Snapchat 101 For New Digital Advertisers

An app that self-destructs photos or videos 10 seconds after being shared – completely crazy or utterly genius? Well, if Snapchat’s popularity is anything to go by, the latter must be true.

The quirky social media platform is known for its ephemerality: any videos or photos are deleted after 10 seconds unless they’re shared on “My Stories” or “Our Stories,” which are deleted after 24 hours. Unexpectedly, the unusual feature was a huge hit. Add in countless options for filters, captions, drawings, and you have the makings of a social media powerhouse.

Snapchat has found an eager demographic in teenagers and young adults. Even older people are now getting in the fun. The quirky social media platform has quickly grown in popularity worldwide since its launch in 2011. It now boasts of over 150 million active daily global users – even more than Twitter!

Snapchat is fertile ground for advertisers, especially considering recent changes in its advertising strategy that will be discussed later in this article.

Who’s Who in Snapchat: What’s a Celebrity Emoji?

Social media comes hand in hand with celebrity culture. Any advertiser interested in the app should be aware of the star power of, well, stars. Where stars go, fans inevitably follow. So Snapchat has been drawing in thousands of people worldwide.

While Twitter and Instagram have a blue check mark to verify celebrity accounts, Snapchat allows verified celebrities to have their own special emojis that make their official accounts instantly recognizable to their fans. For example, Rihanna (rihanna) has a balloon next to her name, Kylie Jenner has a crown (kylizzlemynizzl) and Ryan Seacrest (ryanseacrest) has a clapboard.

Snapchat Advertising Strategy

Recently, Snapchat took a big leap forward with a new advertising strategy that will allow advertisers to directly access the app’s system and buy their own ads.

The move comes as no surprise: the quirky social media platform has been hinting at big changes in its advertising platform in the previous months. It seemed inevitable that it would follow in the footsteps of other social media giants like Facebook and Instagram by increasing its advertising presence.

Previously, Snapchat was very selective in what brands were allowed to advertise on their platform. Interested advertisers would have to consult directly with Snapchat, which limited the app’s accessibility.

Now, Snapchat has decided to not only open their doors to advertisers but invite them in with the app’s very first self-serve ad tool. With this tool, advertising agencies and brands can access Snapchat’s API (Application Program Interface) and buy ads independently. The creative process for the ad is essentially in their hands.

Obviously, this is a huge boon for advertisers. With the ability to create their own ads, they will be able to utilize Snapchat as an advertising platform in ways previously restricted to them.