Snapchat has become a giant in the social media world. It’s the most popular social network for teens. The numbers overwhelmingly back it up that snapchatters are very young:
13-17 year olds make up 23% of active users.
18-24 year olds make up 37%.
25-34 year olds make up 26%.
The cute dog ears and pink fairy crown have become a go-to element in selfies. But besides a cultural phenomenon, Snapchat has seen tremendous business growth. Their ad revenue is expected to reach nearly $1 billion in 2017 with Stories generating the largest share of the company’s ad revenues.
Snapchat Stats
- Over 166 million daily users.
- An average of 2.5 billion snaps sent per day.
- Users view 10 billion videos every day on Snapchat.
- Users check the app an average of 18x per day.
- 30+ average minutes spent in the app each day by daily active Snapchatters.
What are filters?
Filters use facial recognition to insert special effects onto a selfie or regular photo/video. Filters should be interactive and they let people personalize their snaps.
Snapchat offers businesses the opportunity to purchase sponsored filters. Creating a sponsored filter can increase brand awareness. They engage users and allow them to organically advertise your brand and/or the featured product. While filters are fun, they should still be relevant to the brand.
In particular, sponsored filters can be great for product launches. Often, different movies and music albums will create special filters for the premiere day.
One downside is that there is no call to action with filters. But this is part of the success as well. Users (and even A-list celebrities) will snap with your filter and they are happy to do it. Partly because it gives them something of value but also because they don’t have to click through to your website or complete any other action.
Nonprofits have utilized Snapchat filters for charity as well. On World AIDS Day 2015, Snapchat joined with RED to offer 3 filters available for the day. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged to donate $3 for every time one of these filters was used. It was a huge success.
What are geofilters?
Geofilters can only be accessed in certain locations. For example, if you’re at a famous destination like the Eiffel Tower or Grand Canyon, a special geofilter will become available. There are specific geofilters for every city, however they can also be made for holidays or for events like Coachella music festival and the super bowl.
Gatorade made a nationally sponsored filter for users to dunk a cooler on themselves during the super bowl. The filter had 160 million impressions, more than the 111 million who actually watched the game.
Any regular snapchatter can also make custom geofilters for a special party, birthday, or event for a small fee. This is a great option for small businesses to make for their accounts. Users can design it themselves with customizable templates then choose the area it covers and the amount of time it will be available (up to 30 days).
If you have a brick and mortar shop, this is a great way to engage shoppers by having a filter available when they visit. You could also offer special promotions or incentives for those who show they’ve used your filter.
What are stories?
Snapchat stories are snaps that you add to your personal story which your friends can view for the next 24 hours, as many times as they’d like. After that, they disappear, unable to be viewed again. This is different than the messaging section of Snapchat where snaps disappear after one viewing.
Anyone with an account can add to their story – both businesses and individual users. Through stories, you can provide your audience with special access to live events such as product launches or company events. You can snap these live moments and add it to your public story. Your audience can feel like they are there when you livestream.
Snapchat also has a section for live stories which are made public to all global users to view. These often surround a special event. For example, in 2015, at least 40 million joined in on the Coachella festivities remotely by watching live stories that Coachella goers shared and which was made available. Our Story lets users at specific events submit their snaps to a collective (and curated) public story. In 2016, Snapchat debuted a special live story for Paris fashion week. These are both excellent brand uses of public stories.
What are spectacles?
Spectacles are video camera sunglasses made by Snapchat which sync to your account and post what you record. They are an effortless way to capture your eye-level perspective and share it.
Spectacles were first made available in late 2016 and are currently available in three colors: black, red, and teal. The sunglasses charge within the case for on-the-go users.
Why advertise on Snapchat?
- You can reach a younger audience than the typical user on other social platforms.
- Branded filters let businesses advertise in a non-disruptive way. With this type of native advertising, you can inform the audience on their terms.
- Snapchat could be considered a playful medium for advertising. Users embrace it. Even though paid filters include the brand name and the “sponsored” disclosure, it doesn’t deter snapchatters from using them.
- Content on Snapchat is temporary but can be seen by millions and can also have a lasting impact as people share and repost snaps on other platforms like Instagram and Twitter.
- While big brands can pay the big bucks for nationally sponsored filters, smaller businesses can create custom filters for their business at a reasonable price. You can make them available in an geographic area of your choosing that you map out.
Interested in Snapchat marketing?
At Bella Media we specialize in social media marketing and can help you reach your audience on Snapchat. Contact us today to begin the conversation and come up with the right strategy to meet your business goals.
