3 ways digital audio can help your small business

If you feel like audio content including music, podcasts, and audiobooks is a constant companion these days, you're not alone: Recent data suggests that people spend more than four hours every day with this type of entertainment.¹

But the way Americans consume audio continues to evolve. It’s now the norm for people to listen through digital platforms like Spotify.² While weekly terrestrial radio listenership has been declining in recent years, podcast and online audio listenership has seen a sharp uptick.³ Engagement with video content on Spotify, too, is on the rise. In the first five months of 2024, Gen Zs watched 2.9 billion minutes of video podcasts—a 58% increase compared to last year during the same time period.⁴

This shift away from traditional radio creates opportunities for small and medium businesses (SMBs) to reach younger customers, target audiences with greater precision, and save time and money with accessible creative tools.

Ninety-two percent of Spotify users say they use Spotify as part of their daily routine,⁵ and—according to Adelaide—Spotify ads capture 2x more attention than social media platforms.⁶ But advertising on Spotify isn’t just for big brands with huge media budgets. Here are three ways SMBs can tap into the benefits of digital audio and video campaigns with Spotify Ads Manager.

1. Connect with younger, digitally savvy customers.

If your goal is to engage and build awareness among younger audiences, digital audio and video content isn’t just a nice-to-have in your media mix—it’s essential in order for your business to reach Millennials and Gen Zs.

On Spotify, these groups make up the majority of our user base. What's more, they're engaging with us in different ways and with different content formats:

2. Target local customers with precision.

As a small business advertiser, you probably want to build awareness and get your message heard by customers in specific areas, like your local community. On Spotify, you can reach people in your local area with digital audio and video ads efficiently and effectively. Spotify Ads Manager's audience targeting capabilities make it easy for SMBs to reach new and potential customers in specific areas with the help of postal-code location targeting—something AM/FM radio doesn't offer.

If you currently use social media to reach local customers, we’ve got even more good news: you can potentially reach more people with Spotify—we deliver +22% incremental unique weekly reach on social/digital platforms.⁹ With Ads Manager, your message reaches who you want to reach precisely, with no media dollars wasted.

3. Save time and money with digital audio and video creative.

When it comes to the creative potential of digital audio and video, the only limit is your imagination. You don't need to have a massive budget or fancy equipment to produce compelling multi-format campaigns on Spotify.

Ads Manager offers free tools and services to advertisers because, well, we get it. As an SMB marketer, your time is a valuable resource, and every dollar you spend has to count. That's why we made it easy for you to re-use existing audio or video creative, or create net-new creative via the platform. The free audio ad creative services in Ads Manager work just as quickly as you need them to—in as little as 48 hours, we'll record and mix your custom 15- or 30-second audio ad.