Photo sharing app Snapchat recently overtook Twitter in daily active user numbers. While it has a long way to go before facing up to Facebook’s billions, the app continues to grow rapidly as older social media outlets face stagnant engagement rates. This popularity has made Snapchat an enticing outlet for digital marketers. Unlike other social media services, Snapchat doesn’t have a traditional “wall” or “feed” that users scroll through for information. Instead, updates come in the form of Snapchat Stories. These stories are a collection of pictures and videos that a user’s friends took over the past 24 hours.
Appearing alongside the stories is Snapchat Discover where users can read or watch local, national, and global news. Snapchat advertising appears in two places: Discover Stories and user-made photos. The most enticing aspect of promoting a business on Snapchat is how users actively engage with the content. What kind of snapchat advertising is there available for businesses, and how can they fit within your social media marketing plan?
Sponsored Filters
Where Instagram introduced the general public to filters, Snapchat reinvented them. Before Snapchat, filters did little more than adjust visual properties of a photograph, such as the lightness, saturation, and color. In Snapchat pictures, users can add clipart or layers to photos for more dynamic, creative experiences. McDonald’s recently launched a national ad campaign where a user can take a picture, then overlay premade art of burgers and fries.
Sponsored filters don’t need to be national. In fact, Snapchat recently partnered with FourSquare for improved accuracy with their local “Geofilters.” Geofilters allow you to pay a daily price to have your business’s unique filter as an option for local Snapchat users. Campaigns can cost as low as $5 with thousands of active engagements. Keep in mind that prices are fluid; filters for busier metropolitan areas or those that are scheduled for the holidays often cost more.
Sponsored Lenses
Lenses can best be described as easy-to-use CGI effects. The smartphone’s camera detects the user’s face, then adds computer effects to that area. Rainbows can flow out of your mouth, eyes can grow twice their size, and heads can transform into tacos. The intriguing factor about lenses is that many Snapchatters play with them. It is rare to hear anyone actively “play” with an ad; it’s why digital marketing tactics like SEO are so effective since they content does not solely exist to promote a business. As of right now, there is no exact price range of sponsored lenses. Like with filters, cost depends on length, timing, and location.
Snapchat Discover
Snapchat Discover may be the most traditional form of advertising on Snapchat. A user can choose their favorite news outlet (BBC, Entertainment Weekly, Vice) and swipe left or right for updates. Ads appear in between some stories, often appealing to the user’s interests. Someone watching Vice is probably more interested in an upcoming concert than someone reading BBC updates. Because these ads appear in conjunction with popular brands, they are the most costly. Don’t expect to pay any less than $50,000 per day to buy a spot!
Snap to Unlock
Snap to Unlock is the newest addition to Snapchat’s ad campaigns. Snapchat has unique codes that users can take pictures of to add friends. Businesses have taken these same codes and placed them in magazines, billboards, and web pages to unlock special filters for users. In many ways, this service reflects the short-lived QR code craze of several years ago. The main difference is that Snapchat users don’t have to download an additional app, which is often what stopped most people from engaging with QR codes. Because this type of ad is still new, the costs are too fluid to determine an average, but it is predicted to have the second lowest entry point next to local geofilters.
Applying Snapchat Ads to Your Business
With these options available, how could you connect Snapchat advertising to your business’s digital marketing? Unless you are a large, multi-location business, you most likely won’t be able to buy a spot on Discover or purchase national filters. There would be little point in doing so when your business is local. Instead, try applying for a geofilter, hide monthly deals in Snapchat codes, or set up your own snapchat account that clients can follow for special news and updates. Snapchatters are among the most enthusiastic, energetic social media users around. The app allows you to put a face to your business and give a sneak peek of what happens behind the curtains.
Market My Market has helped businesses build their social media marketing from the ground up, and Snapchat is no different. Need to find out if the app is a good fit for your company? Contact us for a free consultation today.