Spotify's Success Through Deep Facebook Integration Points The Way For Brands To Place The User At The Heart of The Social Media Experience, Says Punch

Brands and social media agencies should draw inspiration from the incredible success that music streaming service, Spotify has seen since partnering with Facebook 6 weeks ago - notably more than 1.5 billion song shares and 4 million new users - according to integrated PR, search and social media agency, Punch Communications. Specifically, the partnership has reiterated that success in social media marketing is based on seamlessly integrating with Facebook user's lives, not trying to subvert or divert attention towards a brand's message.

As one of a number of updates revealed at the recent F8 conference, the social networking giant's integration with Spotify is yet another indicator of Facebook's shifting focus towards the facilitation of interactive and engaging social objects that tie in with every-day lifestyle-orientated elements to enhance it's users' overall experience.

With over 800 million users, Facebook has quickly become one of the most important spaces for brands to become a part of, with those brands focusing on the creation of engaging and unique content having seen the most success so far.

Pete Goold, Managing Director at Punch Communications, which specialises in online PR, commented: "The latest figures only further confirm the opportunities that are currently out there for developers and brands that are able to become an integral part of the Facebook day-to-day user journey - which is in marked contrast to the many attempts that have been made by marketers, often at significant cost, that encourage the user to modify their behaviour in order to accommodate a brand. The growth that Spotify has seen in such a short space of time should be more than enough to encourage other brands, developers and PR companies of the merits of flexibility, and will hopefully inspire accordingly."

Spotify first launched in October 2008, securing more than 10 million users within its first two years and enabling users to stream music from a wide range of major labels including Universal, Sony and EMI.

Pete continued: "With the latest F8 announcements, Facebook presented developers and brands with a challenge to go out and create content that could become part of the everyday. Something which Spotify has done perfectly. In light of this, I would expect Spotify to see users and shares through social spaces continue to increase even further over the coming months."