Heard It On the Radio! Advertise Your Small Business on Spotify

Radio advertising is one of the earliest forms of marketing with its history dating all the way back to the 1900s. However, as we’ve seen with direct mail, old does not equate to irrelevant. While the prime time of traditional radio ads may have passed, the time of digital music streaming service ads is just getting started! 

Radio advertising has now been revamped by Spotify whose ads offer a new and innovative way for businesses of all sizes to grow brand awareness, acquire new customers, and generate sales. But, what makes Spotify advertising stand out from traditional radio advertising? Just keep reading! Below we will dive into 5 of the major reasons you should consider adding Spotify ads to your current and upcoming marketing strategies. 

• Spotify is the Dominant Music Streaming Service in its Industry
  With 433 million users, Spotify is the biggest player in the music streaming/podcast industry holding 31% of the music streaming industry market share. While Spotify does offer a paid subscription for users to avoid ads, over half (245 million) of their users use their ad-supported service. That’s a lot of ears your brand can reach! 
  
• Spotify Ads Are More Likely to Hold People’s Attention
  Not only does Spotify have a huge audience, but they also have a very active and attentive one. To start, research has shown that digital audio, by its very nature is more engaging than radio, TV, and social media. However, Spotify’s users are uniquely attentive.
  
  The average Spotify listener spends 148 minutes streaming either music or podcasts each day. This is important because when users go to turn on their favorite playlist or podcast they are actively choosing what to listen to – not just putting on something for background noise like one would do with traditional radio. Because your ads are intertwined with content the users already enjoy, your audience is already engaged and more inclined to listen. In fact, Spotify’s research showed that 93% of the brain’s engagement with the content on Spotify is transferred directly into ad engagement. With Spotify, people are really listening and engaging with your ads!
  
• Spotify Ads Are Highly Targeted
  Unlike traditional radio ads, you have the ability to target specific audiences with Spotify ads. In terms of general demographic targeting, you have the ability to target by age, gender, location, etc. However, Spotify takes targeting a step further!
  
  Spotify has ample data on their listeners based on when and what they are choosing to listen to. Every time a user plays a song or designs a playlist they are telling Spotify something about themselves whether that be their moods, behaviors, and/or interests. Because of this, Spotify is able to place your ads in front of users who are actually interested in your brand products or services. For example, if you run an athletic wear company your ad might run when a user is listening to their workout playlist. Due to Spotify’s ability to target based on listener behavior and not just general demographics, 51% of Spotify Free users say they pay more attention to ads on Spotify because they are more relevant or tailored.
  
• Spotify Ads Reach People Where Other Digital Ads Cannot
  One of the biggest perks of Spotify ads is that they are able to reach people when other digital ads can’t. Marketing today is all about reaching your audience where they already are! While visual ads are great, they can’t reach people in all contexts of their daily life. So, how do you reach people when they are driving, working out, showering, or doing something where they are most likely not scrolling on their phones? You reach them via their ears, not eyes! And that’s exactly what makes Spotify ads so successful – the ability to reach audiences where visual content fails. Oh, and the fact that users can’t scroll past your Spotify ads helps.
  
  
• Spotify Ads Create Personal Personal Connections with Users
  By nature, radio is a personable medium. Take it from the father of Media Studies himself, Marshall McLuhan, who states: “Radio comes to us ostensibly with person-to-person directness that is private and intimate”. Audio has a unique ability to connect with humans that other forms of media lack. Additionally, because people often listen to audio content with headphones to eliminate surrounding noise, an intimate and immersive experience is further created. With all this being said, it's no surprise that audio ads drive a 24% higher recall than display ads and are twice as likely to lift purchase intent.
  
• Spotify Ads Are Accessible to Everyone
  Lastly, Spotify ads are inexpensive and efficient for all businesses to incorporate into their marketing strategies. Spotify ads have a low start-up cost allowing you to start advertising on their platform for just $250. Not only can they fit into any marketing budget, but they are easy and simple for anyone to use regardless of advertising experience or skills. Spotify offers free access to creative and production tools such as a variety of background tracks, voice actors, and professional audio mixing so you can create a thorough, well-performing ad without hassle or stress. 

Overall, Spotify ads are a great addition to any marketing campaign and will diversify your traditional advertising strategies. So, tune into the new wave of radio marketing and get started with your own Spotify ads today!