Spotify Podcast Polls & Q&A: New Features for Creators & Users

Spotify Enhances Podcast Engagement with Interactive Features

Earlier this year, Spotify initiated beta testing of new functionalities designed to increase podcast interactivity. These included the implementation of listener polls and Q&A sessions.

Today, Spotify announced the public release of these features to all content creators utilizing its podcast creation platform, Anchor.

Utilizing the New Features

Creators who publish and distribute their podcasts through Anchor will now have the capability to incorporate a question or a poll alongside each episode they release.

Currently, Anchor allows for the addition of only one poll and one Q&A per episode, limiting the number of interactive elements available at this time.

Listener Experience on Spotify

When a podcast is published on Spotify, the integrated polls and Q&A sections will be displayed at the bottom of the episode page within the Spotify mobile application, accessible on both iOS and Android devices.

Listeners will be prompted to participate by responding to the poll or submitting answers to the Q&A directly within the app.

Results and Responses

Upon completing a poll, listeners will immediately see a breakdown of the voting results from the entire podcast audience, allowing them to compare their responses.

However, Q&A responses are delivered privately to the podcast creator.

The creator retains the ability to highlight specific responses by pinning them publicly below the original question.

It’s important to note that these publicly displayed responses will include the listener’s Spotify username, so consideration should be given before submitting.

This functionality effectively mirrors the concept of a radio call-in show, but utilizes text-based submissions rather than live or recorded audio.

Testing and Creator Usage

These features underwent a testing phase throughout the year with hundreds of creators prior to today’s public launch.

During testing, creators leveraged Q&A sessions to solicit suggestions for future guests, gather feedback on content and format, and introduce gamified elements to their shows.

Listeners were encouraged to return for subsequent episodes to hear the hosts’ responses to their submitted answers.

Global Availability

The new interactive features are now available to all Anchor creators and Spotify users across 160 markets globally.

While this does not encompass Spotify’s entire global reach of 178 markets, it represents a significant majority.

Spotify’s Podcast Innovations

Enhancing interactivity is just one aspect of Spotify’s broader efforts to modernize the podcast experience.

The company has also introduced paid podcast subscriptions, a combined “Music + Talk” show format, and Spotify Greenroom, an application designed for hosting “live” podcast broadcasts.