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How Spotifys Rock Star Program Empowers and Rewards Community Super Users

Published: Oct. 22, 2018, 9:30 a.m.

Spotify\u2019s Rock Stars\xa0are super users, officially recognized by the company and given tools, resources, guidance and perks for answering questions and starting conversations in their online community and helping users on Twitter, through the\xa0@AskRockStars\xa0account.

With more than 150 members, the program will celebrate its\xa0fifth birthday\xa0next month. Each year,\xa0Spotify\xa0hosts\xa0Rock Star Jam, an event at their head quarters in Stockholm. They fly in the top 10 most helpful Rock Stars to meet company leaders, see whats coming next, offer feedback and enjoy the city.

Global community manager\xa0Meredith Humphrey\xa0has been with Spotify since 2011, starting as a community moderator, and she breaks down the Rock Star Program on this episode of Community Signal. Plus:

The shift they made in product announcements to protect community staff
How the Rock Star Jam has evolved over the years
Meredith\u2019s exploration of what ROI means for community at Spotify

Our Podcast is Made Possible By\u2026

If you enjoy our show, please know that it\u2019s only possible with the generous support of our sponsor:\xa0Higher Logic.

Big Quotes

On the start of the @AskRockStars Twitter account:\xa0\u201cWe had this hypothesis that there were super users that preferred Twitter. \u2026 We asked four of our stars to try it out, and we had to do a lot of testing to make sure that we could give super users the tools we use for Twitter. \u2026\xa0They loved it. It was really successful. They were sending out thousands of tweets because people will obviously just tweet their thoughts. \u2018Having a bad day, Spotify is not working.\u2019 They were finding loads of these tweets. \u2026 It\u2019s their preferred medium, but we\u2019re reaching out to the customers that prefer that medium, as well.\u201d -Meredith Humphrey

On surprise and delight moments on Twitter:\xa0\u201cWe said to the [super users] that prefer Twitter, \u2018Why? What is it that you love about it?\u2019 They said that the folks who are reaching out on Twitter are so pleasantly surprised that they\u2019re getting help. They weren\u2019t expecting it. They were just complaining to the world about something, and when they get this really nice, \u2018Hey, I can help you,\u2019 they\u2019re so delighted in a way that community users sometimes aren\u2019t. Community users are there because they have a issue and a question, and they expect a reply. The gratitude and being able to surprise people like that, it really makes [our Rock Stars\u2019] day.\u201d -Meredith Humphrey

On the creation of Rock Star Jam:\xa0\u201cIn 2013, we had this user, he\u2019s no longer in the program, but he made an incredible amount of posts in the community. I think when he left, he was at 50,000, but he had this really amazing system of macros and templates that he used. Super knowledgeable, really friendly guy. Our VP of customer service just said, \u2018Let\u2019s fly him out to Stockholm. He\u2019s contributed so much. Let\u2019s introduce him to the founders and the community team.\u2019 We did. He was based in the UK. We flew him to Stockholm, and it was such a great experience on both ends. It was so great to chat with that star and get great feedback and talk to him one-on-one, face-to-face. We said, \u2018This was so successful, let\u2019s expand this. Let\u2019s launch a full event for the top 10.\u2019 That\u2019s how it started in 2014.\u201d -Meredith Humphrey

On how different departments view community ROI: \u201cMy goal as the global community manager is to have a model or multiple models lined up side-by-side that I can show to anyone at the company and they will say, \u2018I can get behind these numbers.\u2019 Because I think some teams look at the impact survey and say, \u2018This is spot on.\u2019 Other teams say, \u2018I have a lot of questions.\u2019 I want to be able to go to any team, any department and they say, \u2018These are undeniable, solid numbers.'\u201d -Meredith Humphrey

About Meredith Humphrey

Originally from South Carolina,\xa0Meredith Humphrey\xa0received a BA in English with a Journalism minor at Clemson University. She then went on to get a Master\u2019s degree in International Journalism with a Music focus at City University in London. Meredith spent time in the UK writing for various B2B live music industry magazines such as Live UK, Audience and IQ.

In 2009, she heard about a new exciting company on the horizon called\xa0Spotify. Meredith started with Spotify in 2011 and, since then, has filled many roles in the UK, US, and Sweden \u2013 most recently becoming the global community manager in Stockholm.

Meredith is passionate about the music industry and helping artists reach new audiences around the world. She\u2019s also equally passionate about trivia nights, tacos, and her cat, Murray.