How to Grow a Spotify Playlist with Instagram Ads (Deep Dive) — Step-by-Step Guide
Let’s be honest — getting your Spotify playlist to stand out these days is no small feat. There are millions of playlists out there and even if you’ve got the best taste you still need to get ears on your playlist. You can wait for organic growth (good luck) or you can give it a little rocket fuel with Instagram ads.
We’ve tested this a lot with MugaTunes playlists — and it works. In this post, I’ll break down exactly how we run Instagram ads to grow Spotify playlists, what creative works best, how to set everything up, what to track, and how to know when you’ve hit that sweet spot where your playlist basically runs itself.
Let’s dive in:
1. Build Your Funnel Goal
Before you run ads, be clear about your goal:
Primary goal: Gain real playlist followers who actively stream your playlist
Secondary goal: Encourage repeat listening so your playlist gains algorithmic momentum on Spotify
Long-term goal: Reach "escape velocity" where playlist grows and maintains itself with minimal ad spend
Why this matters:
Many people run ads that get clicks but not follows
Or get follows but no listens
Or even worse: get vanity follows who never return, and Spotify deprioritizes the playlist
You need followers who listen, save, and repeat.
2. Create Initial Ad Creative
Your ad creative is everything — it must match the playlist’s mood and attract the type of listener you want.
Proven creative options:
Mood-based natural video (example: a sunny day, waves, beach towel, candle-lit desk)
Lifestyle moments (example: friends dancing for a fun/upbeat playlist)
Static image with bold text (“Follow the Best Chill Playlist on Spotify”) — surprisingly effective for clear CTAs
Motion graphics of playlist covers / scrolling tracklist (great way to make playlist visually dynamic)
Key tips:
Video should be 10–15 seconds, fast and punchy
Hook in first 1–2 seconds (use text or image to catch eye)
Show the playlist itself — quick scroll is great
CTA must be clear: “Tap to Follow,” “Stream Now on Spotify,” etc.
3. Set Up Ad Campaign
Where to run ads:
Platform: Meta Ads Manager (Facebook & Instagram)
Recommended placements:
Instagram Stories (best performance for us)
Instagram Feed (square 1:1)
Instagram Reels (9:16)
Optional: Facebook Feed if you have creative that works there
Ad sizes:
Design multiple versions:
9:16 for Stories/Reels
1:1 for Feed
Campaign setup:
Objective: Traffic (optimized for link clicks)
Link: Spotify playlist (use UTM tags so you can track)
4. Targeting Strategy
Start simple → refine over time:
Phase 1 — Broad targeting:
United States (or key regions if your playlist is regionally themed)
Age: 18–45 works well for most playlists
Interests: You can test genre interests (Lo-Fi, Chill, Indie Pop), but broad interest often performs better
Phase 2 — Refine:
Test regional targeting (example: "California Summer" for a beach playlist)
Build Lookalike Audiences from:
People who follow your Instagram
People who visited your site
Custom list of playlist followers if you can get it
Important:
Don’t over-narrow targeting too soon — scale matters for Spotify playlists
Gender: If you notice that female or male performs better (CPC + conversion), you can bias budget but don’t fully exclude yet
5. Budget & Metrics
Budget:
$300–500/month per playlist is a good test budget
Spend slowly at first, scale up what works
Key metrics to track:
Cost per click (CPC): aim for <$0.20
Click → Follow rate: aim for >30%, ideally 40–50%
Playlist follower growth: track daily
Streams per top song: good proxy for whether followers are listening
Formula:
If $300 → 1,500 new followers → $0.20 per follow, that’s great
6. Analyze Results
Weekly: review in Meta Ads Manager
Breakdown:
CPC (is it staying low?)
CTR (are people engaging?)
Gender performance (shift budget if clear winner)
Creative performance (is one ad crushing it?)
Most important:
Are playlist follows tracking with clicks?
Are those followers streaming?
Signs of fatigue:
CPC rising
CTR dropping
Playlist growth slowing
Solution: refresh creative — playlist ads need new visuals every 4–8 weeks
7. Watch for Compounding Behavior
Goal = escape velocity:
You know your playlist is compounding when:
% of followers become repeat listeners
Playlist starts being surfaced in Spotify’s Home tab
Organic followers show up even if ad spend pauses
Streams/day keep growing faster than ad spend
How to measure:
Spotify for Artists → Audience tab → Repeat listeners
Playlist followers over time
Streams per song → watch for steady rise
Remember: Chill / mood-based playlists are perfect for repeat behavior. You are building "habit playlists."
8. Maintain & Scale
Ongoing:
Create 3–5 new creatives per month — avoid fatigue
Test different styles — static, motion, lifestyle
Gradually scale budget on best-performing creative
When you see playlist followers hitting critical mass (5–10k range), test dialing ad spend down and watch if streams sustain. If they do — playlist has hit escape velocity.
Advanced:
Test TikTok Spark Ads
Retarget with Meta ads (playlist visitors, Instagram engagers)
Cross-promote between your playlists
"Stick with it — if you keep testing creatives and tracking results, your playlist will hit that tipping point where it starts to grow on its own. You’ve got this — #NoShittyMusic
