I had the chance to try out advertising on Snap Chat recently. I thought it would be a great way to get some quick easy press for a client and a great way to get noticed by younger users. Well it turns out the above assumptions were true. Not familiar with Snap Chat? Well, let me give you a quick over view and some good reasons to try it for your advertising. Note, I’m not being paid or asked by Snap Chat to do this. I actually love the product (phew - got that PSA out of the way).
Snap Chat is basically like a closed environment (if you want it to be) where you can post videos and photos that don’t live forever for someone to find in the future when they are doing opposition research on your campaign for President. You know, all those dumb, fun photos that you don't want everyone to see? It’s perfect for Snap Chat (and to the Snap Chat fans out there, which includes me,
that was meant to be complimentary). It’s just not for those nude pics which I frequently get asked for… Personally, I like posting to Snap Chat when I’m at an event or doing something fun and fantastic. I still make a lot of posts to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook but Snap Chat is really for my close friends so that I can make them jealous OR to communicate with my teenagers. And (BTW I love starting a sentence with AND even though I should have used a semicolon {I also love semicolons and try to use them whenever I can) if you do have teenage kids, you better fire up your account and figure it out quickly. Don’t worry, your kids can give you a tutorial and the other good news is that you probably won’t find a ton of your friends on there, yet.
As of right now, there are only a few ways to advertise on Snap Chat. The first is a sponsored Geo Filters. Geo Filters are filters for photos and videos that can let your viewers know where your picture/video was taken. I didn't try that out for my advertiser, not because I didn't like the idea ,but we were advertising around a specific event and the better advertising options were taken. Here’s an example of a Geo Filter (not paid).
The next opportunity are Sponsored Lenses. Lenses are ways for you to jazz up your photos.I like using this one: My kids really love the lens that flips heads if two people are in a picture. Again for this one client I wasn’t able to try this; not that I didn’t like it, it just didn’t fit in.
The third option and the one I used (yeah! about time right?) was their 3V creative which is really a 10s video incorporated into their Live Stories or Discover. You can buy it via a specific audience that’s available (could be a liveramp integration for targeting your customized audience) or just by buying a specific story. A Live Story are video curated by Snap Chat editors and you can view them and submit your own videos. Whenever I post to Snap Chat I always look for Live Stories but unless I’m in NYC or a specific hot event, I don’t usually find them. Discover are curated posts made by publishers (ex-ESPN, WSJ).
So why advertise with Snap Chat? Pretty simple. Their audience is young and highly engaged (try ignoring the Snap Chat iPhone alerts when you are driving 2.5 hours down the shore with your teenagers). According to a presentation I received from Snap Chat, more than 60% of the United States’ 13-34 year olds are active Snap Chat users. Yeah 60%. Try finding them on Facebook (well you can but if the rest of the Snap Chat users are like my kids, they aren’t there). Want some Snap Chat engagement? On average, users view 60 Snap Chat videos per day. I don’t think I do anything 60 times per day - well if you ignore bodily functions.
If you are looking for a younger audience, then Snap Chat is definitely you should give a try. If possible, I’d definitely try sponsoring a Live Story. That’s what I tried to do but it was already sold out so my advertiser ended up in the Discover channels. If you also have an ongoing monthly ad plan and want to reach the younger generation, then Snap Chat is a must use. If you aren’t an advertiser or marketer and are reading this post, go sign up for Snap Chat and have some fun with your video and pictures; go an enjoy what all of your super fabulous friends are doing while you sit at home and try to binge watch The Walking Dead.
PardonMyFrench,
Eric
