit the story,” Kumar says.

He points to Instamart’s use of “Sona Kitna Sona Hai” around its Dhanteras communication as an example of how a familiar song can strengthen an idea when there is a natural connection between the music and the campaign.

“Picking whatever is trending without that connection can leave the brand feeling forced,” he adds.

Trending sound or original music?

The popularity of trending audio has made music an important part of the Reels ecosystem. Familiar songs already carry cultural relevance and recognition, potentially giving brands an immediate point of connection with audiences.

However, Kumar believes brands should not see trending music and original brand music as competing choices.

“A trending song gets you started with something people already know and enjoy. Your own music takes time to become familiar, but that familiarity can stay with your brand for years,” he says.

He cites Cadbury Dairy Milk’s “Kuch Khaas Hai” as an example of how music can become inseparable from a brand memory, with the iconic advertising moment and its music creating an enduring association.

“I would use both: popular songs where they fit the story, and recognizable brand music that people hear often enough to remember,” Kumar says.

This distinction becomes particularly important as brands move beyond chasing views and begin looking at the long-term value of sonic branding.

From attention to association

For Amit Gujral, Marketing Industry Expert and Director Communication (Advisory), Aarambh Communication, and former CMO, JK Industries, music has an inherent ability to transcend conventional audience boundaries.

“Music is caste, creed, color, gender, ethnicity, language - Agnostic. In short, Music runs within us,” he says.

According to Gujral, this universal quality makes music particularly powerful for brands looking to establish an instant emotional connection with consumers across both traditional advertising and social media.

“An advertisement by a brand is curated for brand recall, build emotive connect with brand and attempts to be memorable for audiences. And this is where MUSIC fits the best for advertisements,” he says.

The opportunity, however, lies in going beyond simply attaching a popular track to a Reel.

“Creating a new piece of Music or Using a known piece of music for Reels or any form of advertisement serves the common benefit of recall and instant connect. However, if Brands can create their own unique sonic style that consumers gradually associate with it, would have longer lasting impact and distinction amongst the crowd,” Gujral adds.

Views are not the whole story

The growing importance of Reels has also changed how marketers measure the success of music-led content. While views, shares and engagement provide an indication of how far content has travelled, they do not necessarily reveal whether the brand itself has been remembered.

“Music can do both, but remembering a song does not automatically mean remembering the brand,” Kumar says.

He points to the Airtel signature tune and Britannia’s “Ting Ting Ti-Ding” as examples of sonic assets that have been repeatedly associated with their respective brands over time.

“You do not need lyrics naming the company for the sound to bring the brand to mind,” Kumar says of Airtel’s signature tune.

For him, the real value lies in consistency. “An original tune will not achieve that just because it is original. It needs to fit the brand and be used consistently.”

That distinction is increasingly relevant for brands using Reels as a primary storytelling and discovery platform. A piece of music may generate millions of plays, but if the audience remembers only the song and not the brand behind the content, the marketing opportunity remains incomplete.

“Views tell you how widely the content traveled. They do not tell you whether people remembered the brand, understood its message, or felt differently about it. That needs to be checked separately,” Kumar says.

Making music a strategic asset

As brands compete for attention on short-form video, music is moving from being a background element to becoming a strategic part of content creation. Trending sounds can provide cultural relevance and immediate familiarity, while original music and sonic assets can help brands build distinctive long-term associations.

For Gujral, the opportunity is clear: brands need to move from using music opportunistically to treating it as a core marketing asset.

“All in all, MUSIC was, is and shall forever be the most impactful marketing tool for curating Emotive, Engaging & Experiential consumer connect for brands and it should be used as a strategic tool rather than opportunistic tool.”

Ultimately, the strongest music-led Reels may not be those that simply follow the sound of the moment. They are the ones where the music, story and brand work together closely enough for consumers to remember not just what they heard or watched, but who made them feel that way.