The Best Way To Share Your Spotify Songs

Spotify's competitors have been hot on its heels over the past few years. And that's ultimately a good thing for artists. Because it means companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google are all pushing each other to make better products not just for customers, but for content providers. 

But one of the smartest things Spotify ever did was lean into the "social" aspect of music streaming. Things like shareable playlists, "artist picks," the Spotify "Wrapped" series, and early integrations with social media allowed Spotify to win the attention of artists.

That's why you'll usually see artists asking fans to stream their song on Spotify more than any other platform. Even though Spotify might actually have fewer U.S.-based subscribers than Apple Music. 

Spotify makes it much easier for artists to share their music online. And that's going to win an artist over every time. Spotify also just announced a new feature called "Promo Cards," which allows artists (or anybody, really) to create an easily shareable graphic for an artist, album, or song. 

In light of the newest feature, let's look at a few of the best ways to share your Spotify songs on social media. 

1. Instagram Stories

Given how popular Instagram Stories are, it's hard to believe they haven't just kind of...always existed. Stories launched as an Instagram feature in 2016 and Spotify announced its support for the platform in mid-2018. 

The premise is simple. When you click to share the song or album or playlist on Stories, your Instagram loads with the album artwork in the middle (and the ability to add other text, pictures, gifs etc.). But when a user clicks the artwork, your phone brings up the link in your Spotify app (provided you've got Spotify on your phone).

One of the reasons it's such an effective way to share your tunes is because it has to happen on your phone — and people are much more likely to ultimately check out your songs on the phone. (Again, assuming they have the Spotify app installed). 

The Story goes away after 24 hours which makes it kind of annoying, but it does give you the opportunity to share it multiple times in new ways and have it still feel fresh. 

2. Promo Cards

The new feature, while not immediately easy to find, is actually a really simple and effective way of sharing your stuff. You start by going to this site. Once you're there, you'll see a really slick interface where you choose what you want to promote (between artist, track, podcaster etc.). 

Spotify analyzes the corresponding artwork and gives you five color options. Then you pick the size you want (between portrait, landscape, or square) and create the card. When you choose to post it to Twitter or Facebook it's automatically a link. You can also download the card to share in your own way.

Yes, it's super simple. But that's part of the reason it makes so much sense. It feels like it's an officially branded part of Spotify and it doesn't overwhelm you with options. Plus the fact that you can do it for different songs etc. means you can use the feature dozens of times and say something unique about the song when you post it — so it feels less like spam and more like meaningful content. 

It's also one of the only ways where sharing from desktop may be easier than sharing from mobile.

3. Messenger

Yep, Facebook Messenger has incredibly high open rates. And although there are rules against randomly messaging people who follow your page, you can still send the song to your personal friend list with typically very good results.

And as Facebook continues to merge features between Facebook and Instagram, having one unified place between accounts means you'll likely soon be able to reach even more people through the medium.

Seriously, Facebook Messenger generates upwards of 75% open rates for most people, sometimes as high as 90%. While you can't make people click through and listen, knowing they opened it is a big step up. And since they're likely people you've connected with, that can go a long way. 

You may not reach tens of thousands of people with this method, but the people you do reach will be much more likely to support your song. 

4. Snapchat

Similar to Instagram Stories, you can share your Spotify content straight to your Snap story on mobile. Because Instagram Stories are basically a carbon copy ripoff of Snapchat, it won't surprise you to know the sharing function is nearly identical, too.

But Snapchat continues to be a highly engaged platform, even if it's a bit perplexing for band promotion use. Because Snapchat is still more of a one-on-one kind of engagement, it may be smart to create a tailored response for when people reply to your story sharing your album. 

5. The Secret Sauce: Share Playlists, Not Songs

In almost every situation you're better off creating a playlist to share than simply sharing a song. Even if you're focusing on one particular track. Name the playlist something clever and then put your focus track at the top. Follow it up with at least 7 more of your songs and share that (as opposed to just sharing the single). 

You won't be surprised to know that you've suddenly turned one stream into many. Plus, if people only have the free version of Spotify, they can listen to a playlist of your music on mobile (whereas they can't choose to listen to singular songs).