Spotify’s tagline — music for everyone — undoubtedly captures what the Swedish brand is about. They witnessed a whopping 574 million monthly active users in the third quarter of 2023 and show no signs of stopping.
A tremendous part of this success extends to Spotify’s social media strategy, which exudes main character energy with the who’s who of the music industry and Hollywood featured on their page.
But is it just known faces that make Spotify’s marketing strategy a success or do they truly understand what their audience is looking for?
Let’s find out.
Analysis of Spotify’s social media accounts
With 55% of its users in the 18 to 34 age demographic, it’s no surprise Spotify actively posts on multiple social media platforms. Here’s a lowdown of their social media accounts:
- Instagram: 11 million
- Facebook: 23 million
- Twitter: 14.2 million
- LinkedIn: 4 million
- TikTok: 2.6 million
- YouTube: 1.66 million
- Reddit: 1.4 million
Not only have they amassed millions of followers across platforms, but they even left their top competition, Apple Music and YouTube Music, behind on Instagram with over 2x the followers.
Spotify has other regional Instagram accounts on which they’re active:
- Spotify Brasil: 1.4 million
- Spotify Mexico: 909k
- Spotify Italy: 401k
- Spotify Argentina: 323k
- Spotify Asia: 214k
They also have other accounts like Spotify ads, Spotify news, and Spotify for Artists to share regular updates. Even on X (formerly Twitter), they have a page dedicated to their 42 affiliates for easy access.
With such an active focus on social media, it’s no wonder Spotify’s marketing strategy is a resounding success.
Now that we know Spotify’s online following, socials tick.
What makes Spotify’s social media strategy successful?
In this section, we’ll deep dive into what makes Spotify’s marketing campaigns a true success-
1. Posting frequently
From waiting for a release from Rihanna to getting excited about Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande’s upcoming albums, don’t we all wish our favorite artists dropped new music more often? Spotify’s social media strategy has that covered.
From Instagram posts and highlights to Tweets and TikToks, Spotify hits the right notes by sharing fresh music or taking us down nostalgia lane. This regularity has earned them an engaged following across platforms.
However, this could go terribly wrong and feel spammy if not approached strategically. That’s why, if you’re going to be regular, take a cue from Spotify and share more meaningful content that resonates with your audience.
For example, they share playlists for entertainment but also have a dedicated Spotify News account, where they share interesting updates their audience cares about, like the post below.
This helps them stay on top of minds and build a loyal community of followers.
2. Collaborating with celebrities
Celebrity collaborations are a great way to build brand impact. You can tap into their audience and build trust in users. For example, their recent collaboration reel with Shakira got them 8.6 million (and counting) views, which is significantly higher than their other content. This is because of their existing follower base and Shakira’s 90.5 million fans.
In addition, they’ve tagged their other accounts to increase their reach further.
You will notice Spotify’s social media strategy includes multiple such collaborations, which are mutually beneficial to them and their collaborators.
3. Keeping up with the latest online trends
The “astrology girls” are taking over the internet and relate different topics with zodiac signs. Spotify’s marketing team jumped on this bandwagon and created an Instagram post to increase their engagement.
Also, recognizing the power of collaboration, Spotify partners with established influencers and rising stars to amplify trending topics. For example, they have a playlist on YouTube called “Billions Club: The Series”. Here, they showcase top artists who have over a billion streams.
Why are we mentioning it in this section? Well, when an artist enters the Billions Club, it’s clear their music is currently trending. Spotify capitalizes on it and shares such posts across their socials to gain more traction and even encourage spending more time on their app.
4. Running memorable campaigns
Spotify’s marketing prowess extends beyond just general strategies. They have consistently delivered successful campaigns that have left a lasting impact, capturing the public’s imagination and solidifying their position in the music streaming world. Here are a few shining examples:
Wrapped (2016-present)
This annual campaign has become a cultural phenomenon, personalizing user listening data into a visually engaging and shareable story. It taps into our natural curiosity and desire to understand our tastes, fostering engagement and driving social media buzz.
They even have a special page dedicated to it on their app with social sharing options to increase online chatter around their campaign.
I’m With the Banned (2017)
This campaign showed Spotify’s commitment to artistic freedom and cultural diversity. In response to travel restrictions imposed by the US government, they created a playlist featuring music by affected artists and spoke out against the ban, resonating with listeners who valued the platform’s stance.
“Thanks, 2016, It’s Been Weird” (2016)
This campaign capitalized on the unexpected events of 2016. Spotify created quirky playlists and social media posts reflecting the year’s chaotic energy, showcasing their ability to adapt to cultural moments and connect with audiences through humor and shared experiences.
The Unheard Playlist
As part of their International Women’s Day campaign, Spotify India collaborated with Sony Music India to create ‘The Unheard Playlist’, where they added popular duets across languages on their playlist but removed female vocals from the tracks. They got female singers from the Indian music fraternity to highlight how the songs sounded “strange” without them.
