Snapchat has become one of the world’s most popular and fastest-growing social media networks, playing into the immediacy of modern communication to provide a social platform which is at once fresh, fun and engaging for end-users. With a variety of advertising options available to marketers, does Snapchat advertising add-up?
Snapchat Ad Formats
The most common form of Snapchat advert is a ‘Snap Ad’, where a small advert is placed between user stories. These last up to ten seconds, with optional audio – and can be swiped by the user for added interaction. In addition, advertisers can use Sponsored Geofilters (adding brand images or customised filters over images) or Sponsored Lenses, recommended for growing brand awareness.
Snapchat Ad Targeting
The user targeting of Snapchat advertising is very limited compared to other social networks, as Snapchat does not gain user engagement information and share it with advertisers.
Snapchat Ad Budgets
Snapchat pricing is difficult to pin-down as the platform frequently adjusts its pricing structure and campaigns are normally sold in bulk, rather than on an ad-by-ad basis. In order to gain significant exposure, a reasonable ad-expenditure is required via Snapchat. There is the potential for great exposure for those with the cash to spend on securing their success, but smaller brands with smaller budgets may find that Snapchat has less to offer them.
Understanding the Snapchat Audience
There’s no use investing in Snapchat ads before first understanding the potential audience these ads will target. Whilst Snapchat’s audience has long been considered to veer towards the youth crowd, new research suggests that around 50% of new adopters to Snapchat are in fact over the age of 25.
This presents a big demographic shift for Snapchat, but also presents a whole host of new opportunities for companies who want to harness this social platform’s unique attributes. However, many of Snapchat’s users are young and mobile-oriented, and Snapchat advertising is built around this mobile-savvy outlook. Despite the growth of other demographics, if your target audience doesn’t currently fall within the Millennial or Generation Z age-bracket, then carefully assess whether Snapchat advertising is worth investing in at this time before proceeding.
Continued Ad Development
Snapchat’s advertising options are still in their infancy, so as the company continues to expand, so too are its marketing horizons likely to broaden and suit a wider audience of advertisers and companies seeking to make the most of this growing and influential platform.
