Behind the Play Button: Spotify’s expertise in UX and Behavioral Design.

As a big fan of Spotify, I’m always impressed by how they apply the principles of psychology and UX when creating new features.
In this article, you will gain insights into Spotify’s feature analysis and learn how to apply these psychological principles in your next designs.

How it starts.

I have noticed a growing trend of addiction to short video “reels” on social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook. These videos often include snippets of catchy songs that have led me and many others to search for the full tracks on Spotify.

Feature Explanation:

To adapt to the changing tastes and stay up-to-date, Spotify has launched a new feature “short video”. Which includes the most popular song snippets that people often hear and search for. So, let’s analyze this new feature together.

I have noticed that every new feature is appear in search page I think this is because the search page is the most viewed and used page by the users, as the search is the core of the app and this makes sense

Personalization.

Spotify creates a connection, leaving you with something that was curated just for you through:

1. UX Writing:

The UX writing used by Spotify’s product team, such as “Explore Your Genre,” creates a sense of personal ownership and this is known as the endowment effect.

Endowment Effect:
The endowment effect refers to the tendency for individuals to value an item more highly simply because they own it.

Spotify always uses friendly UX writing and a relatable tone of voice. This approach makes it easy for anyone to understand, and they use slang that is unique to each country.

Spotify’s UX writing in Egypt.

Spotify’s UX writing in Saudi Arabia.

2. Using Algorithms and AI for personalization:

Using algorithms and AI to categorize my favorite music genres based on analyzed music preferences. This makes me feel like Spotify knows me well.

I still remember the day when I created my new account on Spotify and started making my playlist. As I began adding songs that I liked, Spotify began recommending more songs based on my preferences. To my surprise, I ended up adding most of the recommended songs to my playlist. Before I knew it, my entire Spotify account was filled with songs that I loved.

So, I tested my theory by creating a new account and observing how the recommendations changed adaptively.

The Results:

1. Spotify requires me to select my favorite bands and singers.
2. Spotify creates a playlist for me based on my choices during the onboarding process.
3. The exploration feature is currently unavailable for new accounts 😟 due to the lack of music preferences, which makes it impossible for the AI and algorithm to detect your preferred genres.

Spotify Vs TikTok’s Videos

The Familiarity.

When I first started using this feature, although it was new to me, I quickly understood how it worked. Spotify uses existing experiences that the user already knows about like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Facebook Reels, and this taps into the principles of:

Familiarity Bias:
When introducing a new feature, it is recommended to utilize existing UX patterns or visuals to make users feel at home.

Jakob’s Law:
Users spend most of their time on other sites. This means that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know.

Deep Exploration.

When I swipe more, I feel comfortable and immersed in exploring new songs. I think this happens because Spotify uses those principles.

Immersive Experience:

Spotify minimizes cognitive overload by using some tricks, allowing users to immerse themselves in music discovery without unnecessary distractions. through:

1. Low Cognitive load tasks: full Screen + just swiping.
2. Short videos: using short song videos (average 15 secs)
3. Sticky content: Spotify puts the most catchy and famous part of a song at the beginning so that you can easily identify the songs.
4. Surprising reward: the more you swipe the more new songs you will explore.

Cognitive load:
is the amount of mental effort required to complete a task. In UX design, minimizing cognitive load is essential to ensure that users can complete tasks quickly and easily.

Designing with Thumb Reachability in Mind:

Spotify makes it easy to add songs to your library or follow artists by placing those actions in the Natural zone, which is the easiest part for your thumb to reach.

Rule of thumb:
When people use their mobile phones, they can usually only operate with their thumbs. People can’t drag their thumbs to the top or middle of the screen, so designers have to consider the placement of on-screen interactive elements around it.

POV: I’m swiping to discover new songs.

Variable Reward & Building Habits.

The more you swipe, the greater the probability that you will continue swiping further, and as a result, you will come across new songs that you are likely to enjoy (Reward).

This mechanism aims to make you swipe automatically like a slot machine, without even having to think about it, forming a (habit).

no more songs to listen to.

Things I Recommend.

I suggest recommending more songs per genre to keep the user engaged and increase their average session length on the app. to improve engagement metrics.

Involving users in the process. (IKEA Effect)

As a first-time user of this feature, it would be a perfect time for Spotify’s product team to ask for my opinion. It would be a great opportunity to get my feedback, even if it’s just for a rating.

IKEA Effect:
involving users in the development process can make them feel more invested in your product, which ultimately increases its perceived value.

When you are working on a new feature for your product, it is important to give your users an easy and efficient method to share their feedback. This can help you gain valuable insights on how to enhance your product, and it also makes your users feel that their opinions matter.

UX lessons to apply in your next designs:

• Staying updated with the latest trends is crucial for businesses to remain competitive.
• Integrating AI and algorithms into your app can significantly boost user engagement by analyzing their preferences, providing accurate insights, and enabling you to build new features, make offers, and recommend content.
• When adding new app features, using familiar experiences can help users learn quickly and become comfortable faster.
• Building Habits for Users to Increase Your Customer Retention Rates (upcoming article)
• To build customer loyalty, it is important to involve users and appreciate their feedback to increase the adoption rates.

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