Launched in 2011, SnapChat had its glory moment in 2015 when it reached 200 million active users and began to show its full potential as a business platform for those looking to invest in advertising. The potential was enormous, almost irresistible for advertisers, after all, it’s not every day that an app emerges where sponsored real stories could generate 40 million views, a number greater than any prime-time TV show.
Of course, with the growing popularity, SnapChat quickly redefined its advertising strategy and increased its advertising functionalities, offering various options for those who want to invest in the platform.
SnapChat's 3V Advertising
Called 3V (Vertical Video Views), SnapChat's advertising has the great advantage of displaying vertical videos that occupy the entire screen of the device, gaining in display size over most of its competitors and also in effectiveness, as they are much easier to view on mobile devices without needing to turn the device sideways.
There are three ad formats on Snap: Discover, Live (live stories), and the popular Geofilters, which are location-based filters.
Discover
Discover is an ad format aimed at media outlets and aims to lead users to consume the content of sponsors. It presents calls for articles, news, series, and even movies.
Live
Live is especially aimed at brands that want to generate buzz for events by sharing their stories live, showcasing the best moments from major parties, parades, and celebrations that are highlighted in the world for users to view.
Geofilters
Geofilters is a feature that offers a customized filter for a specific region, allowing advertisers to create special filters for holidays and events, or to be used in a specific location.
In addition to being a less aggressive form of advertising, Geofilters also have the advantage of associating the brand with a positive moment experienced by the user, generating quite expressive branding.
Check out our video on advertising on SnapChat
Audience and Targeting
As soon as it launched its advertising modalities, Snap focused its sales strategy on the assertion that the app would be “the best way to reach people aged 13 to 34,” showing that contrary to what was said, its audience also includes adults and not just teenagers without purchasing power.
Even so, its targeting capability was quite limited, allowing sponsors to choose only the ad format and location or gender. However, recently the app announced a partnership with Oracle Data Cloud, which will allow ads to be displayed based on users' offline purchases, based on credit card transactions.
Is It Worth Investing in SnapChat?
As you may have heard, 2017 has not been an easy year for SnapChat, which makes this question weigh even more.
The truth is that with the increasingly heavy competition from new features in Mark Zuckerberg's apps, especially Instagram Stories, SnapChat has lost users and strength, growing only 5% compared to the previous quarter.
Certainly, the app is still one of the most fun, interactive, and attractive platforms to advertise for branding strategies, and with the new targeting method, it may gain new momentum. However, if your goal is performance or you need a more comprehensive marketing strategy, perhaps social media like the good old Facebook and even Instagram may be more recommended.