Snapchat has grown to become one of the most popular social media platforms, especially among younger audiences. With over 300 million daily active users, Snapchat offers a unique opportunity for brands to reach a highly engaged audience.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk through everything you need to know about advertising on Snapchat, including:
- The benefits of Snapchat advertising
- Types of Snapchat ads
- How to create effective Snapchat ad campaigns
- Measuring the success of your Snapchat ads
- Snapchat advertising best practices
Whether you're new to Snapchat marketing or looking to improve your existing efforts, this guide will help you get the most out of your ad spend. Let's dive in!
Benefits of Advertising on Snapchat
There are several key reasons why brands should consider Snapchat advertising:
Reach a Young Audience
The majority of Snapchat's users are under the age of 25. This makes it a prime platform to reach Generation Z and Millennial consumers. Snapchat offers the opportunity to connect with an audience that may be difficult to reach on other platforms.
Ad Formats Stand Out
Snapchat ads are full-screen and vertical, blending seamlessly into the Snapchat interface. This immersive experience leads to higher levels of engagement compared to other platforms.
Target Based on Behavior
Snapchat offers robust targeting capabilities based on user behaviors and interests. You can target audiences based on the content they view, their purchase history, and other factors.
Low Cost
Snapchat ads can be purchased for very low costs compared to other major platforms. The auction-based pricing makes Snapchat ads accessible for businesses of all sizes.
Measurable Results
Snapchat provides in-depth analytics on ad performance, including views, reach, conversions, and return on spend. This makes it easy to track and optimize campaigns.
Types of Snapchat Ads
Snapchat offers a variety of ad formats that cater to different goals:
Snap Ads
Snap Ads are full-screen vertical video ads up to 10 seconds long. They can be skipped after 6 seconds. This highly engaging format is ideal for branding and awareness campaigns.
Story Ads
Story Ads appear between friends' stories as tiles users can swipe through. They can be videos up to 20 seconds long or images. Story Ads are best for reach and consideration.
Collection Ads
Collection Ads showcase multiple products in a scrolling carousel format. Users can swipe through products and tap to learn more. This makes them ideal for driving conversions.
Lens Ads
Sponsored Lenses allow users to interact with branded AR experiences. Lens Ads drive engagement by being fun and shareable.
Filters
Sponsored Filters are custom designs users can overlay on their Snaps. They offer a way to sponsor events or integrate branding in a subtle way.
3D World Lenses
3D World Lenses place branded AR objects into the real world that users can interact with. Like Lenses, they provide an interactive and sharable ad experience.
Commercials
Commercials are 6-second unskippable videos that run between shows on Snapchat's Discover platform. They are ideal for reaching a captivated audience.
How to Create Effective Snapchat Ad Campaigns
Once you understand the ad formats, it's time to put together your ad strategy. Follow these best practices when developing your Snapchat advertising campaigns:
Set Clear Goals
Before creating your ads, define your campaign goals. Do you want to increase brand awareness? Drive conversions? Grow your follower base? Having clear goals will inform your ad creation and targeting.
Tailor Content to the Platform
Snapchat calls for vertical, full-screen video ads up to 10 seconds long in most placements. Keep this in mind when developing ad creative. Short, eye-catching videos designed specifically for Snapchat tend to perform better.
Target a Specific Audience
One of Snapchat's biggest advantages is its detailed targeting capabilities. Take advantage by tailoring your ad audience based on age, interests, behaviors and more to ensure your ads resonate.
Leverage Snapchat's Unique Ad Formats
Sometimes it pays to get creative and use innovative ad units like Lenses and Filters. This can help your brand stand out from competitors. Just make sure they align with your goals.
Retarget Across Devices
You can target users you've reached on Snapchat across their other devices through Snapchat's audience matching feature. This helps reinforce your message at multiple touchpoints.
Optimize for Conversions
Add Snapchat Pixel tracking and make use of Snapchat's e-commerce capabilities. This will allow you to analyze how your Snapchat strategy is driving conversions.
