Businesses can now flourish like never before, thanks to the digital age. It has allowed business owners to market their companies in novel and creative ways. Over the last ten years, more companies have jumped on the digital bandwagon. Who is to blame for them? You can reach customers through digital marketing that you would not have been able to do otherwise. A new marketing era has emerged due to the reach of marketing campaigns like email marketing, PPC, display advertising, and more.
Businesses now have various advertising platforms thanks to the constantly changing digital landscape. Social media platforms are the most widely used for advertising. Everyone is speculating about the value of a recent platform that is starting to accept advertisements. Naturally, that platform is Spotify.
Owners of businesses are debating whether spending money and time on Spotify advertisements is worthwhile. We’ll look at Spotify’s benefits and drawbacks today to help you decide if it’s the best option for your marketing plan.
With more subscribers than any other music streaming service, Spotify is the biggest platform in the world. Users of Spotify have access to one of the largest music collections in history, podcasts, and other audio content. However, access to this music collection is not free; users must either put up with audio ads that play between songs or pay $9.99 per month for an ad-free listening experience. There are many advantages and disadvantages of advertising on Spotify.
Since not all users are willing to shell out the monthly fee to be ad-free, Spotify has grown to be a well-liked app among advertisers worldwide. However, is Spotify advertising appropriate for your local bank? Take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of Spotify advertising.
PROS/Advantages
Spotify has a sizable audience: According to a recent Statista report, by the end of 2018, Spotify’s Spotify’s empire had grown to 180 million active users per month. Of those, 83 million were premium subscribers who paid to remove advertisements. It indicates that almost 100 million users take advantage of the platforms free use and audio advertisements.
Non-paying users must listen to audio advertisements: Spotify users who use the free version of the streaming service must hear audio advertisements between their favorite songs and podcast episodes. There is no way to skip or fast-forward around it. This is a huge benefit for advertisers, especially when users can scroll past your ads on other mobile apps or websites or click the “Skip Ad” button after five seconds.
Multitasking is possible with Spotify, so users don’t have to pause the music to use other programs or browse the internet. The Spotify app will continue to play music while users read the news or catch up on Instagram, and your audio ads will also continue to play. This feature is crucial because other apps, like YouTube, pause when users leave the app. The fact that YouTube is the most widely used platform for streaming music is a major drawback.
A lot of time is spent on Spotify by users: Due to its multitasking capabilities, Spotify is one of the world’s top 10 most popular apps, with users listening to its content an average of 25 hours per month.
Cons/DISADVANTAGES
Limited geo-targeting options: there might be better options than Spotify regarding geo-targeting. Instead of hyperlocal targeting, the platform restricts advertisers to audiences categorized by nation, state, region, or designated market area (DMA). As a community bank with a wide range of products, you might run into some restrictions and limitations even though these targeting options may be effective for some campaigns.
Targeting by genre and playlist is irrelevant to banks: With Spotify, you can reach people listening to music that matches certain emotions, musical genres, or activities like working out, entertaining, relaxing, and traveling. Banks and financial services might not be the best candidates for this type of advertising, but some businesses may find success doing it.
Spotify conversions for the financial services sector are uncommon: You should only anticipate much success with conversions if your bank has decided to launch an effective branding campaign. Users of Spotify can stream this content while driving, exercising, cooking, taking a shower, etc. They find it inconvenient to click on your advertisement, read the terms of your offer, or apply for a new credit card. Branding campaigns, which merely involve increasing public awareness of your bank in the neighborhood and informing listeners that you want to enhance their banking experience, are an exception to this rule. Since no action is required, there is no immediate conversion required.
Budget restrictions: Spotify sets a $250 minimum for advertising expenditures and a $5,000 maximum. As a test, the lower end might be more affordable, but are you willing to invest thousands of dollars in a platform that might or might not help your bank?
Conclusion
Spotify has had a lot of ups and downs when it comes to the main feature of advertising. However, its unique features, and a wide variety of price points, could make it a viable platform for businesses to utilize. To see if it is suitable, weighing the benefits and downsides that Spotify offers with your business advertising strategy is important.
Spotify may not be the best marketing tool for banks due to its targeting limitations, but it can be for other businesses. Unless you have significant branding plans, it’s unlikely that you will find success on this streaming platform. If you’re still interested in experimenting with Spotify Ads, long the way.
