Snapchat is more than just an app for sharing photos and videos with loved ones. For companies, the social network has multiple options to improve its visibility, reach new customers and boost its business.
With 319 million active users, the platform plays an essential role in any social media strategy. Let’s go back to how its advertising network works and the opportunities offered by this social network like no other.
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Companies: the guide to making Snapchat ads
Snapchat has several advantages for advertisers, provided they understand how its advertising tool works. Ad formats that are more creative than each other are offered to achieve various objectives. At the same time, very precise targeting options are available. The objective is to reach its target at all costs. The creative process is intuitive. However, it requires certain steps to be followed, which we will discuss.
Advertising on Snapchat: what are the advantages for companies?
Many companies today have introduced Snapchat in their social media marketing strategy. One of the main reasons is the fact that the majority of content is outdated. For advertisers, this principle is similar to face-to-face communication. It is therefore worth saying that it makes it easier to interact with Snapchatters.
The authoring features are also a big plus. Although Meta also offers augmented reality options, Snapchat remains the real expert in this field. This gives it a considerable lead over its competitors. Brands can create interactive ads that stand out. This means it’s easier to connect with your audience.
Finally, it may be wise to turn to the social network to reach a younger audience: in France, 60% of Snapchat users are aged 18 to 34 (HubSpot study).
Focus on advertising formats on Snapchat
Snapchat offers four ad formats. These are very different from each other and offer multiple possibilities to advertisers.
Snap Ads
A Snap Ad is an advertisement that occupies the user’s entire screen. It can be a photo or a video (including a GIF). In the second case, it can last up to three minutes. Brands have the ability to add text elements, as well as Call-To-Action (CTA). By swiping the screen upwards, users will get more information about the product or service being promoted. It is also possible to redirect them to your website or application to increase your traffic.
Elf beauty brand campaign Image: Snapchat.
Filters
Since its inception, Snapchat has stood out from its competitors for the possibilities offered in terms of creating filters. For this reason, this format is widely acclaimed by advertisers. Sponsored filters appear directly in the “Filter” menu of the social network in order to promote their use. Snpachat users can then post a video with it to their Story, send a photo with it to their friends, and save it to Memories. The name of the brand and its logo take up a good part of the screen.
Filters are used every day by many users of the social network. Picture: Snapchat.
Geofilters
These are filters that change based on the location of the user. This format can be used by businesses and companies seeking notoriety. By opting for sponsored geofilters, a brand can design custom graphic elements. Internet users superimpose these on their photo and video snaps.
Lenses
Lenses are special effects based on augmented reality. With this format, brands can create immersive experiences that users try out and share with their friends. For businesses, this helps meet engagement goals.
Lenses are designed using augmented reality. Picture: Snapchat.
Story Ads
Story Ads take the form of tiles in the “Discover” part of the application, alongside other stories selected according to the user’s interests. They appear in the same way as these: a cover with a title and sometimes a logo. They contain between three and twenty images. It is a particularly immersive format, generally used to achieve performance and notoriety objectives.
Collection Ads
Collection Ads are advertisements designed for brands and businesses. They showcase a series of products, which Snapchatters can tap to get more information. Again, CTAs redirecting to the page of the article in question are added.
Commercial Ads
Commercial Ads are video advertisements that the user is forced to watch. They last between three and six seconds and take up the entire screen. With this type of ads, it is possible to highlight qualitative content and launch profitable campaigns, because these ads are ultra-targeted.
Focus on targeting options
Like Instagram, Snapchat offers advertisers very precise targeting options by geography as well as demographics, such as gender. Of course, it is possible to target by age so that the teenagers on the platform are not exposed to campaigns promoting, for example, alcohol.
To properly target your audience, the social network offers several possibilities:
- Snap Audience Matchwhich retargets a user who has previously interacted with their brand using their email, phone number, or mobile device ID associated with their Snapchat account;
- Lookalike Audienceswhich makes it possible to target Snapchatters whose profile is similar to that of its current customers;
- Pixel Custom Audiencesto target Internet users who have browsed a brand’s website and explored its product range;
- Ad Engagement Audienceswhich is used to retarget an audience of engaged users who have already clicked on one of its social media ads, watched a video ad in full, or shared its sponsored filter;
- Saved Audiences, to quickly and easily create audience segments to target. They can be used in several advertisements at the same time.
Sign up for Snapchat Ads Manager
In the same way as Facebook and Google Adwords, Snapchat Ads Manager offers the possibility of designing, managing and optimizing its advertisements. Registration is totally free. This means that both large and small businesses can craft ads on the social network. Creating an account only takes a few minutes. He is then asked to fill in information relating to his company.
Build your ad
The next step is the most important: creating your first campaign. To do this, you have to follow a very specific roadmap. First, you need to set a campaign goal. Snapchat’s advertising network offers five:
- Generate traffic to your websiteto encourage Internet users to visit a brand’s website;
- Promote your point of saleto attract Snapchatters to its store and boost its local notoriety;
- Push users to contact my brandin particular by calling for information;
- Boost the number of downloads of its application ;
- Increase the number of visitors to your app.
Then, you have to name your campaign, indicate the start and end date of it as well as the amount allocated. The platform offers two expense systems: a daily budget Where a total budget over a given period. On Snapchat, the daily budget is at least five euros. It is defined according to the means of the company and its objectives.
The ideal is to readjust your budget according to the results of your campaign, which can be measured using the Pixel Snapchat. This is a piece of code to place on its site to monitor the effectiveness of its advertising campaign, measure visits and know the sales generated. There is one for WordPress, for Shopify and for Prestashop.
Then comes the time to define your audience. You have to opt for one of the targeting options, choose the geographical area you are targeting and indicate demographic data such as age, gender and language spoken. Interests can be specified. It is also possible to select users according to their operating system or the operator they use. It is also requested to indicate the location of its advertising, for example in story. In some cases, it is necessary to choose a CTA and add a catchphrase.
All advertising can be designed on creative software, or on Snap Publisher. The platform allows you to design your ad from A to Z.
Publish Snapchat ad
Once you have finished your advertisement, it is time to publish it by clicking on the button provided for this purpose. You will just have to be patient while Snapchat validates the advertisement before seeing it online. As with any advertising campaign, it is then important to keep an eye on the performance of its ads in Snapchat Ads Manager.
As you will have understood, posting ads on Snapchat can be a profitable strategy when you want to achieve awareness, traffic generation and engagement objectives. However, it is necessary to ensure that we are addressing the right target. In order not to be mistaken, it may be better to seek help from a webmarketing agency.
If you would like to know more about our areas of expertise within the Siècle Digital agency, do not hesitate to contact us through the form from our site.