Experiment and Iterate
Continually test different creatives, audiences, and strategies to improve performance. Snapchat makes it easy to duplicate and edit campaigns to quickly iterate.
By following these tips, you can develop high-converting Snapchat ad campaigns tailored to your goals. But how do you know if your campaigns are actually succeeding? Let's look at how to measure Snapchat ad performance.
Measuring the Success of Your Snapchat Ads
Snapchat provides robust analytics to help you quantify and optimize your advertising efforts. Here are the key metrics to focus on:
Reach
How many unique accounts viewed or swiped your ad at least once. This helps gauge how broadly your message is being seen.
Impressions
The number of times your ads were served. More impressions mean greater awareness, but high frequency may indicate poor targeting.
View Rate
The percentage of impressions that resulted in views. Higher view rates signal engaging creative and a well-targeted audience.
Swipe Ups
How often users swiped up to view additional content or take an action. Helps determine interest and call-to-action relevancy.
Website Visits
If you have the Pixel installed, you can see how many visited your website from seeing your ads. This reveals how your ads impact the buyer journey.
ROI
Use your ad spend and conversion data to calculate return on spend. This quantifies the profit generated by your campaigns.
Review these metrics frequently and make adjustments to optimize performance. Now let's look at some best practices for Snapchat advertising.
Snapchat Advertising Best Practices
Here are some top tips to make the most of your ad spend on Snapchat:
- Test different objectives - Try brand awareness, traffic and conversion campaigns to see what works.
- Leverage Snapchat's unique ad formats - Filters, Lenses and 3D World Lenses can help you stand out.
- Target narrowly - Snapchat's targeting options let you hone in on your ideal audience.
- Use Snapchat's stock creative library - Save time and get professional-looking ads.
- Rotate creatives frequently - Change up your ads to keep them fresh and engaging.
- Measure everything - Track metrics like view rate, ROI and conversions to optimize.
- Retarget engaged users - Remarket to users who have viewed, swiped or converted.
- Automate campaign management - Use an ad platform to more efficiently manage Snapchat campaigns.
- Let a partner help - Consider working with a Snapchat marketing expert to accelerate results.
Following Snapchat best practices takes a bit of trial and error. But the high engagement levels of Snapchat ads make perfecting your strategy worth the effort.
Conclusion
Getting Snapchat advertising right takes an investment of time and budget, but the potential to reach a valuable Gen Z and Millennial audience is massive. Define your goals, craft engaging and relevant creative, target your ads carefully, continuously optimize based on data, and partner with Snapchat experts if needed.
Following the strategies in this guide will help you build effective Snapchat ad campaigns that showcase your brand and deliver results. Just remember to keep innovating and tailoring your efforts as the platform evolves.
With some persistence and creativity, Snapchat offers an immense opportunity to connect with younger consumers in a fun and memorable way.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do Snapchat ads cost?
Snapchat ads are auction-based, so costs vary. However, costs per thousand impressions (CPM) often range from $2-$8 depending on targeting, with averages around $5 CPM. Snapchat Ads Manager offers an estimated range based on your audience and dates.
What's the ideal ad length?
Snapchat recommends 6-second Snaps, 10-second Snap Ads and 2-3 second Commercials. Users can skip Snaps after 6 seconds. For Story Ads, shorter content under 3 seconds may get more views.
How frequently should I post ads?
Ad frequency depends on your budget and goals. For awareness, Snapchat recommends reaching users 3-4x per week. For conversions, 6-10 impressions per week work well. Test to see what frequency resonates.
Can I reuse content from other platforms?
Creating vertical video ads tailored to Snapchat is recommended. But you can repurpose short clips from landscape videos or horizontal images if needed.
How quickly will my ads be reviewed and approved?
Snapchat says most ads are reviewed within 24 hours. Some may take 1-3 business days if they require a more complex review. Plan ads in advance to ensure timely approval.