1. Is Snapchat the NewWay to Advertise?
Is your business missing an opportunity with Snapchat? We all know that Instagram and Facebook have
millions of users,which is why it is no surprise that companies advertise on these social media platforms.
However,with companies trying to find the “newest way” to get their products seen,is it really a surprise
that we are seeing ads on Snapchat. Yet, is this really a good source to advertise or are companies just
wasting their time?
What’s the point of Snapchat and why is it such a big deal? Since, the app launched it has made plenty of
changes and updates for its users. From adding filters to adding stories, this app has always been able to
entertain its users. Snapchat is fast paced and users can pick and choose what they want to see in the
matter of seconds.
We first saw advertising on Snapchat with Taco Bell and then slowly movie trailers began appearing.
Now Snapchat has added Discover, which allows users to access publications like Cosmopolitan, People,
Wall Street Journal and Food Network. With a total of 20 different options users can find articles on just
about anything. At first there were no ads on Discover, but now users are beginning to see 15 second
videos randomly between articles. However, some of these advertisements don’t even seem like ads at
all. So, what’s the key to successfully advertising on Snapchat? Here are three points to keep in mind
when creating an ad for Snapchat.
Keep it short. With today’s generations beginning to have shorter and shorter attention spans it is not
surprise the shorter the ad the better. If your ad is longer than 15-30 seconds chances are your ad will be
skipped. That’s one of the downfalls users can skip ads right away instead of having to wait 10 seconds
like on YouTube. You can see that some ads just play a 15 second section and users have the option of
swiping up to see the whole ad. This is often used by movie trailers, it’s just enough to gain the viewers’
interest to learn more.
Don’t let it look too much like an Ad. Most of the ads seen on Snapchat happen so fast that the only
way to tell if it is an advertisement is by the little AD in the bottom right hand corner. Take for instance
the new PINK ad for bathing suits, all you see is a model doing jumping jacks in the dark, only wearing a
bikini and glow sticks. The ad is only 15 seconds, so by the time the user can get the chance to skip it, the
ad is already over. Another, example of this is the makeup commercials, especially when they are placed
on Cosmopolitan. Viewers often take these ads as one of the makeup tutorial videos that Cosmo posts
and don’t realize it’s an ad until the end.
Knowthe right publication to place your Ad. Snapchat isn’t the place for every company to go post an
ad, but if you are a company that’s demographic is the younger generation then Snapchat isn’t a bad place
to try to advertise. With companies like Target and Victoria Secret using Snapchat to advertise they know
that women are their primary demographic so instead of posting on ESPN they are targeting
Cosmopolitan viewers. Whereas a company like Nike isn’t going to post somewhere like the Food
Network.
What’s your thought on using Snapchat for marketing? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.