Spotify is a popular music streaming service that also offers digital marketing and advertising opportunities for businesses and brands. Whether you are considering Spotify ads, or have questions about the process, this blog post will answer 14 frequently asked questions to help get you started!
Do I need to use an agency? What types of businesses should advertise on Spotify? How much does it cost? Can I target specific demographics with my ads on Spotify? What are some best practices for running successful campaigns on Spotify? How do I create and run my first campaign on Spotify?
These are all excellent questions and you’ll find answers in this post.
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Do I need to use an agency in order to advertise with Spotify, or can business owners and brands take a DIY approach as well?
No. Spotify is a digital advertising platform just like Facebook, Instagram and Google. It uses a self-serve digital marketing interface similar to all other platforms out there. Spotify can even create basic 30-sec audio ads for you based on a 50-75 word script. Your brand can self-manage these three types of campaigns by going through a simple onboarding process which takes less than one hour.
A word of caution though. Just because you can DIY your way across Spotify advertising and its self-serve platform doesn’t mean you should. Just like there are some specialised Facebook, Instagram, SEO and SEM firms out there, you’ll have to decide if you want to retain the services of an agency that knows exactly what they are doing and how to get the best results out of the platform and your money. Or go out in the jungle, experiment the wilderness and come back with all your limbs… Maybe.
If you don’t have the resources internally, then hiring experts that know all the ins and outs of digital audio advertising across different platforms such as Spotify, Pandora, Soundcloud and TuneIn Radio might be a wise option. Data-driven agencies like AirTraffic Media (airtraffic.me) that specialise in digital audio advertising can help you create, run and manage your first campaign on Spotify.
Can I target specific demographics with my Spotify ads?
Yes, advertisers have the flexibility to narrow down their targeting by location, gender, age range and interests when creating a campaign with Spotify.
You can also select a demographic by gender and age range. For example, you may want to target 25-34 year olds that have an interest in gaming or live in Ohio. Or all of the above. There are many ways for advertisers on Spotify to customize the type of audience they’re trying to reach out to.
However, if an advertiser wants to customise their messaging for different demographic segments beyond basic settings, then they would need to work directly with an account manager who specialises in Spotify media buying at AirTraffic Media (airtraffic.me).
Are Spotify ads worth it?
Spotify ads are worth it if the advertiser is looking for specifically targeted demographic segments, knows what they want their campaign to achieve and has a budget of at least $500 to $1,000 per day although we have observed perfectly acceptable results for less ad spend.
One of the biggest mistakes advertisers make is comparing Spotify ads with other types of ad formats and platforms that they know well (like Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Google Ads, etc.)
If you are trying to get massive results — and this is valid for any paid advertising platforms — don’t give $120,000 to an “A-listed” creative ad agency if you only have a couple thousands of dollars to buy media placement.
Let’s bring this point home and use an analogy, shall we? If you want to go to the moon, don’t ask SpaceX to build you a rocket and put only $50 worth of fuel in it. You’ll just crack the match and get a dull bang.
There is no point in getting started on Spotify (or any paid ads platform for that matter) if you are going to spend $10 per day to “test and scale”. Use this opportunity to manage your expectations carefully.
Unfortunately “marketing gurus” and all the bogus heroes selling half-effective information products out there want you to believe otherwise. They use wow-tactics and flash “Golden Tickets” in front of you and take your money. The fluff industry is real. Don’t fall for it. But medium to large enterprises know how to tune out from that noise.
If you’re not sure about where to start or need more information on Spotify advertising then feel free to contact us. We can set up your first campaign so that Spotify becomes an effective marketing tool in no time!
Can Spotify ads results be measured?
Yes, Spotify ads can be measured. It is important for advertisers to have a goal in mind when they create their campaign on the platform. For example, if you are running an advertising campaign that promotes your new service or product, then one of your goals may be a number of website visits, consultation calls booked, time spent on your product page, or which product were added to a virtual shopping cart, etc.
You will need to make sure that this metric has been set up and defined before starting any campaigns with Spotify Ads and make sure that your links are tagged with UTM codes so you can track results in Google Analytics or other performance measurement tools.
Are Spotify ads better than FM Radio?
Spotify ads are a lot more targeted. They can only be heard by the audience that matters to you, in the right context or based on an interest. On FM radio, a real-estate brokerage ad will play to a 13-year old teen no matter if it makes sense or not.
FM radio ads are played whether 10,000 are tuned in the station or 100. Just like dumping pallets of flyers over the city, some will never even be found. Yet you, the advertiser, pay for each of these flyers, even if they don’t hit the right audience.
Because Spotify is digital, and because of the “always signed on user state” of the Spotify app, ads always reach your target audience only.
Spotify ads have an auditory component so you are speaking directly to those who will listen. And while FM Radio stations have been around for decades, they’re still having trouble getting their ratings up because of how selective listeners are with what programming they tune into. Do you need to target Millennials and Gen Z? Look no further: Spotify is your Holy Grail.
How effective can my Spotify ads be if everybody is subscribed to their ad-free Premium service?
