Blog

May 7, 2014

Snapchat’s New Platform Offers Marketing Potential

by Jaimie Siegle | Advertising Systems Inc.

If you thought the free app Snapchat was as fleeting as the photos sent by its users, you may want to reconsider: After turning down a $4 billion buyout offer from Facebook then raising $50 million in venture funding last year, Snapchat recently unrolled an upgraded platform with features like texting and real-time video chatting — a new competitor on the block for Skype and Facebook.

Large brands like Taco Bell, McDonalds and Acura have conducted marketing campaigns via Snapchat accounts, as well as the lifestyle apparel website Karmaloop, which targets a millennial age market similar to that of Snapchat. NFL teams have posted their schedules onto the app, and HBO’s hit TV series Girls conducted a Facebook advertising campaign to promote its Snapchat account.

170657

What do these trends for large brands tell us about Snapchat as a potential ad platform for small businesses?

According to the article “3 Reasons Why Your Business Will Be on Snapchat in 2015,” the app’s 30 million active users and high potential for monetization are positive indicators of Snapchat’s brand marketing capabilities. In fact, a study published on eMarketer in February 2014 shows that it surpassed Twitter, Google+ and Vine in terms of profiles in the teen and young adult age range. With Facebook continuing to dominate the market share — 80 percent of those surveyed said they had a personal profile — 53 percent reported using Instagram and 46 percent said they used Snapchat (see chart above).

The third and most interesting reason is the nature of how consumers receive and interact with brands on the app:

“Consumer have the ability to choose which brands they interact with. The result is a nearly perfect percentage of positive impressions.This advertising strategy stands in stark contrast to those of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which all use personas and re-targeting tactics to place native ads in front of consumers who may or may not be interested.”

What have you heard about the Snapchat app? Do you use it, and if so, how?
Image via eMarketer 

As it currently stands, advertising on Snapchat is 100 percent opt-in for consumers. Not only would a user have to agree to add a brand to his contact list to receive snaps from it, but he would have to willingly click and hold his finger down to view that brand’s content when it shows up in his feed.

Consumers love this because they have the ability to choose which brands they interact with. The result is a nearly perfect percentage of positive impressions. This advertising strategy stands in stark contrast to those of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which all use personas and re-targeting tactics to place native ads in front of consumers who may or may not be interested.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/social-media/3-reasons-brand-will-snapchat-2015-0851183#eeLLqytCvUl26J2a.99

Mobile Marketing, News, Small Business, Social Media Marketing, Technology , , , , ,
About ASI
Advertising Systems Inc.’s experienced team works hard to help our clients realize the business growth they are looking for.