Since Snapchat's launch in July 2011, it has continued to grow in users and popularity. Snapchat soared in popularity just after a year after its launch, with 210 million daily active users as of 2019 and 3 billion snaps created per day, making it one of the most popular apps around the world. Since Snapchat released 24-hour stories in 2013, there has been a lot of new development, with new features constantly being added to the app over the years. Snapchat is a great app for reaching Millennial and Generation Z fans particularly. We recommend to any advertiser that is looking to tap into Gen Z and young Millenials to use Snapchat as an ad platform.
Not sure what the best practices are for advertising to your fans on Snapchat? We share some helpful tips to consider when advertising on Snapchat:
1. Have an Objective
Snapchat gives you the freedom to decide interactive elements you want for Snap Ad. Interactive elements are a call to action for your ad viewers. There are four different Snap Ad functions to choose from:
- Web View - Bring viewers to a website after a swipe up
- App Installs - Lead viewers to install an app, Snapchat will lead users to an embedded App Store or Google Play Store page. The app then installs in the background after one tap.
- Grow awareness
- Long Form Video - Drive video views by leading viewers to a longer video with a short Snap Ad
Snapchat users will be prompted to swipe up when they click on your ad, and this will lead them to more information about your campaign. Once you decide on an interactive element, make sure to create a start and end time for your ad to run. Either start the ad right away or set a later start time. Also, keep in mind that all Snap Ads are in vertical form.
2. Know Your Target
Snap Ads ensure you can target specific fans. Snap allows you to narrow who you want the ad to reach. Snap gives you five elements to specify your audience:
- Geography- the country you wish to target. You can also get more specific
- Demographics- The people you want to target by age, gender, language and much more
- Placements- You can choose whether you would like to place your ad on "Content Placement" or "All of Snapchat"
- Devices - You can target based on operating system (iOS, Android), connection type (cell, WiFi), and service provider (AT&T, O2, Rogers, etc.)
Targeting tips:
- Keep your audience size under 20 million people for an ad
- Test Lookalike Audience for discovering new customers
- To see how different ads perform with the same audience, try using multiple ads per ad set
3. Keep it Brief
Your Snap Ad can be up to 3 minutes long. However, Snap recommends a 3 to 5 second long ad as the sweet spot to drive action. You should also provide your message within second 2 or 3 of your ad. Snapchatters are youthful and fun; they will respond well to short ads that stimulate their interest.
4. Be Authentic and Personal
Snapchatters respond well to captivating and organic looking content. Snap ads that have a natural and/or normal look and feel tend to be very successful as people find these ads authentic and relatable. Use personalized messages and hyper-targeted content to make fans feel they're being delivered something bespoke. An example of an engaging ad is showing how your product/service can solve a problem.
AR Filters
Utilizing Snapchat's augmented reality feature is a cool and engaging way to advertise on the platform. Snapchat's AR filters are the platform's most popular features, Snapchatters love playing around with the AR filters. Therefore, Snap has been investing a lot into developing and improving this feature for the past few years. Snapchat allows you to advertise through Sponsored Lenses and Sponsored Geofilters. Read on to learn more.
5. Utilize Sponsored Lenses
Snapchat Lenses are a fun way for Snapchatters to make cool and fun modifications to their selfies and other images through AR technology. One-third of Snapchat's users use lenses every day, with users playing with these filters for an average of 20 seconds a day. You can create custom filters to promote your brand's name. Snapchat Lenses are an effective way to promote to fans beyond Snapchat, as Snapchatters often share photos and videos of successful Lenses on other social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
6) Take Advantage of Geofilters
Snapchatters can place these graphic overlays on snaps. With over 1 billion geofilters used a day, this a great way to reach fans in specific physical locations. You can create geofilters based on where you want to advertise. For example, if you want to reach fans in Canada and the USA, you can create a geofilter that is only available to Snapchatters in these regions.
It's evident that Snapchat offers fun and engaging methods for advertising to your fans, and is a great way to reach Generation Z and young Millennial fans.
Not sure where to start with Snapchat advertising? Contact us for a free consultation on how you can implement Snapchat ads within Tradable Bits to your fans.