March 31, 2017
Over 150 million people use Snapchat every day. Every single day, Snapchat users watch over 10 billion videos and spend an average of 25-30 minutes on Snapchat.
With so many eyes on Snapchat daily, it’s worth considering if Snapchat advertising is right for your business. Before diving in, you need to know what Snapchat ads are all about. Snapchat Advertising 101 is now in session.
The different types of Snapchat ads
1) Snap ads
These are the ads that show up when someone is looking through their friends’ Snap Stories. A Snapchat video ad pops up in between other Snap Stories.
These short snippets are kind of like commercials. The ad pops up while the user is watching other content.
Pros: The Snap ad is a mini-commercial. It gives you the opportunity to tell a (short!) story about your brand. Plus, a user can choose to click the video ad and learn more.
Cons: The user can choose to skip the ad and move onto the next video of a friend’s dog. While this is nice for user experience, it’s not great news for the advertiser. Also, this is definitely a pricy ad option. It starts at $50,000 for a one-day ad.
2) Sponsored geofilters
This feature rolled out in 2015. It allows brands to create a filter that users can apply to their own Snapchat. The sponsored filter would pop up depending on location. Brands can use geofilters to promote events, premieres, or stores.
Pros: Because users can choose to add a filter to a Snap and send it to friends and family, it can reach far and wide. This ad takes the power of word of mouth and multiplies it. It’s also the easiest on the wallet. Geofilters start at around $5 per hour for 20,000 square feet.
Con: Due to their “geo” nature, these geofilters are limited to a certain location.
3) Sponsored lenses
Sponsored lenses are a newer Snapchat ad variation. If you’ve never wasted hours on the Snapchat lens feature looking at yourself as a dog, you haven’t lived. These sponsored lenses work the same way as the omnipresent dog and flower crown lenses.
Brands create a lens promoting their business; users can apply it to their image and share it with their network.
Pros: Much like the geo-filter, sponsored lenses can be shared with a user’s friends and family. It’s also a more creative way to get your brand in front of a wide audience of people.
Con: Sponsored lenses are by far the most expensive advertising method. They range from $100,000 to $750,000 per day.
Snapchat advertising success stories
For two years in a row, Gatorade has pulled off a majorly successful Super Bowl SnapChat ad. In their 2017 Super Bowl ad, they created a sponsored lens of the classic Gatorade dunk. Users could choose what color Gatorade to use, depending on what team they supported.
Michael Kors created a sponsored lens for National Sunglasses Day. The ad resulted in 104 million views with an average play time of 26 seconds. This campaign led to an 18% increase ad awareness and 12.5% lift in sunglass preference.
Wondering if your business should test Snapchat advertising?
Yes, a couple of the Snapchat ad options carry a hefty price tag. Still, that doesn’t mean that your business can’t try it out.
Starting at $5 an hour, sponsored geofilters are an affordable way to test out the platform. If you have a company event or a sale going on, it might be worth giving geofilters a chance.
If you’re not ready to invest in Snapchat advertising, you can still build up an organic Snapchat presence. Create a handle and regularly update your profile with Snap Stories. Showcasing your holiday parties, teambuilding events, ping-pong matches can be a great way to promote your brand and boost engagement.
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Can’t get enough of social media advertising? Check out our simple guide to Instagram, Pinterest & Twitter ads.