This was one of Spotify’s marketing campaigns that saw huge success, which earned them the number 1 spot on Twitter’s Trending page.
5. Engaging with big accounts
Beyond catering to the general audience through social listening, Spotify actively cultivates relationships with influential figures, further amplifying their social media presence and reach. This multi-pronged approach allows them to connect with established artists, empower rising stars, and leverage the influence of figures outside the music sphere.
For example, their post in collaboration with Hot Country and Kasey Musgraves helped them expand their reach to her 2.4 million followers.
Beyond established stars, Spotify recognizes the power of emerging talent. Their “Spotify Radar” program since 2020 champions promising artists like Libianca and Tyla, showcasing them on curated playlists and leveraging their social media reach to propel them to a wide audience. Their unique blend of R&B and bedroom pop resonated with listeners, and the Spotify push played a crucial role in introducing them to a newer fanbase.
6. Sharing content specifically for engagement
Whether it’s about sharing lyrics or their version of ‘Guess Who?’, Spotify knows how to get people to engage with their content.
What makes this aspect of Spotify’s marketing strategy interesting is they use social listening to create such content consistently. And since one account can’t accommodate regional requirements and topical content, they also have smaller accounts.
For example, to engage with their Italian audience, Spotify recently shared the post below on their Spotify Italy account.
The post roughly translates to “Let’s have a competition: how many songs do you have in your favorites?” Such steps showcase how they prioritize user engagement and want to connect with their audience.
They also do this directly on their platform with “Spotify Playlists” to keep you hooked on different genres of music.
7. Uploading top charts using social analytics
Social analytics lets Spotify understand how audiences are receiving new releases and established artists. By analyzing sentiment surrounding specific songs and artists after their release, they can gauge public opinion and adjust their algorithms accordingly.
For example, if a highly anticipated album receives overwhelming feedback online, they double down on it and share more posts related to it on their social media accounts.
Based on the number of streams, Spotify also shares top charts like Top Global Albums, Top Global Songs, and more to encourage interaction and also let their audiences stream such music in a single playlist.
Spotify’s social media strategy in a glimpse
With millions of followers and subscribers across various platforms, Spotify’s social media strategy is a masterclass in marketing. Let’s see whether their engagement numbers are proportionate to their follower count:
1. Spotify on Instagram
It’s no surprise that this streaming giant posts often across platforms with a dedicated marketing team on their side. In the past year alone, they have 985 posts on Instagram that got them 33,640,067 engagements.
This consistency also brought them a steady growth in follower count.
An interesting aspect we uncovered is their most frequent post type is Reels (43%). However, they get more engagement when they post carousels (~47,000).
Knowing such data points could help them improve their social media game further. That’s why, using a social media listening tool like Keyhole is key to maximizing your growth potential.
2. Spotify on Facebook
Spotify isn’t super active on Facebook with only 181 posts during the last year. Out of these, only 1 post was shared in the past 3 months.
That’s why their numbers here aren’t as impressive and their growth rate is dwindling. However, this doesn’t pose a huge problem for them since they enjoy a loyal follower base on other platforms.
3. Spotify on Twitter
Spotify tweets quite often, with 1,315 tweets only in the past 3 months. This brings them serious traction on the platform, with 91,995,167 impressions and almost 800,000 engagements.
Their most frequent post type on Twitter is replies (77%) followed by tweets (17%). Out of the different media they post here, such as links, photos, and videos, the most engagement comes from photo-based tweets.
4. Spotify on YouTube
Spotify has 540.35 million total views on YouTube. Out of this, over 67 million views were in the past year. This could be due to their posting frequency — 366 videos from March 2023 to February 2024 out of 813 videos totally.
Their most viewed video during this span is Spotify | Music That Finds You, with 18,550,989 views and counting.
Replicate Spotify’s marketing strategy with social listening
Spotify’s social media strategy isn’t just catchy tunes and flashy visuals. It’s about understanding their audience, keeping a finger on the pulse of trends, and fostering a genuine connection.
By implementing social listening tools and incorporating data-based strategies, you can turn your brand into a social media maestro, creating engaging content that resonates with your audience and leaves a lasting impression.
Remember, it’s not about blasting out messages, it is about joining the conversation, sharing the stage, and becoming the platform where your audience feels heard and understood.
Confused about where to start?
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. How does Spotify use social media to engage users?
Spotify engages users on social media through personalized playlists, exclusive content, artist collaborations, and interactive campaigns that encourage user participation.
2. What are the benefits of Spotify's social media strategy?
Spotify's social media strategy drives music discovery, creates a community of music lovers, builds brand loyalty, and provides direct communication channels with users for feedback and updates.
3. How does Spotify measure the success of their social media efforts?
Spotify measures social media success through metrics like follower growth, engagement rates, playlist shares, user-generated content, track saves, and conversion rates to premium subscriptions. They also analyze sentiment and feedback from users.
