Spotify Marketing: Learn How the Music Streaming Giant Became a Smartphone Staple
Spotify, arguably the most popular music streaming platform in the world, has been growing rapidly since its inception in 2008. The company’s success can be attributed in large part to its extensive and ever-evolving marketing strategy that incorporates various forms of advertising, partnerships, and promotions to increase its user base while retaining existing customers.
Whether you are a small business or a large corporation, a streaming service, or a company operating in a totally different industry, there is a profound wealth of information that every business owner can glean from Spotify’s marketing strategy and subsequent, ongoing success. In this article, we will take a closer look at how Spotify achieved its massive success and the many ways you may be able to implement similar strategies for your own business.
For The Love of Data
One of the core elements of Spotify’s marketing strategy is the use of data analysis. Spotify utilizes a number of data collection tools to track user behavior, listening habits, preferences, and trends. This information is then used to aid Spotify in creating personalized content and targeted advertising campaigns.
Spotify also uses data to track engagement, monitoring metrics such as the number of songs played, the number of playlists created, and the frequency of logins. This helps the company identify trends and patterns in user behavior and make informed decisions about how to optimize their marketing campaigns.
Additionally, Spotify uses data to segment their audience based on various demographic and behavioral factors, allowing them to create targeted marketing campaigns more likely to resonate with specific groups of users. They also use data to personalize their marketing efforts, such as recommending songs and playlists based on a user’s listening history. By analyzing listening patterns, Spotify is better able to understand what type of music each user is interested in and what kind of advertisements would be most relevant to them.
Smart, Strategic Partnerships
Spotify has continued to invest heavily in partnerships and collaborations with multiple recognizable brands, artists, and influencers, including Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Nike, to create exclusive playlists and offers for their customers. These partnerships not only increase brand awareness but also help attract new customers who may not have used Spotify before.
Coca-Cola
With Coca-Cola, Spotify has created global campaigns featuring curated playlists and promoting new artists at the same time. The two companies have also collaborated on custom-branded Coke cans that offer access to special Spotify playlists and exclusive content.
Starbucks
Similarly, Spotify partnered with Starbucks to create custom playlists for the coffee chain’s stores and patrons. This collaboration also includes a loyalty program that offers free music downloads, exclusive access to live events, and other rewards for Starbucks Rewards members.
Nike
With Nike, Spotify launched a series of workout playlists and custom music experiences tailored to different types of workouts and exercise routines. This partnership was designed to encourage users to stay active and motivated while also promoting Nike’s athletic apparel and equipment—as well as Spotify’s curated content.
Apple Music
One of the most notable and seemingly unlikely partnerships Spotify has forged is with the music streaming platform’s closest competitor, Apple Music. In 2019 the two companies announced a new feature allowing users to control their music playback through Siri voice commands on iOS devices. This move was seen as a way for both companies to offer a more seamless user experience and compete more effectively against other music streaming services.
BMW, Ford, and Beyond
Spotify has also formed key partnerships with brands in the automotive, hospitality, and retail sectors. The company teamed up with car manufacturers like BMW and Ford to integrate its app with in-car entertainment systems, as well as various hotels and resorts to provide guests with curated playlists and other personalized music experiences during their stay.
Tech Collaborations
Spotify entered into collaborations with major technology firms such as Google and Amazon, integrating its app with Google’s Home and Nest smart home devices, as well as with Amazon’s Echo smart speakers. These partnerships helped expand Spotify’s reach and make it more accessible to users across a range of devices and platforms.
These partnerships demonstrate Spotify’s shrewd ability to work with a diverse range of brands and industries to provide users with unique and compelling music experiences.
Spotify Isn’t Afraid of Ads
As mentioned earlier, Spotify is able to use the data collected on each user to provide targeted ads relevant to each user. When the ads are relevant to the user’s specific interests and preferences, they are far less likely to be a nuisance (and increase the likelihood of the user engaging with the ad). Not only does Spotify rely on targeted ad campaigns, they do not overwhelm users with ads. For a 30-second ad, users are able to go back to listening to 30 free minutes of music. The takeaway: thanks to data analytics, ads are relevant to individual users and are kept short and sweet.
