News & Insights

3 Spotify Ad Studio tips to help artists be heard

When we launched streaming conversion metrics in 2019, our goal was to help artists and their teams understand how listeners respond after hearing an ad promoting their music. But we didn’t stop there. Since then, we’ve been paying particular attention to these metrics and now we have even more insights, fresh from our data science lab.

Listener conversion rate = Listeners / Reach

This latest round focuses on listener conversion rate, which tells you the share of listeners who streamed your music within 14 days of hearing your ad, out of all listeners who heard the ad. Comparing your ads’ listener conversion rates can help you understand which ads are more impactful. We took that idea and conducted an in-depth data analysis of all the artist promotion ads created on Ad Studio to date. What we found is that while there’s no guaranteed one-size-fits-all approach, there are some actions you can take that lead to a better listener conversion rate.

Here’s how:

1. Use fan targeting informed by your fans also like section

Fan targeting lets your ad be heard by listeners we know are fans of the artists you choose based on their listening history. To add it, scroll down to the additional targeting section when setting the budget and targeting for your ad.

If your ad’s goal is to grow your fan base, a good way to do that is to target fans of other artists who might be into your music, too. How do you know who they are? Take a look at the fans also like section of your artist page, which is powered by listening data and an algorithm. Our data analysis suggests that using this info as a guide when choosing fan bases to target should result in a higher listener conversion rate.

2. Pay attention to frequency

In your reporting, you’ll find frequency of ads served — the average number of times each listener heard your ad. We found that as average frequency increases, so does the predicted listener conversion rate. Sometimes listeners need to hear your message and music a few times for it to sink in! You can get an idea of what your ad’s frequency is likely to be by checking out its estimated frequency near the budget delivery likelihood meter in the budgeting and targeting step of ad creation.

While there’s no frequency “sweet spot” we can recommend right now, if you’re creating your ad and see an estimated frequency close to 1, you should think about adjusting the length of your campaign, budget, and targeting parameters to increase how often listeners hear your ad. But don’t aim too high! We don’t want listeners to feel like they’re stuck on repeat.

3. Take your time and be clear

Spotify audio ads can be up to 30 seconds long. If your goal is to increase listener conversion rate, we suggest creating an ad that takes up the entire 30 seconds. Our thinking here is that a longer ad gives listeners more time to interact with it as it plays.

When creating your audio ad or writing a script to use our voiceover tool, make sure that you say your name or your band’s name clearly. Often, listeners will hear an ad, and then search for that artist on Spotify. If listeners can’t remember your name, or spell it correctly, they’ll have a much harder time finding you.

Try out these recommendations to promote your next single or album drop and get your music heard. Just getting started with streaming conversion metrics? Our guide to understanding your campaign results will walk you through everything you need to know.

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