Snapchat"s premium positioning at danger without much better campaign analytics

By Brielle Jaekel

January 7, 2016

Initially a user-only space, Snapchat made the leap into advertising last year, with a slew of marketers jumping to connect to the platform’s young user base, but with no ascertainable reaction information, brands should not forget its organic story capabilities.

The social networks application presented a series of marketing capabilities within numerous areas of its platform, and brands were quick to take benefit of it all as Snapchat boasts a substantial number of users of 15-to-25-years old. However, the problem still lies in the capability to track information in regards to success for these campaigns, and online marketers are losing out on the opportunity to link with users in a more personal way through Snapchat’s Story feature. ”

The challenges ahead for Snapchat advertising in 2016 in part stem from their 2015 wins,” stated Topher Burns, group director at distribution strategy at Deep Focus. “Setting prices high is terrific for buzz and as a means to communicate value, however exclusivity comes at a cost, finding more affordable and easily accessible methods for advertisers to leverage the platform will likely be a focus for the coming year.

“Another major hurdle is around openness and information,” he said. “Snapchat’s platform is based upon ephemerality and privacy, which users like about it.

“Ephemerality and personal privacy don’t have the tendency to jive well with robust performance analytics. If Snapchat desires to continue to position its ad products as premium, it is going to need to have the ability to tell a more comprehensive story about how those ad products carry out and how customers interact with them.”

Non-date problem

The Snapchat platform carries out almost as an unique club for members, as it is extremely individual and sequestered off. The user experience is vastly different from other social networks app, makings it tough for online marketers to break the code if they themselves are not utilizing it and there is no type of natural discovery.

But for brands, the platform is considered a cash cow, as its main market lies within the 15 to 25 years of age variety and has among largest amount of users. The marketing campaign of the previous year appeared to be beneficial for consumers, as the promoted pieces were noticeably native and enhanced the experience rather than impeded it. A huge issue with these campaigns though, is that there is no current technique in determining the success of these sponsored projects and Snapchat needs to discern a way of doing so. However the business recently announced an application shows interface where marketers can have greater control over their projects, potentially opening up the door for higher return-on-investment insights.

“Like any media platform, comprehending the Snapchat audience and customer habits within the app is vital for matching brands as the finest fit for the audience and which innovative is going to finest take advantage of consumer behavior,” said Shana Pereira, regional director at Resolution Media.

Organic story value

Marketers must also be spending a considerable quantity of time creating organic and individual material to publish by themselves accounts within the app. For instance, major brands such as Sephora have been revealing new products and producing experiences where users wish to communicate through non-sponsored posts on the story feature within its organic account.

Producing a campaign where sponsored posts compliment natural content within Snapchat stories can be a substantial motorist for brands aiming to develop a huge, engaged following. Brands have to develop compelling content for Snapchat stories and share within other social networks platforms to reveal consumers they can get something helpful by following.

Online marketers need to be thinking of developing an audience on Snapchat for the long term, not simply providing a contest or free giveaway, but producing a devoted following of consumers who want to be involved because of its quality material.

“This year individuals in the marketing world in fact started believing that Snapchat was a place they need to be advertising on rather than just a space for kids to be naughty on,” said Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO and cofounder of VaynerMedia. “For people who have actually run projects and have checked out it, there is an awareness that it is virtually impossible to reach the 15 to 25 year old group with the pixie dust of coolness the method brands can with Snapchat.”

“I believe that a lot of people need to start seriously constructing up their organic presence,” he stated. “The biggest mistake is not developing organic stories and rather stressing about the marketing.”

“These stories are best to develop on, however due to the fact that it is so complex to understand for those who do not utilize it, it is an entirely various language. Brands must piggy back and use the paid products that Snapchat provides to complement the organic stories as an equal partner.”

Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant on Mobile Online marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily, New York. Reach her at brielle@mobilemarketer.com.

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Snapchat"s premium positioning at danger without much better campaign analytics