10 Ways To Use Spotify As A Social Platform

Artists are typically active at least one of the major social media platforms, but often don’t realize these skills are also transferable to Spotify as well, now that the popular streaming platform has taken significant strides in adding usable social features.

Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0

Many musicians are adept in at least one of the major social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), but aren’t aware that those skills are transferable to a platform that requires a lot more social interaction that you might think, and that’s Spotify. The service has done a good job not only as a music distributor, but has installed some usable social features around it as well. This is one of the things that sets it apart from other streaming services. Granted, others have tried (hello Apple Music), but haven’t been able to pull off the social aspect with as much impact on the both the user and the artist.

That said, this excerpt from the latest 3rd edition of my Social Media Promotion For Musicians handbook (based on an excellent article from CD Baby’s DIY Musician blog) that outlines the steps that you can take to amplify the social aspects of Spotify. Here they are, with my comments afterwards:

1. Update your playlists with new songs. Like with other social platforms, new content keeps your audience engaged. Same thing here. Updated playlists with other artist’s songs keeps the interest level in your songs high as well.

2. Do social shout-outs to any artist you add to your playlist. This is just good business, especially if it’s an indie artist. They’re more likely to return the favor, which is a good way to get exposure to a new audience.

3. Promote your playlists via newsletter and social. This is one that artists hardly ever consider. When you can’t think of anything else to write or post about, promoting your playlist is always a good topic.

4. Re-assess the effectiveness of your playlist titles, descriptions, and artwork and make any necessary changes. Just like anything else you do online, these crucial details make a huge difference in engagement.

5. Encourage fans to follow you on Spotify. It seems simple, but it’s another detail frequently overlooked by artists.

6. Pin a new song or playlist to the top of your artist discography page. Pinning is a great strategy on any platform. Don’t forget to use it.

7. Embed Spotify players on your website for all your albums. Links are not enough. Embed the player to be sure that you get that impulse play.

8. Check out your daily Spotify trending reports to better understand your audience and engagement on the platform to see what playlists include your music. You can’t supply your audience with what it wants unless you know exactly what that is, and the trending reports can give you that information.

9. Give a social shout-out to any playlister who has added one of your songs. Just like on Facebook or Twitter or any other social platform, this can be very effective in maintaining the engagement of your fans.

10. Actually listen to your Discover Weekly playlist. This could be an easy way to find new tracks to add to your playlists. It’s not always easy to find tracks that you like on your own, but the Discover Weekly playlist is there for reason. Use it.

These are a few small things that you can do to use the social aspects of Spotify to your benefit that same way you do with any other social platform. They don’t take much time, and can help increase both your audience and your streams.

You can read more from the third edition of Social Media Promotion For Musicians and my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.