Artist: zukorosemeid
Platform: Spotify
Campaign Duration: 3 months
📊 Starting Metrics (Month 0)
- Monthly Listeners: ~1,700
- Followers: ~1,185
- Top Track Streams: ~50K for “Lala,” but overall low recurring engagement
Challenge: With ~1.7K monthly listeners concentrated in South Africa and moderate streams on top tracks, the goal was to expand reach into new regions and drive consistent engagement.
🎯 Campaign Goals
- Boost monthly listeners to 60K+
- Convert casual listeners into followers and savers
- Secure both user‑generated and editorial playlist placements
- Drive engagement via ads and repurpose content for retention
🛠 Strategic Approach
1. 🎵 Niche Playlist Outreach
- Reached out to 100+ micro-curators and emerging-afro playlist curators across South Africa, Nigeria, UK, and the US.
- Secured placements in at least 12 user-generated niche playlists (deep afro-soul, chill-afro, etc.).
2. 🔁 Consistent Release Strategy
- Released new single roughly every 4 weeks to maintain momentum and algorithm freshness.
3. 📣 Pre‑save & Organic Social Push
- Built pre-save campaigns on Instagram & TikTok.
- Offered fans early-access snippets and behind-the-scenes video content in exchange for saves and follows.
4. 🎯 Paid Spotify Marquee Ads + Social Media Campaigns
- Invested ~$300 on Spotify Marquee during new releases.
- Ran targeted Instagram Story and Reels ads to key demo groups (18–34, South Africa, diaspora).
5. 📊 Data-Driven Retargeting
- Used Spotify for Artists and ad platform analytics to identify high-performing regions and platforms.
- Iteratively refined ads based on save rates, location, and engagement patterns.
📈 Results (End of 3 Months)
| Metric | Month 0 | Month 3 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Listeners | 1,700 | 63,500 | +3,640% |
| Total Streams per Month | ~12,000 | ~320,000 | +2,567% |
| Followers | 1,185 | 8,200 | +592% |
| Saves/Adds Percentage | ~2% | ~9% | +350% |
| Playlist Placements | 2 micro | 12+ micro & 1 editorial | +500% placements |
✅ Key Success Factors
- Focused playlist targeting unlocked organic exposure and authentic engagement from niche curator-audiences.
- Strategic ad timing via Marquee + social media amplified release signals boosting algorithmic inclusion such as Release Radar and Discover Weekly.
- Frequent, quality releases signaled consistency to both listeners and algorithms.
- Active fan incentives (pre-saves, behind-the-scenes) increased follow-through raising saves and algorithmic momentum.
- Data-informed optimization ensured ads were rerouted to the highest‑conversion regions and demographics.
🚧 Challenges Addressed
- Low baseline visibility: overcame with playlist placements and precise ad targeting.
- Budget efficiency: maximized with layered campaigns Marquee during releases, social retargeting during lulls.
- Engagement conversion: tackled by embedding CTAs in Canvas visuals and visuals aligned with song mood (e.g., earthy, emotive).
💡 Takeaways
- Quality over quantity: fewer, well-aligned playlists drove more value than high-volume, generic pitches.
- Saves + follower conversion: small percentage improvements had exponential algorithmic benefits.
- Retargeting pays off: identifying and doubling down on top-performing geos and demographics led to scalable growth.
- Release cadence matters: consistency maintained algorithmic and listener attention.