Spotify asked its Facebook fans to make a playlist for each feeling evoked on Valentine’s Day, adding “Tell us which one you need today, and we’ll hook you up.”
So which tunes won the day? Below are the top five. Whitney Houston would have been happy to know that her iconic “I Will Always Love You,” the biggest single on the Hot 100 chart from her film The Bodyguard, made the day. The track spent a staggering 14 weeks atop the list and at the time was the longest-running No. 1 single in history.
Spotify also told this Florence-based writer which tunes were trending in the area:
Also on Valentine’s Day, the company asked its Facebook fans to come up with the best “turn-off tune.”
Spotify’s social manager, Josh Karpf, told SocialTimes via email that the company is always looking for interesting ways to drive engagement with users. “Our team likes to tap our users for recommendations because it encourages engagement and it also sparks fun debates and conversations among users.” Spotify ran a similar campaign around the Super Bowl with its #MusicBowl programming. “We like the results we are seeing and will continue to do more in the future.”
According to TheMediaBriefing, Spotify is ranked no. 1 for most social shares to Facebook based on its native advertising on BuzzFeed: “The extent to which a native ad’s success depends on Facebook over every other social media platform highlights just how much BuzzFeed’s advertising strategy relies on the whims of Zuckerberg and his team.”
Spotify’s content enjoys an average of 1451 Facebook shares per native BuzzFeed advert. Its post “20 Things That Affirm Led Zeppelin Is The Greatest Band To Ever Exist” has been shared over 8,530 times, reports TheMediaBriefing. After Spotify, Jose Cuervo, Guardian UK, Purina, FOX and HBO ranked highest, respectively.
Spotify also enjoys highest social shares of its BuzzFeed native ads to Twitter, at 172 social shares on average. Behind Spotify are HBO, Starbucks, Toyota, Fox and BBC America, respectively. After Twitter, social shares are highest on Google+ (with Spotify in the top five), then Pinterest (top five include Toyota, BBC America, Starbucks, Fox and Home Depot, respectively). LinkedIn sees the least amount of social shares per company.
Why do Spotify’s BuzzFeed sponsored stories do so well compared to other brands in terms of social shares? Is there something about music-related content that makes it more conducive to social sharing?
“Music is easily shareable and sparks lots of interesting debates which is why we think it plays nicely with the BuzzFeed community,” wrote Karpf. “Music and culture have always been naturally connected; and the content we have delivered in that network plays into that. I also think our brand and theirs have similar values and the audience recognizes and appreciates that.”
According to the MediaBriefing report, “Nielsen research from 2012 found that 92 percent of global consumers – from a sample size of more than 28,000 in 56 countries – trust earned media (recommendations from friends and family) above all other forms of advertising.” Online consumer reviews enjoy 70 percent trust ratings, with company websites coming in at 58 percent and emails trailing at 50 percent.
Apparently BuzzFeed’s native ads pay the bills. And advertisers are “keen enough on BuzzFeed’s ad strategy that BuzzFeed is having to turn ad buyers away because they don’t have enough inventory,” said MediaBriefing. “But what we don’t know is how well native ads translate to sales for companies choosing to advertise on the site.”
*image credit: Spotify on Facebook
*featured image: Spotify
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