How to Advertise on Snapchat
In case the idea of embarrassing your teenager has kept you off Snapchat, let’s cover some basics before getting into how to advertise on Snapchat. Snapchat is a fun mobile only app where users upload video and photos. The images are sent to individual friends, or saved to a story that lives on the app for 24 hours. There app has more features including chat, stickers, marking up images, but short-lived photos and images things gives you the idea.
Over 60% of U.S. 13 to 34 year-old smartphone users are on Snapchat web app. Nearly 100 million people use the Snapchat app each day to consume 8+ Billion video views. Yeah, 8 BILLION videos every day! Snapchat video viewership rivals that of Facebook.
The average Snapchatter is between 13 and 24 years old, with 37% of users falling into the 18 to 24 year old range. Snapchat is the best social channel to reach out to this young demographic.
Snapchat’s fun disappearing content is definitely a unique challenge for brands wishing to connect with the audience on this channel. Content posted by brands is short-lived, always entertaining and frequently humorous. Snapchat forces brands to develop a content marketing and advertising strategy that impresses fast!
The app offers opportunities for brands to advertise to Snapchatters. Businesses can buy 3V ads, which are interstitial ads, within branded content such as the CNN story. Individuals and brands can purchase local geofilters. The geofilter offers an effective way to advertise locally, in real time. They are quick and easy to set-up.
A geofilter is an image overlay that users within a certain geographic perimeter can see and add to their snaps. The snaps are saved to a live, local story. For example, those using Snapchat during New Year’s Eve in Times Square can opt to add the New Year’s Eve filter to their snaps before they are sent or saved. The geofilter is offered to everyone within a predetermined geographical area.
Snapchat offers two types of geofilters:
- A Personal Geofilter is one that doesn’t include any branding, business marks/names, or logos, and doesn’t promote a business or a brand
- A Business Geofilter is one that promotes a business or a brand
A geofilter covers a geographical area between 20 thousand and 5 million square feet. They are purchased for a maximum of 30 days. A “fence,” chosen by the advertiser, while placing the order determines the geographical coverage.
Buying a geofilter on Snapchat is easy. The web app, Snapchat.com, has an easy-to-follow- web interface for individuals, designers, and businesses to download example templates. Snapchat geofilters are 1080px wide by 1920px high and must be in .png format. Download a Snapchat ad template or design your geofilter, upload it to Snapchat, and then move on to picking the dates the geofilter will run and choose the geographical area – called a fence. Snapchat employs an easy-to-use Google Maps interface to help choose the fence. After that, enter payment information and the Snapchat ad is good-to-go. The ad price is dependent on the duration and day of week. Snapchat reviews geofilters within one business day.
For now, there is no targeting based on age, gender, or interests. However, the geofilter represents a new and unique way to advertise locally, in real time. It also helps brands reach out to a demographic that Facebook lacks and Instagram barely reaches.
