In response to Google’s (News - Alert) new plan to transform Google+ into an embedded social media platform with websites and apps, Spotify (News - Alert) is creating new features that will connect users in the same manner as social media applications.

Google is currently in negotiation with major record labels to license their music and to give the opportunity to use songs in videos on YouTube (News - Alert). This would, essentially, compete with Spotify’s digital music service, which allows users to access millions of songs, create collections and share their favorite songs.

So just when Google announced its plan to transform Google+ and become even more embedded and synchronized into users’ daily Internet activities, essentially challenging platforms like Facebook (News - Alert) and Twitter, Spotify released its own strategic plan to become a social network. 

Image via CNET

Although Spotify is beginning to sprout a resemblance to Facebook, its partnership allows them to balance off each other’s platforms. The new features on Spotify will allow users to “Follow” other users so people can connect with friends, music artists and artists, which is similar to “liking” a musician on Facebook. There will also be another tab, “Discover,” which gives users personalized recommendations like playlists, concerts, albums and artists, similar to how Facebook recommends “friends” for users.

Although the two entities are quite different, as Google is a search engine, and Spotify is a digital music service, users need to have that level of engagement that social media has created in order to thrive in a digital setting.  Businesses of all kinds, despite their seniority, have begun to adopt different ways they can market and communicate with their consumers through ways of social media.

With Google’s and Spotify’s latest moves, the world is seeing just how vital it is for industries to incorporate social media into their inner workings.