Am I in love with … Spotify?
Am I in love with … Spotify?
What brands can learn from their innovative algorithms, AI, gamification and more
Earlier this week, an “Add Yours” Instagram Story sticker related to Spotify was making the rounds. More than 260,000 Instagram users shared a screenshot of their “daylist,” with the prompt being:
“Don’t tell me your astrology sign; I want you to go into Spotify, search for your daylist and post the title it gave you.”
If you’re unfamiliar, Spotify’s daylist refreshes over the course of a day to fit your usual vibes during that time of the day/week. Maybe you listen to rock anthems on the way to work to get yourself pumped up every morning. Or perhaps you listen to classical music on Sunday afternoons.
Spotify eerily knows you better than you know yourself when it comes to daylist and their other Made For You playlists.
But what makes daylist so special–enough that more than a quarter million people would share a screenshot of theirs on a completely different app?
Well, that’s what we’re diving into this week. And, yes, I’m including takeaways inspired by Spotify that your small business can use.
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daylist
First of all, if you’re wondering why daylist is not capitalized, I have no idea.
Now that that’s out of the way…
Spotify’s daylist is one of many Made For You playlists on the app. Although the beauty of it is its quirky titles that change as your playlist is refreshed. (Which happens a few times throughout the day.)
For example, the title of the one I shared in my stories with the “Add Yours” sticker prompt was “empowering 2020s monday afternoon.”
And when I checked in today, the title was “sensational hip pop afternoon.” Clever.
At quick glance, the playlists were full of songs I’ve had on repeat, along with some new-to-me songs that fit the vibes of the quirky titles.
By creating a hyper-personalized playlist based on your listening habits–and not just your usual artists and genres–Spotify’s powerful algorithm taps into your psyche to reveal moods you didn’t even know you had.
And the fun titles make them highly shareable, causing users to open their Spotify app just to see what their title of the moment is. (And I’m sure the brand is hoping they stay there and stream music… because money…)
Takeaway: How can your business create hyper-personalized products or services?
You may not have the level of data that Spotify has, nor the infrastructure to create something akin to quirky playlists.
However, I’m sure there is a way to take the customer data you have and, for example, create unique, discounted product bundles for a handful of customers “just because” and link to them in an email campaign.
Or, is there a way to create a more personal connection between your audience and your products?
For example, many businesses jump on the astrology train and link their best-selling products to generic traits of the zodiac signs. This creates social media posts with higher engagement and encourages your audience to look into buying their associated product.
AI DJ
Take the personalization of daylists and combine that with generative AI and AI voice, and you get a DJ who knows your name and preferences.
Once you hit play, DJ X will welcome you and introduce the upcoming group of songs. After that group is done, he’ll introduce another set of songs. Perhaps they’re songs with similar tempos by the same artist or songs by artists you had on repeat a few months prior.
It even sprinkles in new music that it thinks you would like. Mashable explained that listeners are more likely to try a new song when provided with DJ commentary.
The DJ playlist taps into customization based on your preferences. And the voice isn’t robotic at all. In fact, it’s quite friendly–like you have a personal radio station right in your phone.
Takeaway: How can you ramp up your brand persona?
Infuse your brand voice with more personality and carry that through all of your content, online and off.
Adding personality makes your brand more personable. (Was that obvious?) Potential customers can more easily link themselves to your brand when you don’t feel overly stiff and somewhat corporate.
Wrapped
Perhaps the only thing giving Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” a run for its money in holiday anticipation is Spotify Wrapped.
Spotify could easily cobble together your top 5-10 songs, artists and podcasts at the end of the year, email you the lists and call it a day. But as soon as they introduced Wrapped, it was a wrap on all other end-of-year lists.
The app curates an interactive experience that highlights the content you listened to most over the past year, and includes intriguing data, mini quizzes, captivating visuals, audio snippets of your most loved songs, a thank you video from one of your top artists and more.
They also include easy ways to share multiple parts of the Wrapped experience on social media. Some users see it as a way to flex on their eclectic tastes, an excuse to tag their top artist on Instagram, or to act embarrassed when a “sus” song cracks the top 5. 🫢
After being introduced in 2016, Spotify Wrapped has become the most wonderful time of the year.
Takeaway: How can you repurpose the customer data you’re already collecting in new, unique ways?
If you can personalize it, great! In fact, if your sales platform integrates into your email platform, this may be quite simple.
Or, if your small operation doesn’t have the skills to figure all that out, how can you take ho-hum data and package it in an intriguing and visual way?
You don’t need to wait until the end of the year. Explore your stats and data that you have on hand now and try it out!
Hidden Gems
Made For You playlists can be found by tapping the Search button, then selecting Music under “Start browsing,” and then Made For You under “Browse All.” However…
If you type “Made For You” in the search bar and hit “search,” you’ll see even more hidden playlists with names like Driving Mix, Strange Mix and Meme Mix.
(“Spooky Evil, Gay Mix” shown in the screenshot below is actually a public playlist by username Lily. But you bet I hit shuffle as soon as I saw it. 😆)
Last fall, you could play a hidden Snake game (!!!) based on the old Nokia mobile phone game (!!!). Called “Eat this playlist,” a snake made of album covers would grow as tracks in the playlist played.
This is such a cute, fun idea that taps into nostalgia and straight-up goofiness. If you still have this feature, I want to see it in motion. (Tag me on your social post?)
Takeaway: What are some ways you could add intrigue and mystique to your brand?
Brainstorm ways your audience can engage with your products in surprising ways.
Maybe it’s as simple in adding a small bonus item to orders over $40. Or perhaps you get ambitious and develop a hidden game on your shop website. Instead of Snake, maybe it’s a spin on Tetris, with boxes that look like your branded packaging.
What have you been inspired by lately?
Marketing inspiration is truly everywhere, and I especially love it when it comes from unexpected sources.
Spotify is mainly for listening to music, podcasts and audiobooks. It’s somewhat of a social media platform since you can follow your friends and create collaborative playlists. However, Spotify is unique in the fact that it creates hyper-personalized content that is engaging, fun, and highly shareable.
What have you been inspired by as of late? Comment on this Substack post or drop me a note at heronrymarketing@gmail.com.
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