Why brands should start using Snapchat:
• Less Competition: Pretty much every single brand out there has a social media presence on every platform. Although Snapchat is growing increasingly popular among brands, there is less competitionthan there is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
• New Audiences: If your brand is targeting younger generations, Snapchat is your golden ticket. Not only are millennials using Snapchat, but they are incredibly loyal. There are 191 million global users all over the world, and Snapchat ads have the potential to reach 75 percent of U.S. consumers aged 18 through 34.
Three main formats that should be used:
• Snap ads are a basic form of advertisement that simply showcases a video and encourages the user to swipe up and learn more. These ads then drive users to a website, app, video or even an app store.
• Story ads are a branded content experience where users can dive in and engage quickly. Similar to a newsfeed-style experience on other social media platforms, advertisers can place a feed ad in the “Discover” section inside of Snapchat, which will show as the user scrolls through their feed and is in the mindset of consuming organic content. When users tap on the ad, it opens up into a series of ads in one collection. This is an opportunity to use different filters and lenses to keep things interesting.
• Collection ads are a newer feature that allows advertisers to showcase a series of products in one go. If you haven’t seen one before, it’s basically a video ad with a series of smaller square ads featuring specific products at the bottom. This allows users to view a video and more in just one glance, making it a fun and flawless way to shop.
Some of the key insights to leverage your clients’ viewing potential and drive success on the platform;
1. Use strong creatives that resonate well with your audience.
Snapchat, for obvious reasons, has an audience of people who are looking to be entertained. Because you want these people to convert within a short window of time, the stronger the creative, the better. With that being said, creatives should also resonate with a younger audience.
2. Create a mobile-focused landing page.
What differentiates Snapchat from other platforms? For one, Snapchat is a mobile-only platform. There are a few things to consider with this. First, people are in a discovery mindset, scrolling and tapping through content solely on their phones. Once a user has viewed an ad with the option to scroll up and visit a website, the game has changed. The landing page needs to be mobile-optimized for the viewer. This means the load time should only take a few seconds, the user flow should be very direct, the call-to-action buttons should be front and center and, most importantly, the optimized checkout flow must be quick and efficient.
3. Optimize bids based on leading indicators.
To remain competitive, it’s important to increase bids based on Snapchat’s predetermined days of increased traffic. I recommend increasing spend (and traffic volume) at least seven days prior to key dates and time frames where volume will matter to feed the algorithm with enough data points to ensure consistent delivery. Depending on what you’re willing to pay for, holidays such as Christmas, New Years and the all-important Black Friday can help significantly with your business.
Credit: Warren Jolly
