Instagram integrates Spotify sharing for stories
Spotify continues to maintain its position as the most powerful music streaming platform in the world, having amassed a staggering 170 million users. The influence of the platform makes it a vital aspect for any artist’s marketing campaign, and the introduction of a brand new collaboration could reshape this entirely. It was recently announced during Facebook’s F8 developer’s conference in California that Spotify users would now be able to share tracks to their Instagram story using “music stickers”. With Instagram quickly becoming one of the most popular platforms for musicians to market their content, this pairing is certainly a match made in heaven and will create even more potential for artists to promote themselves.
The process
By hitting the music button when creating an Instagram story, users will be able to search for and select the track they are listening to, displaying it on their Instagram story, or sending it to a friend using the direct message feature. This simple process will break down barriers between the two platforms, and allow users to effortlessly share the music they enjoy across platforms. Of course, it has always been possible for people to share their Spotify preferences on Instagram, but with the new direct feature, it is now ten times easier, leading to many more shares than before. But what does this move mean for artists?
The impact for musicians
The widespread impact of this new feature is difficult to measure before implementation, but it looks certain to have a positive effect on the visibility of the artist’s brands. The effortless nature of the new feature will undoubtedly provoke an increase in publicity for tracks, but it is difficult to tell exactly how much of an increase this will be at this stage. With Instagram set to see an increase in the promotion of music by fans themselves, it is vital to utilise this opportunity and make your presence known on the platform. You should be sure to make yourself easily found on Instagram, and ensure that if another user searches your track name, that they can easily find your posts. You should also make sure to introduce a hashtag for each release, making all posts about it easily accessible to users.
AR functionality
Instagram has also introduced another new scheme, allowing high-profile users to create their own AR effects for their followers to use. These include facial filters and real-world effects that can be used when posting a story. At the moment this feature is extremely limited, and has only been made accessible to stars like Kylie Jenner, Ariana Grande, Liza Koshy and various others, but there is the potential for this feature to become accessible to everybody in the future. The feature provides yet another method for high-profile accounts to really connect with their following and increase the visibility of their brand on the platform. The announcements didn’t end there, as Facebook also revealed that GoPro will also be integrated, allowing users to upload high-quality footage straight to their Instagram story. This will no doubt lead to an upsurge in quality, as professionals and amateurs alike strive to improve their social content through stunning imagery.
With Instagram integrating Spotify sharing into its platform, it is now more vital than ever to ensure that your Instagram presence is up to scratch. Make sure that you are maximising the publicity surrounding your releases on the platform in order to improve your visibility. Using hashtags for new releases will ensure that you can be easily found by potential new fans, and will increase your chances of growth. You may even want to put together a campaign centred around asking fans to share your latest release to their Instagram story. This move by Instagram can only be positive for musicians, and will undoubtedly provide more opportunities for publicity. Make this your opportunity to increase your visibility on Instagram.