How To Advertise On Snapchat
In 2020, Snapchat reported having 249 million daily active users worldwide making it one of the most used social media platforms. The bulk of snapchat users are between the ages of 18-24 with people between the ages of 25-35 not far behind.
Snapchat’s content, when compared to Instagram, is a lot more instant and less curated. Posts on Instagram are commonly edited to be aesthetically pleasing so that people want to display their posts to the public and keep them there to look back on. Snapchat, on the other hand, is a quick picture or video with maybe a caption or filter that is posted live knowing it will only be there for 24 hours.
Therefore, Snapchat thrives on organic content.
So, when asking how to use Snapchat as a platform for paid advertising, there are 3 most common methods: through Snap stories, filters, and lenses.
Using Snap Stories
Advertisements shown when scrolling through Snapchat stories are full-screen paid advertisements in the form of pictures or videos. At the bottom of the advertisement, a swipe up action will appear that will bring the user to view a website, watch a video, download an app etc.
Snapchat Story Advertisement: Using A “Learn More” Swipe Up Action
Snap story placements are useful in raising brand awareness because the advertisement occupies the entire screen making it nearly impossible for the viewer to miss (unless they look away from their phone at that exact moment).
It is also an ideal placement when running lead generation campaigns due to the option to enact autofill. A lead generation campaign is most commonly when an advertiser attaches a form to their advertisement to get information from a potential customer, making it easier to follow up with that customer thus creating a higher potential of making a sale. Because a Snapchat user enters in their information, such as name and phone number, when creating a Snapchat account, this information can be automatically transferred to the form attached to the advertisement once swiped up on and then into the hands of the person at the company whose job it is to reach out to that potential customer.
Creating Filters on Snapchat
Another placement for advertisements through Snapchat are filters. After taking a picture, the user can swipe through various filters to add a special touch to their picture or video. An advertiser can take advantage of this option by creating a filter that pertains to what they are trying to sell or promote.
Below is an example of creating a Snapchat filter for Alamo Cycle Plex and what it would look like over a photo.
Snapchat Filter Example
This is commonly seen as a brick and mortar advertising tactic because the filter will only appear as an option if the person using Snapchat is within a certain radius from their storefront. It can somewhat be considered as a form of geofencing because it is utilizing people’s proximity to a storefront in an effort to attract potential customers nearby.
Using Snapchat Lenses
The fun features on Snapchat that allows its users to become puppies, have butterflies flying around their heads, change their voices and more are Snapchat’s lenses. It may not be as obvious how lenses can be used as an advertising method as it is the laughs and smiles they bring to its users.
It is most popular for large advertisers and events to use lenses as a way to reach a large scale audience of potential customers all over the country, or even the world. The advertiser for a popular football event can create a lens that transforms a Snapchat user into a football player to promote the big game over the weekend. Another common example is for a big movie company to advertise for an upcoming movie release by creating a lens that turns the Snapchat user into the main character.
All three methods of advertising on Snapchat, through stories, filters, and lenses, can raise brand awareness while each placement also offering a unique benefit.