Spotify is one of the most popular music/podcast-streaming services out there — beating out Apple Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, and more. It has over 83 million users in North America alone.

Moreover, a large percentage of Spotify listeners use the freemium model, which allows them to stream music in exchange for listening to ads.

As such, Spotify presents an exciting opportunity for small businesses to further their reach.

In this post, we’re diving into what you need to know about using Spotify ads for small businesses and how to get a campaign going.

Why Use Spotify Ads for Small Business?

Small businesses can use Spotify ads to support objectives such as driving brand awareness and promoting products or services. Spotify users spend an average of 140 minutes per day (or 70 hours per month) listening to content on the platform. That’s a lot of time to get your brand in front of people. A majority of ad types play in between songs when people are already tuned in. They’re in the zone — typing, working out, cleaning the house, commuting, etc — and want to continue listening to music, even if that means a quick ad break.

Moreover, Spotify offers a self-serve advertising platform that lets you quickly set up and manage ads. They also offer an assortment of free production services like voice-overs, background music, and different audio effects. This has made it possible for brands and businesses of all sizes to advertise on Spotify.

How Does Advertising Work on Spotify?

Spotify Ads Cost

Spotify has several advertising options available to businesses and budgets of all sizes. The cost depends on a number of factors — such as your target audience, ad formats, the length of your campaign, etc. The pricing model will also vary depending on how you purchase advertising (i.e. through Ad Studio, via programmatic buying, or working directly with an ads specialist). For most small, local businesses, Spotify’s self-serve advertising platform will be the way to go. With it, you can get started with as little as $250.

Spotify Ad Types

There are two ad formats to choose from when using Spotify’s self-service advertising platform:

Audio Ads — These are short, 30-second ads that play between songs during active listening sessions. They are accompanied by a clickable image link so that interested listeners can tap to visit your landing page or website.
Video Ads — There are two types of video ads: sponsored sessions and video takeovers. Both types display on mobile and tablet only. With a sponsored session, the user receives a prompt that gives them the option of enjoying 30-minutes of uninterrupted listening in exchange for watching a full-length advertisement. Video Takeover ads run when the person is browsing through Spotify’s catalog. They include a companion banner with a customizable call-to-action.

If you have the budget, another option is to work directly with Spotify’s team to create a custom multi-format campaign. Doing so allows you to make use of the following ad types:

Overlay Ads — These display ads only work on mobile. They run when someone returns to the Spotify app. There’s no audio or video, instead, your banner image covers the screen while users listen to music. If they’re interested, they can click through to your landing page.
Homepage Takeover Ads — There are rich-media supporting display ads that only run on desktop. With this option, you can run clickable, interactive ads on Spotify’s homepage for 24 hours.
Leaderboard Ads — These display ads run on the Spotify leaderboard for 30 seconds. They work on both mobile and desktop devices.
Sponsored Playlist — Sponsored playlists works on all platforms and allows you to run native advertising and in-playlist media. Also, when you choose this option, you essentially “own” the playlist real estate in that only your ads will run whenever someone streams it.

How to Set up Your Spotify Campaign Using Ad Studio

Create an Account

You will first need a Spotify account to run ads. Instead of using your personal Spotify account, we recommend creating one specifically for your business. Once that’s done, head over to Ad Studio and sign up with the same email address you used to create your professional account. After you fill out some information about your business, you’ll be directed to your Ad Studio dashboard.

Choose Your Ad Objective

Next, click on “new campaign” and select the “brand, product, or organization” promotion type. This option is geared towards non-music related businesses with objectives like raising awareness or promoting a new product or service.

Select the Format and Platform

On the next page, you’ll choose which type of ad format you want to use: audio or video.

You will also need to choose the platform/device on which you want your ad to run (i.e. iOS, Android, and desktop). Unless you are running a platform-specific campaign, we suggest clicking all the options to maximize your potential audience.

Define Your Target Audience

Now it’s time to define your targeting parameters. Spotify lets you create a target audience based on standard attributes such as location, zip codes, age, gender identity, and interests. They also offer additional targeting options like real-time contexts, music genres, etc. Doing some market research beforehand to identify your ideal customer will help you maximize your budget and the effectiveness of your ad.

Set Your Budget & Campaign Schedule

Next, you’ll set your ad schedule. This includes when you want your campaign to start and stop, as well as the time of day you’d like your ads to display. For example, say you know that your target audience listens to Spotify while commuting. You can set your ads to run from 6 to 9 am and 4 – 6 pm. You will also need to set your campaign budget. Remember, you must start with a minimum budget of $250. Spotify will try to evenly distribute this amount between your start and end dates.

Create Your Ad

Once all of your campaign parameters are set, you’ll create your ad by adding your audio or video clip, an image, a call-to-action, and a clickthrough URL.

When you write the script, you need to make sure that it will sound good in a 30-second time slot. So, hit your key points, but don’t overload people with information — around 50 to 75 words is perfect. Keep things short, simple, and write in a way that sounds natural when read aloud.

As a small business, it’s always a good idea to highlight your location or service area to help cut down on out-of-area inquiries. In addition to using location targeting when setting up your ad, you can mention the location in your audio clip. For example, starting your ad with “Hello, [location name]”. This type of personalization can help grab listeners’ attention and emphasize that you are a local business.

Review Your Order Summary

Before you submit your ad for approval, Spotify will show you a summary of your order. This includes a preview of what your ad will look like on both mobile and desktop devices. If you notice anything you need to change, you can go back and make those edits.

Once you click Place Order, your ad will be reviewed by Spotify — which can take a couple of days. If it is not approved (for instance, your audio clip was too long), you can make edits and resubmit it.

Monitor Your Ad Performance

After your ad is approved, the only thing left to do is monitor its success. Spotify offers plenty of analytic data to help you keep track of performance. Based on this information, you can then narrow down your targeting and messaging to maximize your advertising ROI.

You can stop or pause your ad at any time. For instance, you can pause an ad to revise the audio clip or add a different background track. Or you might want to stop an ad that isn’t converting — in such cases, you will only be charged for the number of ads that have already run.

Your Local Marketing Partner

Surefire Local is dedicated to helping local businesses take control of telling their unique story across all digital marketing channels. Whether you have questions about optimizing SEO for Google or how to best use Spotify ads for small businesses, our marketing experts are here to help. We’ve also developed the leading business intelligence marketing software, custom-built for the needs of local marketers. Contact us today to learn how we make online marketing easy for small businesses!