While Spotify’s “freemium” option is supported by advertisements, there is a premium version that is ad-free and offers additional features, such as downloading music to listen anywhere, unlimited skipping, and the ability to play any song. Giving everyone the option to try Spotify completely free is often what entices users to eventually pay for the premium version. They get a taste of the countless music options on Spotify, and many are willing to pay for additional perks. The affordable monthly subscription cost of $9.99 is also what plays a role in Spotify’s success.
Spotify’s Social Media Presence
Spotify has created an impressive social media strategy designed to drive engagement and loyalty among its users while simultaneously promoting its brand and content to a wider audience. The company routinely uses its large social media presence on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat to promote new music releases, podcasts, and playlists, as well as share behind-the-scenes content that Spotify users and music fans are interested in.
Using Social Media Platforms for Offering Incentives
Spotify uses its social media platforms to drive user acquisition and retention. The company offers incentives such as free trials and discounts to users who follow Spotify on social media and share their experiences with their followers.
Using Social for Promotional Purposes
Spotify also uses social media to promote its partnerships with brands and artists. For example, the company partnered with the artist Post Malone to create a custom-branded experience for his album release and promoted this partnership across all of their social media platforms. They beefed up the partnership by including exclusive merchandise and access to pre-sale concert tickets for Spotify users.
Later on in this post, we’ll highlight additional artists Spotify has teamed up with in order to boost its marketing strategy.
Launching Successful Social Media Marketing Campaigns
The team at Spotify regularly brainstorms creative social media campaigns to increase Spotify’s online presence. One of Spotify’s most successful social media campaigns was #2018Wrapped, which showcased users’ listening habits over the past year. This campaign generated a significant amount of buzz on social media and encouraged users to share their personalized playlists with their friends and followers. Spotify Wrapped has since continued as an annual viral campaign for users to share their most listened-to artists and songs while celebrating the year gone by.
Artist Collaborations
Not only does Spotify align with other brands, they strategically partner with famous artists for a number of reasons. By partnering with popular and highly influential musicians, Spotify is able to tap into that artist’s broad fan base and reach a wider audience. Not only does this move increase brand recognition, it drives engagement and encourages fans to use the platform more regularly.
These collaborations allow Spotify to create unique and exclusive content that cannot be found elsewhere, adding value to the user experience and fostering more excitement among fans. Some examples of unique content created through artist partnerships include custom-branded experiences, special playlists, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive merchandise. Through these offers, Spotify is able to differentiate itself from other music streaming platforms and give fans a compelling reason to choose Spotify over its competitors.
These collaborations reinforce Spotify’s position as the leading music streaming platform in a highly competitive industry. By consistently partnering with big-name artists and delivering unique and engaging experiences for fans, Spotify is able to stay top of mind and maintain its relevance among music lovers.
Taylor Swift
One of Spotify’s most successful partnerships was with Taylor Swift when they released her entire back catalog exclusively on Spotify after a public feud between the two parties. This strategic move generated a massive amount of attention in the music industry and helped increase Spotify’s user base.
Post Malone
More recently, Spotify partnered with Post Malone for his album release, where they offered exclusive merchandise, early ticket access, and behind-the-scenes content. This partnership was a huge success and generated a tremendous deal of excitement among both Post Malone fans and Spotify users.
Drake
Drake’s partnership with Spotify included a series of exclusive playlists, which were only available on the platform. These playlists included tracks from his own albums, along with other artists he was interested in or inspired by.
Implement Your Own Content Marketing Strategy
By continuously improving its user experience and creating personalized content, Spotify has managed to stay ahead of its competitors and maintain its position as one of the leading music streaming platforms in the world. When a company is focused on providing customers with the most exceptional experience possible, a solid marketing strategy can be built upon that goal.
If you are looking for ways to provide your customer base with an exceptional experience while attracting new customers and growing your business, reach out to the team at ContentWriters.com today to start building a content marketing strategy!
Shannon helps businesses get more business by crafting content with the most engaging, user-friendly, and marketable material. For over five years, she has crafted thousands of written pieces for hundreds of clients. Her range of work includes blog posts, music reviews, articles, interviews, product descriptions, press releases, public service announcements, sponsorship proposals, and social media content.
