In the past few years, Snapchat has grown its following to over 100 million worldwide with over 10 billion videos being watched per day. With such an overwhelming amount of followers on this app daily, it is to surprise that companies and advertisers are flocking to Snapchat to advertise to their target markets.
Millennials currently represent 70% of all users on Snapchat With marketers spending 500% more on millennials than all others combined, the impact that they are having is undeniable. Unfortunately, companies still try to market to millennials as they did to older generations; however, just like every generation, millennials have specific wants and needs that marketers need to understand to be successful in their campaigns.
Social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram have been leveraging their massive user base to appeal to brands looking to advertise for years now. Although Snapchat held off a little bit longer on the advertising front, the popular app now allows everyone from large corporations to local businesses to advertise on their platform.
There are three primary ways that brands can use Snapchat to reach prospective customers: Snap Ads, Sponsored Geofilters, and Sponsored Lenses. Between these three options, companies have a lot of creative freedom in how they want to position their brand based on their target consumer.
Advertising Option 1: Snap Ads
Snap Ads are 10-second, skippable ads inserted in between Snap stories. Snapchatters can swipe up when watching the ad for an extended video or article to gain more knowledge. The chances are that you’ve seen these ads on your story timeline, but how do you create one?
For bigger companies, Snapchat reserves this advertising option exclusively to those with greater advertising spending options. Snapchat has a team of Partners that you can contact via email at PartnerInquiry@snapchat.com.
Advertising Option 2: Sponsored Geofilters
Sponsored Geofilters are swipeable screens you can place over a Snap based on your location. This interactive feature gives Snapchatters the chance to show their followers where they are and what they’re doing. According to Snapchat’s internal data, a single National Sponsored Geofilter typically reaches 40% to 60% of daily Snapchatters in the US. As a result of this wide reach and influence, Snapchat has become an extremely attractive advertising option to bigger companies.
However, Geofilters are not limited to larger companies. Because these ads are relatively easy to create, they have become very popular among small businesses and individuals.Whether you are running a national advertising campaign or merely hosting a surprise birthday party for a friend, Sponsored Geofilters are an excellent way to connect with the world.
Creating a Sponsored Geofilter
- Design – When beginning to design your geofilter online, you will come across two options. You can select “Use Your Own”, in which you create your own design from scratch using Photoshop or Illustrator templates provided by Snapchat. Or, you can “Create Online” and choose from filter options according to the occasion (i.e. birthday, celebrations, weddings etc). Regardless of the option you choose, make sure to read the Submission Guidelines for specifications on the timeline, rules, and image size requirements!
- Map – In the mapping stage, you will be asked to select the range of time your filter will be live.. As a rule, Snapchat does not allow filters to be live for more than 30 days. During the mapping stage, you will also select the area and location in which your geofilter will be available. Simply set up a “fence” on the map in order to see how much your geofilter will cost based on its radius.
- Purchase – After designing and mapping your geofilter, you will submit it for review. Snapchat will typically respond within one business day. Upon approval, purchase your Geofilter on Snapchat’s website and wait for it to go live!
Advertising Option 3: Sponsored Len
The third Snapchat advertising option that brands can utilize is a Sponsored Lens. A lens is a facial recognition feature on Snapchat that enables creative art to be layered on top of a user’s face. These lenses change daily and are as random and intentional as Snapchat wants.
While the majority of these lenses are created by Snapchat, companies can create and purchase lenses for advertising purposes. However, because sponsored lenses are extremely costly to purchase, we typically only see lenses for larger brands such as Gatorade or Taco Bell.
Although it may sound silly to spend $450K – $750K a day on a Snapchat campaign, large companies have proven that investing in a sponsored lens pays off significantly. Gatorade’s “Super Bowl Victory Lense,” was played over 60 million times, boasting 165 million views! As a result, Gatorade saw an 8% increase in purchase intent.
Based on these numbers, it is clear that the potential of Sponsored Lenses is incredible. Because of the large price tag associated with them, Snapchat has limited sponsored lenses to larger brands with significant budgets. However, if you happen to have $450K-$750K lying around and want to make a Sponsored Lens, contact any of the Snapchat advertising partners or email them at PartnerInquiry@snapchat.com. The partners will assist you in every step of the campaign strategy providing creative suggestions and answering any questions you may have..
With its large user base and creative advertising options, Snapchat has proven to be an extremely useful platform for companies of all shapes and sizes to interact with their target audience. If you are planning an event or rolling out a new product, consider one of the aforementioned options and start seeing conversions skyrocket!