Four SnapChat Advertising Strategies to Try ASAP

SnapChat advertising isn’t a new trend, but it certainly isn’t exactly a hard science, either. With a huge landscape of digital advertising opportunities, it’s fair to say that the SnapChat audience and platform offer more niche (but valuable!) opportunities for brands. Not all platforms are right for every advertiser; understanding the SnapChat ad market is critical when media planning and campaign pitching for clients.

So today, that’s just what we’re going do; keep reading for more on the value of Snap ads and platform opportunities for your clients.

Understanding SnapChat Advertising

SnapChat advertising was introduced in 2017, offering brands the ultimate resource to promote products and increase brand awareness while developing invaluable relationships with fans and followers. Since then, the platform has worked with brands to develop lenses, filters, Discover stories, and influencer campaigns, offering a diverse ad offering and opportunities ad portfolio.

Let’s break it down by the numbers:

• 188 Million: Daily average SnapChat users
• 53.3%: Percentage of monthly active users that come from the United States
• 71%: Percentage of SnapChat that users are under 34-years-old
• 64%: Percentage of marketers using SnapChat
• 57%: Percentage video brand content on the platform
• $767 Billion: The total expected Snapchat ad spend by 2020

All of these numbers add up to a very valuable advertising platform for brands that know how to mobilize an audience through new media and video channels.

Social Media Road Map: Where SnapChat Advertising Is Headed

With such a powerful platform available to brands and advertisers, it’s no surprise that SnapChat is continuing to innovate with marketing partners in mind.

Looking ahead, Snap appears to be integrating AR technology even further into marketing and sponsorship opportunities within the platform. In addition to offering paid, geofenced overlays, Snap now also offers region-specific, nationwide, and global sponsored lenses; the next frontier could be image-recognition triggered ads, making tailored ads even more personalized.

That personalization stands to go even further. While Snap ads continue to offer full-screen experiences with 100% viewability and default audio, platform advertising now offers add-ons like web view, app install, long-form video, and additional lens options. One of the newest updates competes directly with Facebook ad capability, allowing brands to target demographic groups in addition to the traditional location-based options.

The SnapChat advertising environment is evolving, but the platform is clearly working to develop unique offerings that meet modern advertising needs. That flexibility and innovation make the platform a strong consumer-focused advertising channel for national and global brands.

What Snap Ads Can Do For Business

Obviously, Snap advertising isn’t right for every business; as an agency expert, you’ll know your clients’ demographics and needs and will be able to build out a media mix that optimizes budget and reach.

For those looking for a little more context as to the power of Snap advertising, (and why it might be a strong area to sell against), we’ve included a solid example of the rich media ads Snap offers to ad partners.

A case study featured on Snap’s For Business site states the following:

In order to drive consideration at scale, HiSmile leveraged Snap Lifestyle Categories like Music, Sports Fans and Gamers, and used its own customer lists to develop lookalike audiences. This strategy allowed the company to scale its reach while focusing its spend on high-potential Snapchatters who shared characteristics with its existing purchasers. HiSmile complemented this reach tactic with a re-engagement campaign, using the Snap Pixel to develop audiences of past site visitors who exhibited a high intent to purchase.

HiSmile also kept its creative fresh, constantly testing different lengths, talent, and styles to learn what worked best with the Snapchat audience. They ultimately found the most success with an endemic, direct to camera style featuring a singular focus on the product and logo to drive qualified swipe ups.

HiSmile was able to scale its budgets with confidence after seeing ROI from their Snapchat campaigns. Ultimately, they were able to drive new qualified customers to their website which led to a 15% increase in revenue.

And that’s just one example. 

Four SnapChat Advertising Strategies

1. Test, test, test: High-tempo or high-volume testing isn’t a new concept, but it is particularly important for newer ad platforms, like Snap. Best practices are hard to come by and in the process of being proven out, so it’s vital that any Snap campaign your company or agency launches is agile and updated frequently.
2. Make creative that fits the platform: A fascinating anecdote found in a Forbes piece from Jessica Taylor, Managing Director at Keepsafe Software, revealed that Snap creative content is unique to the platform. Highly produced and sleek pieces of video collateral performed worse than content that appeared to be filmed on a phone, mirroring the level of visual aesthetics that users on the platform are accustomed to. It’s a fine line between cheap and authentic, so tread carefully.
3. Data capture is key: Because the Snap ad platform is still new, it’s hard to get the audience makeup right. To avoid some of that costly guesswork, integrate data capture and retargeting technology and ask Snap representatives about how you can be creating lookalike audiences for your campaigns.
4. Remember that Snap is still young: The Snap ad platform is young — like, really young. Be mindful of the evolving nature of the platform and be sure to stay informed about changes that might affect your marketing efforts. And as always, evaluate performance early and often!