Are you interested in learning how to advertise on Snapchat?
Not long go, we uploaded a post to the 60 Second Marketer blog called The Definitive Guide to Marketing with Snapchat. It proved to be a popular post and provided some early tips on how to leverage Snapchat for marketing.
A lot has happened since that post went live several months ago. For starters, according to this article in Mashable, research indicates that Snapchat is more popular among college-age students than Facebook is. According to the study, 70% of college students surveyed used Snapchat at least once a day. Unfortunately (for Facebook anyway) only 11% reported using their platform with the same frequency.
What’s driving the migration to Snapchat? The research indicated that students enjoy the greater sense of privacy they get on the Snapchat platform. Check out this chart showing that 35% of the students surveyed feel they have the most privacy on Snapchat, while 45% of those surveyed feel they have the least privacy on Facebook.
Those survey results are interesting, to be sure. But what’s the big news coming out of Snapchat’s Venice, California headquarters?
The Big News Has Nothing to Do with the Fact That Young People Are Abandoning Facebook for Snapchat
The big news for Snapchat is the fact that this November they’re launching something called Snapchat Discovery, which would show content and ads to Snapchat users.
According to the Wall Street Journal, at least a dozen media companies, including newspapers, magazines and television networks, have discussed providing content for Snapchat Discovery.
The Journal goes on to say that the product would let users read daily editions of publications as well as watch video clips of TV shows or movies by holding down a finger on the screen.
Several brands, including Taco Bell and food-delivery service GrubHub use the service to offer promotions and to hold contests with loyal customers. But by introducing Snapchat Discovery, the platform is clearly moving aggressively to monetize their massive following.
As discussed in my book How to Make Money with Social Media, all roads in social media should lead to ROI. It’s clear Snapchat (or its investors) agree with that point-of-view. (What’s not to agree with?)
Want to learn more about Snapchat? We’ve collected some key facts below.
For those of you who are visual/tactile learners, we’ve tracked down this video which will give you a much clearer sense of how Snapchat is being used to create a following. (Side note: Remember, a big following doesn’t necessarily mean big revenue, it simply means you have a big following. Revenue is an entirely different can of worms we can discuss … well, after Snapchat Discovery debuts in November.)
As for those of you who are interested in advertising on Snapchat, for the time being, you’ll have to follow the Taco Bell model, which used the platform as a promotional tool to launch its new taco last April. That essentially means you have to 1) develop content for the Snapchat platform, then 2) spend money promoting the fact that you’ve developed a promotion on Snapchat.
That may seem like going a long way around Hogan’s barn to get to your final destination, but if you have the money and staff, it can be a real differentiator for your brand.
For the rest of us, we’ll have to wait until Snapchat Discovery launched in November. Or, you can use some of the techniques outlined in the video below.
Jamie Turner is the CEO of the 60 Second Marketer and 60 Second Communications, a marketing communications agency that works with national and international brands. He is the co-author of “How to Make Money with Social Media” and “Go Mobile” and is a popular marketing speaker at events, trade shows and corporations around the globe.