At Q4 2020, 155 million monthly active users (MAU) worldwide used Spotify Ad-Free Premium streaming against 190 million ad-supported users with the free membership. This means 55% of Spotify 390 million monthly active users are still using their ad-supported app. So how many listeners do you really need to do business?
A study from Nielsen Catalina Solutions showcased that when it comes to acquiring new customers, Spotify Ads do an excellent job of converting impressions into purchases than other forms of advertising such as social media or TV advertisements. The total incremental sale per 1,000 impression was shown at a staggering success rate of 25%.
Source: https://www.campaignlive.com/article/spotify-ads-25-percent-effective-average-study-says/1436976
What types of businesses should use Spotify ads?
There is no ‘one business’ that will benefit from advertising on Spotify. The platform’s diverse listenership ensures that a wide range of products and services can be marketed to the right audience.
That being said, because Spotify is still one of the least saturated digital advertising platform, the benefit of advertising there is that your ads are isolated, so they get all the attention. The brand awareness and ad recall rates are therefore much higher, try remembering an ad that you saw on Facebook just 2 hours ago. Good luck! The Spotify advertising platform is so empty that the chances of you competing against another similar service or product is virtually inexistant.
At AirTraffic Media, we spend a lot of time analysing the ads played in different geographic markets and age groups on Spotify. There is one shocking constant: the platform is still so empty that the only ads we can
How much would you pay to be the only business or brand authorised to advertising during a RedBull race of any kind? Do you secretly wish that you were the early adopter of Facebook Ads when they first started because they were cheap and there was just no competition? Well it’s high time to consider Spotify ads. The stage is all yours now, but for how long?
How much do Spotify ads cost in 2021?
Spotify ads are not expensive, but they’re also not cheap. At AirTraffic Media, we can create an advertisement for a fraction of the cost of traditional TV / Radio advertising. You can benefit from significantly less clutter from other brands vying to grab your target audience attention in between.
You don’t have to use any creative assets or content that you’ve already created for other purposes. We can build your campaign from scratch with new ideas. But our clients can also use assets that they already have full rights for.
What are some best practices for running successful Spotify ads?
Creating a strong and memorable ad will better the chances of people engaging with it. Think about what your campaign is trying to achieve, determine who your audience is, and then make sure you have appropriate imagery for that demographic in mind when designing an ad!
In order to keep track of your success with Spotify ads, be sure to plan out goals before running any campaigns. This includes setting KPIs (key performance indicators) for each type of campaign you create. For example: if one goal was set as ‘increase followers,’ there would need to be another metric set up called follower growth rate per day or – this ensures that even though the number may not increase every single day, at least we can see whether they’re growing.
How do I create and run my first ad campaign on Spotify?
Step 1. Choose if you want to go on your own or have an expert firm like AirTraffic Media (airtraffic.me) help you plan, create, manage, and measure your campaign.
Step 2. Identify your audience. (choose target countries/markets, ideal customer avatar, demographics, interests, behaviours, audience segments)
Step 3. Build your ad creative assets (audio ads, static images or video ads as needed)
Step 4. Review & Finalise All Details of Your Campaign Before Publishing It (e.g., set flight dates, budget allocation, etc.).
Step 5. Analyse & Optimise as you go. Allow for sufficient time for ads to have an effect on the audience. Don’t make hasty decision to pull ads. Give it some time. Depending on the urgency that you create in your ads, and how too-good-to-be-true your offer is, people may need to hear your ad several times before it start generating results. Be patient, observe, learn, make your ads better over time. Rethink your strategy and seek out for expert help if needed.
Does Spotify support frequency caps?
Yes! You can set frequency caps to control how often your Spotify ads will be played to specific audiences for any given time interval. You can select custom daily, weekly and monthly frequency caps for each audience.
Do you need to have an audio or video ad created?
No. Spotify supports both audio and video ads, but we recommend that you use a video ad if your budget allows for it. The reason is because the visual component of the video can help building brand awareness with a wider audience who may not be familiar with your product or service yet.
The bottom line: If you’re going to invest on Spotify ads, don’t go cheap on production quality.
On the other hand, one thing you may not want to do is make your first foray into advertising with videos because these ads take more time and investment than other types of ads. Make sure you have an idea of how well your product or service is performing before investing on video add.
Try audio ads first so you get an idea of how it performs as well what works best for your company’s brand identity before putting together a full-scale video advertising plan. That way when people are presented with both options, there will be ample evidence supporting which format would work best for your business.
It’s worth investing some time in high-quality content creation as well as hiring an experienced producer/director and sound engineer to create professional audio and visuals elements like animated intros, bumpers, text graphics – even better versions of what has been done before by other advertisers so people know they are getting more bang for their buck.
(The production of video and audio ads specifically tailored for Spotify is one of the services offered at AirTraffic Media, airtraffic.me)
Can Spotify serve video ads?
Yes. However Spotify can only serve video ads in certain markets and to specific audiences based on their age or gender. It is important that marketers know this before investing ad dollars into a campaign.
Spotify can serve horizontal and vertical video ads to its users, particularly well suited to the app’s predominance on mobile devices.
How long do Spotify ads last?
Up to a maximum of 30 seconds.